The Other Point of View
An opinion piece in the Bowling Green Daily News in Kentucky, tackles the debate about juveniles and the death penalty...arguing that the Supreme Court should rule in favor of executing 16- and 17-year-olds who commit murder. Here are a few arguements made by the author:-
What kind of message does it send juveniles who commit murders if they know they would not face the death penalty?
Obviously the presence of the death penalty doesn’t deter all murders. It is likely, however, that many are deterred, something that is impossible to measure.
How do you tell murder victims’ families that society devalues the crime somewhat if the killer is under 18?
Juveniles who are 16 or 17 are fully conscious of the acts they commit. They are old enough to know the difference between right and wrong and therefore deserve no special treatment. Moreover, their victims are just as dead despite the killers’ age.
Posted by katherine at 01:38 AM
Comments
Katherine,
Do you know or love someone that is a Juvenile that has been charged with capital murder?
Please go attend a jury selection for a juvenile capital murder, or any capital murder where they are seeking the death penalty.
Talk to the families on both sides.
Maybe visit someone on death row, or attend an execution.
Then you will have the knowledge to form an objective opinion. If you have no experience with the criminal justice system and how they handle these types of cases, you don't have the basic information you need to make a comment on the death penalty. You only know what you have been told by others...and they would like to hide the facts.
Posted by: Barbara Acuna at October 22, 2004 09:00 AM
Hi Barbara, I appreciate you writing your comments on the blog. This is exactly it's purpose and it's great to know it's being utilized in the right way.
I am one of the main contributors to the blog, and each week I try to sift through the news to post relevant material. I found the article from the Bowling Green Daily News (the "other point of view") rather unsettling, as the author seemed to raise more questions than present good arguements for his/her case. This was a rare perspective for me to post. Thank you for sharing your story.
Posted by: katherine at October 22, 2004 08:44 PM
