DEATH PENALTY FOR JUVENILES

The thesis of this research paper is that the death penalty should be applied to juvenile offenders who commit murder at age 16 and, in appropriate cases, at even younger ages. The basis for this position is the inherent right of American society to protect itself against the savage youth in its midst which is responsible for the rise of violent juvenile crime in America.

1. It is neither immoral nor illegal to permit prosecutors and juries to consider imposing the death penalty on

juvenile offenders who commit heinous crimes such as

Facts. In the United States, a person under the age of 18 who commits a crime is considered to be a juvenile offender. Thirty nine states now allow the death penalty to be applied to some crimes. Eleven others and the District of Columbia prohibit the use of the death penalty (Pennington 35; Nguyen 401). Of the states that permit capital punishment, 10 set a minimum age of 18; 7 set minimum age limits between 16 years and 17 years of age; and another 18 set no age limit at all (Nguyen 402-403; Rosenburg 57). States which have executed juveniles during the past decade or have them on death row include Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, South Carolina and Texas (Nguyen 403).

In the United States the death penalty has been imposed sparingly to juveniles. Since 1642, a total of 281 teenagers have been executed there (Skovron, Scott & Culler 547). I

. . .
urderers are subjected to the death penalty and in some instances even at lower ages such as 14 or 15. Rosenburg says that "until a few years ago most people in the United States considered young people less dangerous than adults. Today that perception is reversed. Young criminals are considered crazier, with more bravado and less conscience" (57). Earlier, the trend was toward establishing a separate juvenile justice system which "emphasized the diagnosis and treatment of [juveniles] . . . rather than the adjudication of their guilt" (Nguyen 403). In recent years, the public has tended to favor "the trend toward harsher penalties for serious juvenile criminals and the increased tendency to transfer them to adult court where they are subject to adult penalties [including in the case of juvenile murderers] the use of execution" (Skovron, Scott & Culler 547). More than 40 states permit juvenile murderers to be tried in adult courts (Bishop, Frazier, Lanza-Kadure & Winner 171). Many polls show that large majorities agree that "society was being too soft on juvenile crime ("Are we" 167). The basis for this change in public attitudes is fear of violent teenage crime. Between 1985 and 1994, juvenile arrests for murder increased 150 p
. . .

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Approximate Word count = 1589
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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