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Too Young?

By

Aaron Dechant

English Comp. I A

Mr. Keller

25 October 1996

In 1643 a sixteen year old boy was put to death for sodomizing a cow. Three

hundred and fifty years later, sixteen states have legitimized the execution of juveniles.

Four of those twelve states have lowered the legal age of execution to twelve. For

whatever reasons the death penalty has been supported by the public since this country's

existence. In this day and age of increasing violence, both juvenile and adult, it is time to

re-examine the use of the death penalty as the ultimate solution to crime. The social

repercussions of enforcing the state executions of juveniles far outweigh any of the benefits

that may be gained.

The cry for the death penalty is most loudly heard when referring to it as use of 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 1) The mindset of the American public

seems to be drastically different when dealing juveniles. And yet, with only 9% of the

public supporting the policy, it remains in effect.

Another strong outcry for the death penalty comes from those wanting restitution

for the death of a loved one. It is the thought that a life is the ultimate price to pay which

fuels this argument. The delineation between adults and juveniles is much less clear on this

point. Age doesn't seem to make much of a difference when dealing with restitution. Putting

an individual to death seems to put the minds of certain individuals at ease. This argument

is what makes that 9% seem to be the vast majority.

The distinction between juveniles and adults is a very important one. It is often a

deciding factor when one is choosing to support the death penalty or not. Although the

difference often consists of just a few short years, it is those years which make all the

difference. Often its deterrent effect and costs are greatly affected by age and maturity. In

fact, most theories and reasons for supporting the death penalty are flawed when applying

them to juveniles.

The debate over whether or not the death penalty is an effective deterrent is likely

to continue as long as it is in place. However, its deterrent effect towards juveniles is more

obvious. There are several reasons why the death penalty does not deter children. The

death penalty has a very unique effect on juveniles. It has now become an ineffective means

of deterring crime while in some cases actually acting as an incentive for crime.

The first reason the death penalty is an ineffective tool for law enforcement has to

do with the hypocrisy surrounding the policy. Because the state is actively taking part in

killing, the death penalty is seen as hypocritical by juveniles. It is of course, hard to

believe that juveniles not murder when they regularly see it being done by the government

with the apparent approval of society. This was supported when Victor Strieb stated that

"Now they see government officials struggling with a problem of their own,

a person whose behavior is unacceptable to them. How do government

officials solve their problem? They kill or execute the person who is

causing the problem. Is it wrong to kill someone to solve a problem?... It is

akin to a lecture to children about the evils of smoking being delivered by a

lecturer who is puffing on a cigarette." (Strieb 61)

The next deals with the lack of maturity that most juveniles show. Every juvenile is

dealing with enormous amounts of stress everyday. It is these pressures that affect the

deterrent effect of the juvenile death penalty. Each juvenile deals with this stress in a

different way, however, because of this stress, many adolescents act impulsively at times.

Henry Heft explains that

"Peer pressure and family environment subject adolescents to enormous

psychological and emotional stress. Adolescents respond to stressful

situations by acting impulsively and without the mature judgments expected

from adults. These characteristics are shared by all adolescents...Thus, the

possibility of capitol punishment is meaningless to juveniles and has no

deterrent effect." (Heft 30)

Finally it can be seen that not only does the death penalty hold no deterrent for

juveniles but in some cases it act as an incentive for crime. This can happen for two

separate reasons. The first deals with the peer pressure mentioned above. Because death is

seen as "the ultimate stake" the committing of a crime that would warrant the death penalty

could put a juvenile in a position to gain great respect from his peers. The second deals

with the hypocrisy, also mentioned above. With the state legitimizing killing as it does,

some minors are compelled and encouraged to commit crime. It is as though they feel no

responsibility to abide by...

Bright, Steven. Young Blood. New York: Hampton and Row, 1993

Fox, James. "Innocent Killers. Christian Science Moniter 12 Feb. 1996: 71-72

Heft, Henry. "Deterring Juveniles." A.B.A. Journal June 1989: 30

Horwitz, Carl. "Effective Means of Deterring Criminals." Crime and Criminals May1995:1

Kale, Allen. "How does the public feel?" Time Aug. 1995: 35

Radic Steve. "Searching For Answers." Criminal Justice Ethics July 1996: 5

Strieb, Victor. Imposing the Death Penalty on Children. California: Sage, 1987 You should cite this paper as follows:

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