Juveniles and the Death Penalty

Issues in Justice

Juveniles and the Death Penalty

September 26, 2011
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Latonji G. Hallman

Juveniles and the Death Penalty The juvenile justice system has been in existence for over 100 years. The main objective of the juvenile justice system is to rehabilitate the child, not to enforce excessive punishment. The system involves children under the age of eighteen years old. There is a line between juveniles and adult offenders. Just because the offender is under the age of eighteen, does that make him or her incapable of being charged for a crime and be convicted just like an adult? This question comes to mind when a child commits a crime such as murder. Should a child be convicted and suffer the same consequences as an adult? Or should the system just accept the fact that the child does not know any better and release them? From a moral standpoint, it would not be fair to subject a child to the death penalty but it seems like the justice system outweighs many moral standpoints. The death penalty for juveniles is a serious injustice issue. The death penalty for juveniles began with the English common law and the first who was executed was out of Massachusetts in 1642. Over the course of history, children could be tried in court as early as seven years of age. Children are vulnerable to so many different things throughout their young lives. These things involve peer pressure, stress, controlling their emotions, and more. More than likely, juveniles sentence to the death penalty come from homes where they are already physically, mentally, and emotionally abused, low income backgrounds, and other types of unstable environments. In the juvenile justice system, most believe the juveniles can be rehabilitated with effective counseling and mentoring programs. Sentencing a child to the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment. These children do not think of the crimes alone. There is another influence who should also share the blame. People do not want to die. The death penalty is not a proper deterrent against a crime a juvenile commits that may warrant it as an adult. Every child that is born into this world has no experience with knowing to respect the law. The lessons are taught as they grow up. Yes, children do things they think they can get away with but that’s the mind of a child. The death penalty does not do for juveniles what is suppose to do for adults and that’s to deter crime. The table below lists some of the executions in the United States since January 1973 (Death Penalty Information Center, 2011).
|Name |Date of Execution |Place of Execution |Race |Age at Crime |Age of Execution |
|Charles Rumbaugh |9/11/85 |Texas |White |17 |28 |
|J. Terry Roach |1/10/86 |South Carolina |White |17 |25 |
|Jay Pinkerston |5/15/86 |Texas |White |17 |24 |
|Dalton Prejean |5/18/90 |Louisiana |Black |17 |30 |
|Johnny Garrett |2/11/1992 |Texas |White |17 |28 |
|Curtis Harris |7/1/1993 |Texas |Black |17 |31 |
|Frederick Lashley |7/28/93 |Missouri |Black |17 |29 |
|Ruben Cantu |8/24/93 |Texas |Latino |17 |26 |
|Chris Burger |12/7/93 |Georgia |White |17 |33 |
|Joseph Cannon |4/22/98 |Texas |White |17 |38 |
|Robert Carter |5/18/98 |Texas |Black |17 |34 |

Table 1

As a result of the full table, there were 10 whites, 11 blacks, and 1 Latino executed. All of them were the age of 17 except the one who was 16. The oldest was 38 when he was executed and they were all males. In order to decrease the amount of juveniles who commit these crimes, officials must consider doing the following: • There must be further research done on brain development of children under the age of 17 • There must be an investigation done on the risk factors of each juvenile such as drug abuse, mental illness and more • Be mindful of the company the child keeps • Treat the children and their families with respect, dignity, courtesy, and have a thorough understanding of their culture. In conclusion, March 1, 2005, the death penalty for juvenile offenders is no longer a subject. The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the eighth and the fourteenth amendments forbid the execution of juveniles who are under the age of 18 in the case of Roper v. Simmons. Andrew Cohen states, "This is by far the biggest decision of the term. It 's a huge victory for opponents of the death penalty and a major defeat for many prosecutors around the country" (CBS News, 2009). When juveniles are convicted for murder, it is important to eliminate the risk factors that lead juveniles to these types of crimes.

Work Cited
11 February 2009. Court Ends Juvenile Death Penalty. CBS News. Retrieved 26 September 2011 from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/01/ Supreme court/main677219.shtml
23 February 2011. The Execution of Juveniles in the United States. Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved 26 September 2011 from http://www.deathpenalty info.org/execution-juveniles-us-and-other-countries.
Frieder, Dunkel, Josine,and Junger-Tas. Reforming Juvenile Justice 2009, XIV, pgs 279-281.

Cited: 11 February 2009. Court Ends Juvenile Death Penalty. CBS News. Retrieved 26 September 2011 from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/01/ Supreme court/main677219.shtml 23 February 2011. The Execution of Juveniles in the United States. Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved 26 September 2011 from http://www.deathpenalty info.org/execution-juveniles-us-and-other-countries. Frieder, Dunkel, Josine,and Junger-Tas. Reforming Juvenile Justice 2009, XIV, pgs 279-281.