Should Juveniles Continue Capital Punishment

439 Words2 Pages
“A primary purpose of the juvenile justice system is to hold juvenile offenders accountable for delinquent acts while providing treatment, rehabilitative services, and programs designed to prevent future involvement in law-violating behavior.”(Cothern, L. (2000, November 1). Juveniles and the Death Penalty.) The courts recognize that there are developmental differences between an adult and a child therefore try to come up with the appropriate treatments that do not involve capital punishment. However, with the increase of juvenile violent crimes and involvement the consequences have shifted to stronger punishments. Most believe these punishments are too harsh and unjust considering the juveniles age and developmental stage. In the…show more content…
Statistics show that between 1990 and September 1995, 36 juveniles under the age of 18 were sentenced to death. (Streib, V. (2005, October 7). The Juvenile Death Penalty Today.) There are plenty of proven and justified reasons why children should not be put to death, few of which I will touch on below. Juveniles under the age of 18 are prohibited from buying cigarettes, voting, or joining the Army. Under the age of 21 it is prohibited that anyone buy alcohol; a standard set by our government because they feel juveniles below these ages are incapable of making a responsible choice per their judgment skills. These reasons however do not apply when the government decided which age a child can be held accountable for their actions when a violent crime is committed. During teen years a child's cognitive development and problem solving skills are still developing therefore they do not have the same mental capacity as of yet that an adult does. Juveniles are also very susceptible to the pressures around them and with the ever growing crime rate among juveniles and the pressure to fit in bad (regretted) decisions are made. There are

More about Should Juveniles Continue Capital Punishment

Open Document