chance to grow up and mature and move onfrom this difficult time in their life. The second reasonopposers hold is that kids of the age we are referring toare not deterred from crime by the death penalty becausethey have “little realistic understanding of death andinstead tend to see themselves as immortal” (2000). Thirdly, opposers believe we must try and start at the rootof the problem and improve societal conditions and ourneighborhoods (2000). Lastly, another popular view comesfrom the Thompson case where one justice commented that“...executing [Thompson] eliminates all prospects ofrehabilitation and affords no more protection for societythan secured imprisonment” (Ricotta, 1988). This reasonbasically charges the death penalty with giving up on ouryouth and not offering the chance to reform themselves.The youngest juvenile executed by the government was ayoung boy in the country of Yemen (Executions, 2000). Hewas only thirteen. And while this may seem out of touch forour society we must look at the pros and cons of this issueand evaluate our punishment of juveniles. If we do not, itwill be only a matter of time before our thirteen year oldsare so out of control to the point where a jury will vote“yes” to take that boy’s life away. To date, the youngestjuvenile executed in the U.S. was Sean Sellers of Oklahoma. He was executed in early 1999 for a crime he committed whenhe was sixteen years old (Promises, 1999). With thePresidential election coming up as well we need consider theimplications that might take place if the Governor of Texas,the state that executes more juveniles than any other statein our nation becomes elected. What will this mean for thenation? This brief overview of the juvenile death penaltyshould help awaken us to some of the issues and futureimplications that are associated with this issue. ...
