Capital Punishment Essay - We Should Not Exclude Juveniles

Capital Punishment Should Not Exclude Juveniles In lofty of 2000, three year old Damion was suffocated after several attempts by his five-year-old sister and her six-year-old friend to kill him. When the police talked to the two girls, they concluded that it was an intentional murder, but under California state law, children under the years of 14 can be charged only if there is clear proof that at the time of committing the act... they knew its wrongfulness. With no date to the crime, the police only had the girls word and consequently, there wasnt enough evidence to charge the two girls with murder (Murr 32).By law a juvenile is anyone under the succession of eighteen. Juvenile justice is the part of the criminal law that deals with juveniles, because they are not old enough to be held accountable for their own actions. This normally means that their parents would be charged with the crime (Schonwald). But in case of Damions murder, California also decided that the girls were j ust too young, and since the parents werent there to witness the homicide, they too were not penalise (Murr 32). This made it seem like the murder of a three-year-old never really happened at all.E really state has different laws for trying young criminals as adults. The states of Vermont and Kansas let statutory provisions for trying children as young as ten years old in an adult criminal court. In Oklahoma the age is set at seven Nevada, eight and in Colorado, twelve (Frontline). In 1972 the United State Supreme Court struck down on each state death penalty, saying that it was cruel and unusual punishment and it violated the 5th Amendment. In 1976 the Supreme Court revised its decision saying that it was pleasurable as long as the Co... ... News and World Report 17 Jan. 2000 26-27Juvenile Justice Frontline 2001 17 Dec. 2001http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/juvenile/stats/states.htmlMurr, Andrew and Springen, Karen. Death at a very Early Age Is it a crime when a 5-a nd 6-year old suffocate a 3-year old? Newsweek 28 Aug. 2000 32Redding, Richard. Juvenile Forensic Evaluation choice Center State Transfer Laws 2000 17 Dec. 2001 www.ilppp.virginia.edu/Juvenile_Forensic_Fact_Sheets/Fact_Sheets/StateTrans.htmlSchonwald, Josh. Juvenile deliquents respond to punishment just as adults criminals do, University of Chicago study shows. The University of Chicago News Office 21 Dec. 1998 5 Dec. 2001http//www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/98/981221leavitt.shtmlWilson, Anamaria. Lock Em Up Minority youth are more likely to face trial as adults. Time 14 Feb. 2001 68.