This issue is addressed by Mark Sherman (2009). Sherman states that Joe Sullivan was 13 years old when he attacked and raped an elderly woman. The court judged him as incorrigible and therefore sentenced him to life without parole. Another example is that of Terrance Graham, who took part in several armed robberies during his 16th and 17th years, also given a life sentence for these crimes. The argument appears not to be against the punishment itself, but its disproportionate nature in terms of the crimes committed and the youth of the offenders. They did not commit murder, but were effectively sentenced to eventually die in prison; the replacement for the juvenile death penalty.
According to the author, data compiled by opponents indicate that only a little more than 100 prison inmates were sentenced to life without parole when they were juvenile and committed offenses that were less serious than murder. Arguments for the case have not yet been heard, and time only will tell whether such a punishment is cruel and unusual.
Sherman (2009) also mentions Justice Kennedy's majority opinion in this regard, indicated that youthful persons are less culpable in criminal activity than their adult counterparts. Justice Kennedy is also of the opinion that a minor would be more easily rehabilitated than adults. On the other hand, public safety issues dictate that severe crimes, whether committed by the youth or adults, should be punished with sufficient severity in turn, even if these crimes do not cause death.
Interestingly, opponents against both the juvenile death penalty and against life imprisonment note that the United States is the only country implementing such severe punishments against youthful offenders.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I believe that the death penalty is not a solution for crime either among offenders or the general population. No study has ever conclusively found that the death penalty served as a deterrent for crime. The punishment is indeed cruel and unusual under all circumstances. Even if the criminal cannot be rehabilitated for whatever reason, it is much more reasonable and indeed greater punishment to detain such a person for life without the possibility of parole. Capital punishment serves only to perpetuate violence, and serves no other person than satisfying the drive for revenge and the emotion of anger.
Instead, the chances for both rehabilitation and even reconciliation is much greater and indeed better for society as a whole when the criminal is incarcerated. Such offenders can for example be...
" (Potter, 1999) Supreme Court finally strikes down juvenile executions On Mar. 1, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down once and for all juvenile executions in the United States, abandoning nations such as Nigeria, Congo, China, Pakistan and others whose records of human rights abuse are staggering. The 5-4 decision reverses the death sentences of about 70 juvenile murderers and bars states from seeking to execute minors for future crimes. The executions, the
It would seem that many criminals would find this more amusing than frightening. They do not take their chances of being caught and subjected to capital punishment seriously enough to be frightened by the penalty like many assume they will be (van den Haag, 2001). According to some who believe in God and feel that capital punishment is acceptable under the scriptures, there is one main point, which is that
Death Penalty for Juvenile Offenders Supreme Court by a majority decision on March 1, 2005 in Roper v. Simmons held that death penalty for juveniles was "cruel and unusual" and as such the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution forbid the execution of offenders who were under the age of 18 when their crimes were committed. The action reversed the death sentences of 72 convicted murderers in the U.S.
" This article puts forward the notion that when analyzing the "...relationships between minority groups and mainstream populations," the issue of whether the use of "formal control is applied fairly and consistently between these different groups" is a pivotal place to begin (Ruddell, et al., 2004). It is pivotal because "injustice" not only can have "a corrosive effect" on the perception of the fairness (or unfairness) of the criminal justice system;
death penalty and minors - recent Supreme Court finding Death Penalty was extensively applied in the olden times across the world. The modern crusade for banning of capital punishment started in the 18th century with the writings of Montesquieu and also Voltaire. Some of the nations which took a lead in abolishing capital punishment are Venezuela in 1863, San Marino in 1865 and Costa Rica in 1877. Presently, more than
Death Penalty This informative speech outline topic DOES THE DEATH PENALTY DETER CRIME? The outline detailed 4 APA references. It follow format detailed referenced. Please outline tornadoes OUTLINE FOR INFORMATIVE SPEECH Tornadoes Purpose: To inform audience tornadoes Thesis: Today I discuss fascinating facts tornadoes. To inform the audience about the two sides of the debate on the death penalty, regarding its justice and its deterrent effect. The death penalty is one of the
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