Pros And Cons Of Giving Juveniles A Death Penalty

In most of the societies, children have to reach a certain age in order to be held accountable for all the decisions that they make. The main issue with this is that children can get away with murder, rape, treason and other heinous crimes that would otherwise be regarded as capital offenses. If the accused child is tried in the court of law, the death penalty is usually out of question (Jane, 2011).

The big question here is; should the juveniles be given a death penalty? Is it fair for them to walk away with such a crime? Pros of Giving Juveniles a Death Sentence

First, this is a potential crime deterrent. Majority of the minors clearly understand that they can be able to walk away from a big crime without their adult lives being affected

State legislatures represent the peoples’ will and are thereby responsible for the formulation of law (Jane, 2011).

It would also stop the young offenders from being adult offenders. Majority of the juvenile offenders who commit heinous crimes, end up committing even more serious crimes when they are grown- ups. By coming up with the death penalties for most serious crimes, this transitional process of crime would come to an end and thereby protecting the society at large.

Finally, it would save the justice system money. When these juvenile offenders become adult offenders, all the trials, prison and all the charges they incur will continue to increase, of which it is the taxpayers who are responsible of paying. With death penalty, it would mean that there is only a single trial and cost to cater for. The Cons of Subjecting Juveniles to Death Penalty

Children do not understand the idea of action and the consequences. Majority of the minors do not get the idea of one action leading to an outcome that will result into serious consequences. This logic can only be realized if the teen reaches a certain

Death penalty for juvenile may not necessarily result into justice. For instance, who’s faulty is it? The parent who raised the child or the child? As much as putting a juvenile to death may bring transition of a crime to an end, the core issue that the society is going through will not be settled. In most of the cases, it is the parents who fail to do their duties (Graham, 2014).

Such an act is considered wrong in most of the cases. For instance, it is wrong to charge a juvenile with a capital offense. Even if this was legal, many would see the act as ethically wrong. This is due to the fact that children can easily adapt to new environment and therefore have better chances of rehabilitating.

The death penalty for the juveniles is one of the most controversial ongoing debates in the criminal justice system. Passions run equally high on both sides of the debate. By weighing the advantages and disadvantages of this issue, there is one thing that is clear: all the sides want to see justice served (Graham, 2014).

Death Penalty for Juveniles is