Juvenile Offenders and Capital Punishment
Although there are many different views and points to look at when discussing capital punishment, juvenile offenders should be excluded from the death penalty, because capital punishment is cruel, inhumane and barbaric. Capital punishment does not belong in the penal system of any modern, progressing culture. Is it really up to our justice system to decide one's fate? Is it up to our nation to decide whether to kill or not to kill the killers? When turning on the television, radio, or simply opening the local newspaper, one is bombarded with news of arrests, murders, homicides, serial killers, and other things. So what should be done about this crime rate? More and more children are becoming murderers. The reason is obvious: they see that if they kill someone they go to jail, get the death penalty, and the government, who they know as the "good guy" kills them for punishment. Lesson learned: the finger is pointing to its own actions. Learning morals is only as hard as people make it. Why complicate things? Sentencing children to death reflects a conflict between a criminal justice system that has grown
This national failure can be seen in the lives of every child on death row. Dalton Prejean's life is one example. When only two-week's old, Dalton was abandoned by his mother. (1) By the age of 13, he was diagnosed as schizophrenic. Although considered a "danger to himself and others," Dalton was released from medical care when funding for treatment was cut. Thereafter, at age 17, he killed a police officer. Despite a good testimonial for trade of sentence, Dalton was executed in 1990.(3) more punishing and our basic understanding that all children can grow to lead normal and productive lives if given nurturing and positive support. (1) As the Supreme Court recognized, "Youth crime as such is not the offender's fault; offenses by the young also represent a failure of family, school, and the social system, which share responsibility for the development of America's youth." (2) Abolitionists believe that the criminal should repay the victim's family with the criminal's own income from employment or community service. There is no doubt that someone can do more alive than dead. By working, the criminal uninten
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Dalton Prejean's, , Abraham Lincoln, Supreme Court, Crime Century, Leopold Loeb, Malaria Project, capital punishment, death penalty, leopold loeb, justice system, victim's family,
Approximate Word count = 754
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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