should teenager like 16 or 17 get the death penality?
- Thread starter drychlick
- Start date
Agreed.
Disagree. I am a firm supporter of the death penalty.
No. Rules are rules. If you are under 18 you get treated as a minor for everything. That's why we have rules so we know how to respond in certain situations.
As far as I know my state hasn't executed anyone under the age of 18 for more than 150 years. They haven't executed anyone at all for 63 years. Somehow we have survived.
I'm opposed to the death penalty in all cases anyway, but it's especially egregious to sentence minors to death. The logic behind that one never fails to amaze me, given the number of other things we don't feel minors are old enough to handle responsibly, and yet we sometimes hold them fully responsible for capital crimes.
I certainly think that a 16 year old should be held responsible for their actions, but killing people as a matter of convenience is wrong period, as is killing people when there are perfectly viable alternatives, or killing people when it is not a case of necessity.
In short, killing is wrong, mmmkay?
In short, killing is wrong, mmmkay?
A
Amaris
Guest
I'm firmly against the death penalty anyway, so my answer would be no.
J.
J.
Just to let you know J. Allen when I completely fall off my diet and go on a sugar binge I am going to hold your avatar responsible.
No, I would set the minimum age of the death penalty at 18. Until then both the parents and the child should be punished for the child's misdeeds.
Then again I'm in favor of abolishing prisons and juvenile detention centers and have punishments center around public whippings and a return to the stocks, so you might not want to listen to my opinions on criminal punishment.
Then again I'm in favor of abolishing prisons and juvenile detention centers and have punishments center around public whippings and a return to the stocks, so you might not want to listen to my opinions on criminal punishment.
QFT
A
Amaris
Guest
Just to let you know J. Allen when I completely fall off my diet and go on a sugar binge I am going to hold your avatar responsible.
No sir! As a diabetic, all my baked goods are sugar free (or drastically reduced in sugar content) and taste delicious!
J.
No, it's ridiculous to kill a kid.
When you start Threads like this, it's a good idea to actually Post your own opinion.i know it was outlaw but what you take? love dr
You gotta love it.
And I am against the death penalty in all circumstances.
The legal answer in this country, if we still had the DP, would also be different for 16 and 17. 17 is the age of 'adulthood' in our criminal law - you are treated as having full adult responsibility for crime at age 17.
Beyond the death penalty, I'm getting tired of seeing 13, 14, 15 year olds charged as adults for many crimes. I have a 13-year-old, he is a good kid but he still makes stupid decisions at times. Some of those could have serious legal consequences. He threw a stick at the bus as it left his stop - he could have been charged with throwing a deadly missile! (another kid was in my county was charged with that crime, he tossed a banana out the window and a deputy saw it).
There is a school deputy who arrests every student involved in a fight; a personal zero-tolerance rule. the students are handcuffed and transported to juvenile facilities two counties away.
While there needs to be rules there also needs to be common sense. Kids make mistakes and show bad judgement, but that is how they learn. They are not meant to think things through like an adult. most of us made the same mistakes but we got a butt paddling at school and an ass whoopin at home. That resolved the situation. Now the cops are brought in and stupidity reaches all new dimensions.
We had a 17-year-old who had never been in trouble but came from a broken home, his father was in jail. This kid volunteered with children's church groups, etc. Well he drove to his girlfriends house without a license. He ran a stop sign and was involved in an accident and two people were killed. But the two were legally drunk, not wearing seat-belts and the stop sign and intersection were obscured by a rise in the road until the last minute (he slide into the intersection and was hit by the other car). he was charged as an adult and the judge gave him 30-years in state prison in order to "teach him a lesson." It took four years but the sentence was finally overturned.
Another case, another 17-year old - same prosecutors office, same judge: kid stole a six pack of beer from a neighbors garage. Neighbor calls the cops just to scare the kid and set him straight. Except he ends up be charged as an adult for larceny, resisting arrest w/o violence (he told the cop it was bullsh*t) and some other trumped up charges. Sentence was 10-years and he is still serving it.
these were kids doing stupid things that were not thought out. They didn't see the possible circumstances to consider the ramifications. That is why kids are kids. Yes they do need to be punished but reasonably.
That includes a kid who murders someone for thrills. Lock them up, get them out of society. But they are going to grow and mature. They are not likely going to be the same person at 30 as they were at 17 (or younger).
And don't argue that execution is cheaper than incarceration. First, that isn't true the legal fees associated with a capitol case far outstrip the cost of jailtime. Second, capitol punishment has not been shown to be a deterrent to adults who do have a sense of reason, why should it work on a kid with that sense?
As a society, we need to get past the political pandering that our law enforcement, states attorney and judges have been driven too. That pandering is what lead us to this point, not a sense of justice.
There is a school deputy who arrests every student involved in a fight; a personal zero-tolerance rule. the students are handcuffed and transported to juvenile facilities two counties away.
While there needs to be rules there also needs to be common sense. Kids make mistakes and show bad judgement, but that is how they learn. They are not meant to think things through like an adult. most of us made the same mistakes but we got a butt paddling at school and an ass whoopin at home. That resolved the situation. Now the cops are brought in and stupidity reaches all new dimensions.
We had a 17-year-old who had never been in trouble but came from a broken home, his father was in jail. This kid volunteered with children's church groups, etc. Well he drove to his girlfriends house without a license. He ran a stop sign and was involved in an accident and two people were killed. But the two were legally drunk, not wearing seat-belts and the stop sign and intersection were obscured by a rise in the road until the last minute (he slide into the intersection and was hit by the other car). he was charged as an adult and the judge gave him 30-years in state prison in order to "teach him a lesson." It took four years but the sentence was finally overturned.
Another case, another 17-year old - same prosecutors office, same judge: kid stole a six pack of beer from a neighbors garage. Neighbor calls the cops just to scare the kid and set him straight. Except he ends up be charged as an adult for larceny, resisting arrest w/o violence (he told the cop it was bullsh*t) and some other trumped up charges. Sentence was 10-years and he is still serving it.
these were kids doing stupid things that were not thought out. They didn't see the possible circumstances to consider the ramifications. That is why kids are kids. Yes they do need to be punished but reasonably.
That includes a kid who murders someone for thrills. Lock them up, get them out of society. But they are going to grow and mature. They are not likely going to be the same person at 30 as they were at 17 (or younger).
And don't argue that execution is cheaper than incarceration. First, that isn't true the legal fees associated with a capitol case far outstrip the cost of jailtime. Second, capitol punishment has not been shown to be a deterrent to adults who do have a sense of reason, why should it work on a kid with that sense?
As a society, we need to get past the political pandering that our law enforcement, states attorney and judges have been driven too. That pandering is what lead us to this point, not a sense of justice.
You took the words out of my mouth. I am another in the camp who is firmly opposed to the death penalty under all circumstances.
I believe that it is morally unjust to kill a defenseless person; and whether or not the subject is a murderer or has an otherwise violent past, that is exactly what the death penalty advocates. It is a code of revenge, not protection.
