why are death penalties under the age of 18 unconstitutional?
146360
Kids have been tried as adults, depending on the severity of the crime.\n\nAnd, if you think about it, life in prison is a death sentence.
514336
In some cases the age of the person is of little consequence and someone age 14 was tried and convicted as an adult for murder...and in Texas a kid age 15 was tried and convicted for Aggravated Assault on school grounds, he received 5 years in an adult prison.
240856
Yes, there is so much lobbying for human rights in this country that people who need to be locked up are set free, or given very light sentences.  Longer/more severe sentences would not only keep them off the streets longer, but they would make people more afraid of commiting the crime.  This is why the death penalty works, it scares people.
600447
Yes, for 2 reasons - they made their choice when they took a life & why should we as taxpayers pay to fed, clothe, educate & guard life sentence criminals.\nIn our state it is rarely given - must be cruel - like all murder is not cruel. Murderers forfeit their right to live.\nMy brother was murdered while buying a gallon of milk during robbery. They got the death penalty but it was overturned & they get out this year his 3 children are not even out of college yet. They grew up without him.
884151
If the severity of punishment were a real and viable tool, then the death penalty should have worked years ago.  The fact of that matter is, it deters no one.  People still commit murder all of the time. All you can do (after the fact) is lock them up without possibility of parole.
421249
I'm not totally opposed to the idea, but you gotta remember that in the old days, these punishments were meted out on site and without the benefit of "interference" from an impartial judicial system.  While "eye for an eye" would certainly cause some criminals to take a closer look at their actions, it would still have to be administered carefully and minimally, much in the way the death penalty is handled today.
13803
No, it does not make us a better nation ,but, if properly utilized it may create a safer nation! In reality we do not utilize capital punishment as very few convicted criminals are ever sentenced to death, and even, when sentenced to death, automatic appeals prevent the timely execution of criminals.  Therefore, capital punishment is not a deterrent.  How strange that people rally to prevent the execution of murderers but demand the right to continue killing more unborn babies. Here in the US we have "legally" sacrificed more babies, numerically, than the individuals exterminated by the Nazi regime of Adolph Hitler. Yet we dare to call ourselves a moral, civilized nation. If we decide to give capital crime offenders life imprisonment without the possibility of parole maybe we should at least require that life be given to inutero individuals, unless the life of the mother is at risk.
472543
I actually can´t give you a why NOT , If a person is brave enough to commit ADULT like crimes then they should be tried like adult criminals making exemptions will only make them think they can do whatever they want and keep on with a bad behavior and become worse , like here teens under 16 can not go to jail indeed they do whatever they please. a young criminal (26) said he would have prefered to have a severe punishment earlier so he would have learned his lesson now he can be proud of having a large criminal history from drugs to murder.
790491
i think so. if the minor understood what they were doing and knew what the outcome would be then yes they should be tried as adults.  there areway to many young people out killing each other and know they can get away with it, because they will go to juvie and be out when they are 18.  i say lock them up with the adults so they can truly learn a lesson.
724891
Male 48\n\nWhen you commit certain crimes, you need to be punished. At a certain point, you have forfeited your right to live in society. Some crimes are bad enough that the perpetrator deseves to lose their life.\n\nThere is no reason to keep such criminals alive. Why should we have to pay for them to stay in jail?
217508
Mandatory minimums in sentencing do not help society... Determining appropriate punishment and duration of prison terms is something for Judges to do, not for the District Attorney's office to decide at the time of filing charges.\nMinimum sentencing requirements can backfire and lead to juries finding "Not Guilty" in cases where a "Guilty " verdict would be right just because the accused is young, or likeable or the jury for some reason does not want to see that person sentenced to a long prison term\nLet the DA file charges\nLet the Jury determine Guilt or Innocence\nand\nLet Judges decide sentencing.\nPlease take our criminal justice system out of the hands of politicians.
956193
Many states have the death penalty. The problem is the sentences aren't carried out enough.
68751
The death penalty has existed in America since Europeans first settled here and has already been on the books since, at least at the federal level. The Supreme Court found the way capital cases were sentenced was unconstitutional, and thus between 1973 and 1976, the death penalty laws were unenforced. In 1977, the Supreme Court found a revised method of sentencing to pass muster, and thus they were allowed to resume, but there was no law passed, per se, that made it resume.
36791
Because most people in the USA believe in punishment, and many believe in the notion of "an eye for an eye" for murder. \n\nEven in the face of some high visibility questioning of the fairness or accuracy of the death penalty, it is still very difficult politically to gain the momentum to end the death penalty.
277781
I think that if children are in there teens and they have committed a capitol crime (i.e murder and NOT in self defense) then they should be tried has an adult. Teens should know that murder or other capital crimes is wrong.
161982
I totally agree with your own opinion, there's not much more I can add to that. I view all humans no matter what age as being a real person and it sickens me when some certain people in this country try to say that a baby is any less of a person than an adult, and thus get less rights making it legal to kill them.
134866
The same logic that allows an 18 to go to war, but not to drink until they are 21. It's retarded, my daughter had the same deal when she was 18. It's asinine.