Society'S Impact Pertaining To Juveniles And Death Penalty.

Though it may seem that the debate over the death penalty only most recently surfaced, the dreadful tradition of capital punishment arrived in the United States at the time of the colonists. In the 17th century, most people were hung, beheaded, burned alive, or crushed under stones. All of these were in public, where a large crowd gathered to watch the horrible sight, similar to the tradition in old Europe. Eventually, the 19th century favored hanging as the most common form of execution. This marked the start of a more humane approach accepted as constitutional as executions moved away from the public eye. More developments came in the 1800’s as a movement to abolish capital punishment arose. This effort was stalled for a time during the Civil

European colonists came to the America, they brought the tradition of capital punishment. Capital punishment came on North American shore with the British colonies. The first recorded capital punishment was established in the new colonies that execution was the Captain George Kendall in Jamestown colony in Virginal Unite State in 1608. First hanging execution to Kendall for being a spy for Spain. British law

One of the most controversial questions in the juvenile justice system today is, "Should the death penalty be applied to juveniles?”. A lot of people think that the death penalty for juveniles is cruel and unusual punishment and should only be used for adults. The crimes that juveniles commit are as dangerous and as violent as adult crimes. People argue that the adolescent brain does not mature until the late teens or early twenties, and that death penalty should not be the resolution. Some studies show that childhood abuse or neglect can causes the child to commit crimes when they grow to adulthood. Debate about the use of the death penalty for juveniles has grown more intense because of the crimes they are

Execution by firing squad has a long history in America. The first recorded execution by firing squad was in 1608, when George Kendall, one of the original councilors in the colony of Virginia was put to death (The Execution Protocol).

A. Death penalty is the sentence of death for a person convicted of a capital offence, is currently used in 58 countries around the world, and is also legal sentence in 33 states. (Harrison, Tamony P2)

The public opinion within the United States on capital punishment has fluctuated since its early establishment during the colonial era. The debate about the use of capital punishment has been shaped by factors such as class, gender, age but most importantly race.

Debate about the use of the death penalty for juveniles has grown more intense in light of calls for the harsher punishment of serious and violent juvenile offenders, The cry for the death penalty is most loudly heard when referring to it as a deterrent. According to Allen Kale, "it is estimated that about 76% of the American public support the use of the death penalty as a deterrent, however that support drops to less than 9% when referring specifically to juveniles." (Kale). Opponents believe it fails as a deterrent and is inherently cruel and point to the risk of wrongful conviction. The

Should the death penalty be given to minors? The two groups against this issue, are the religious and medical groups. They believe they are too young to know what they have done. The medical groups believe adolescents are less developed than adults and should not be held to the same standards. . The opposing side, held mostly by state officials, feel if they are old enough to commit the crime they, old enough to get the punishment, including death.

The very first legal executions came in the United States was during the Revolutionary War against Great Britain. British soldiers hung the first person to die by the death penalty, Nathan Hale, for espionage (Foley 167). The reason that I have included this history is to prove that if something has been working, why stop

When dealing with a topic as controversial as is, we must take into consideration all aspects since there is a human life a risk. A life many may consider to not have even started yet. For a child to get sentenced to life in jail makes absolutely no sense. I agree with the Supreme Court justices who are for the eradication of mandatory life sentences to prison for juveniles because teens are still developing and changing everyday. We should take into account this proven biological fact as well as the environment of which they are exposed to every day.

First, in the case of Roper v. Simmons, the question was whether minors could be sentenced to execution and whether this was a violation of the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution. To use this particular case as a relevant example, first, a general background is needed. Simmons was sentenced to death at the age of seventeen, he was considered mentally disabled by the Supreme Court, and due to the overwhelming opinions of societies views on this particular topic, this case was reconsidered. When the opinion was delivered, a 5-4 ruling was handed down by Justice Anthony Kennedy. The majorities’ opinion was that when it came to the death penalty, this was a significantly disproportionate sentence. Also, the public’s thoughts were taken into consideration as well. This was reflected on and determined to be a dated ideal, and in turn, a violation, and proved to be cruel and unusual (Roper v. Simmons, n.d.).

Yes, the death penalty may be harsh for juveniles and many debate how the mind does not fully mature until an adult. Even so between the ages of 10 and 20, humans have the ability to decipher between right and wrong (teenink.com). Each juvenile should be held responsible for their actions just like adults are responsible for their own. Legalizing the death penalty in all states in the United States may help decrease the chances of a capital crime being committed. Knowing that one of the consequences that they may face when committing a capital crime is death it may help adolescents think twice of their actions.

Teenagers all around committing a crime weather there stealing or there killing, being a juvenile ages sixteen seventeen being served the death penalty. The United States is one of the countries in the world that executes juveniles with a Governmental agreeing to serve these juveniles the felony that they committed which is giving them the death penalty. Most states in the United States keep juvenile in county jail when ages are lower than eighteen, once they finally reach the age they are executed. For the following reason, special consideration for crime control for crimes committed prior to ages eighteen should be made. Studies say consistently demonstrate a high incidence of mental disorders, serious brain injuries, substance abuse and learning disabilities (Juvenile Death Penalty).

Now that I have taken you through the history of the death penalty itself, I will take you through the history of the juvenile death penalty itself. I will walk you through the first case that upheld this new polices and weigh out the two sides of the case.

This subject is also important because much like many other issues, even though it is considered obsolete at the moment, it may not always be that way. The Supreme Court ruling in the 2005 case that ruled juvenile executions unconstitutional, passed by a majority of five to four. Since that time we have had two of the five majority leave the Court, two of the minority leave, and added four new justices, including the chief justice. This is important to this subject because the ruling was made based on the interpretation of the information by nine individuals. If this ruling is ever challenged again, we may see a different outcome, thus having a need for research on the topic.