No death penalty for minors in US [Archive]

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budda

01-03-2005, 04:01 PM

ShyBoy

01-03-2005, 04:09 PM

The US supreme court has just abolished the death penalty for those who committed murder under the age of 18.

Surely good news, but really scary that up untill now it was still going on.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4308881.stm

Thank God for that.

http://web.amnesty.org/pages/deathpenalty-children-eng

The USA carried out 19 [child] executions – more than any other country.

Man Of Kent

01-03-2005, 04:41 PM

Just the over-18s left now then...

Aladdin

01-03-2005, 04:48 PM

What about those with a mental age of a child? They were still happily frying them up recently.

twisted_trinity

01-03-2005, 06:29 PM

i hate to think how many inocent people have been killed. call me nieve but it seems much less of inocent until proven guilty more of we've got a guy what are you complaining about?

morrocan roll

01-03-2005, 08:44 PM

undemocratic and fascist regeimes all execute their citezens.

xmizzcattyx

01-03-2005, 09:19 PM

such a wonderful step in the right direction

Born Slippy

01-03-2005, 10:05 PM

I have no sympathy for murderers and rapists who await execution in a Texas death house. Their age, unlike their mental state is not important. I am more concerned by the brutal legal torture that is systematically used in American prisons across the continent. Revealed in a documentary tonight on channel four.

budda

02-03-2005, 09:44 AM

Tommo100

02-03-2005, 08:08 PM

I think it depends what it did.

I dont many would have complained had them 2 from Columbine been executed had they not killed themselves

Shogun

03-03-2005, 12:19 AM

At least it's a step forward in the right direction, they've got to stop killing people somewhere.

IsoberImswear

03-03-2005, 12:46 AM

i think that killing someone for killing someone is rediculous. what the hell kind of lesson does that teach? and also i think that forcing somone to think about what they did every day of thir life is the worst kind of punishment you can give.

Indrid Cold

03-03-2005, 12:50 AM

When you kill someone, you don't punish him/her. You punish their relatives, who for all you know have done nothing.

IsoberImswear

03-03-2005, 12:58 AM

When you kill someone, you don't punish him/her. You punish their relatives, who for all you know have done nothing.

i agree, i should have thought of that before...

MrG

03-03-2005, 04:01 AM

at least america now can complain about human rights abuses

budda

03-03-2005, 10:27 AM

at least america now can complain about human rights abuses

Yes, because under age death penalties were the only issue of human rights abuses in the US.

Aladdin

03-03-2005, 10:36 AM

at least america now can complain about human rights abuses
They'd need to stop the appalling abuse in their own jails first.

Not to mention the crimes against humanity being committed in Guantanmo Bay.

Namaste

03-03-2005, 02:01 PM

So you would be happy to see a 16 year old executed?
Funny because in this country a 16 year old can join the army.

Man Of Kent

03-03-2005, 06:10 PM

Funny because in this country a 16 year old can join the army.

Not allowed into a war zone at that age though. Although it's only a year later...

Man Of Kent

03-03-2005, 06:21 PM

This story (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7051912/) gives a little mre details about why the court made this decision. And it was a close call...

This chart (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/exe.htm) shows the trends in executions antionally in the US. Worth noting that the Good Ol Boys of Texas kill more of their own citizen than anywhere else in the US...

Namaste

04-03-2005, 02:45 AM

Not allowed into a war zone at that age though. Although it's only a year later...
Well at 17 you're still not old enough to drink or buy pornography... You can't even have some types of bank accounts. Effectively, you're still a child.

Mushy24

04-03-2005, 05:33 PM

I work with kids on probation. I have to say that I have really seen some wild cases too, however, I have to agree with most of you - the death penalty for kids is WRONG! The juvenile justice system is supposed to be geared more toward rehabilitation than punsihment. Most of the kids I deal with are brought up in an environment where NO ONE gives a shit about them or sets any type of expectations or guidelines - how can you expect someone like that to be a normally functioning member of society. I know that it happens and some kids break the cycle and are able to get out of that type of life style - however - most of these kids look up to gang members and drug dealers (usually their own relatives). What do you do when your role models are criminals?

Kermit

04-03-2005, 05:52 PM

Some people don't deserve to be alive. Once you are about eleven you know what you are doing is wrong, so you need to take teh consequences of your actions.

I'm against the death penalty because of cost, mistakes and the fact that keeping these vermin alive is a worse punishment, as evidenced by the way so many murderers on life want to kill themselves.

loki

04-03-2005, 06:16 PM

some thougths from america:

to give people, who are imperfect, the power to choose who lives and dies seems quite ludicrous to me.

to give the state that power is even scarier.

the supreme court decision is good, but does not go far enough.

picka is right on--our prisons are a freaking disgrace, and our young people are learning more about crime than they arebeing rehabilitated.

texas, with the highest rate of executions in the country, also has one of the highest homicide rates as well as the most liberal handgun laws in the country. so much for the death penalty as a deterrent.

Born Slippy

04-03-2005, 06:35 PM

keeping these vermin alive is a worse punishment, as evidenced by the way so many murderers on life want to kill themselves.
Your first points are valid but the third is nonsense. If so many murderers serving life want to kill themselves then how come so few do? Anyone can commit suicide in prison, just look at Harold Shipman.

Kermit

04-03-2005, 07:02 PM

If so many murderers serving life want to kill themselves then how come so few do? Anyone can commit suicide in prison, just look at Harold Shipman.

Shipman, West, Brady, Sutcliffe, Huntley. To name the high-profile cases; there have been so many more to name. Go and look at the Howard League.

Most murderers won't serve life, also. It makes a difference.