nd amendments in trying juveniles as adults are in effect, the final resort of deterrence to these heinous juvenile acts is whether the death penalty should be enforced. In 1989, Frank W. Heft Jr., who opposes the death penalty for minors, and David Smith, who is for the death penalty, argued two cases in which teens had been sentenced to death. Heft states that “the imposition of the death penalty does not advance the deterrence and retribution rationales of capital punishment” and “Adolescents respond to stressful situations by acting impulsively and without the mature judgement expected of adults. These characteristics are shared by all adolescents…thus, the possibility of capital punishment is meaningless to juveniles and has no deterrent effect” (Heft & Smith 42). Subsequently, in 1993, Senator Paul Simon was unsuccessful to motion an amendment that would outlaw capital punishment for juveniles under eighteen years old. Again Senator Orrin Hatch led the voting to kill the Simon Amendment (Idelson 3129). Heft Jr. is merely saying that since the juvenile doesn’t fully understand their actions nor the repercussions that follow, thus capital punishment will not deter violent juvenile offenses. On the other hand, David Smith contests that “it is unrealistic to assume that all persons belonging to this age group share the same degree of immaturity. Common human experience indicates that maturity varies from individual to individual” (Heft & Smith 43). It is quite apparent that by this assumption Smith is saying that such cases should be tried on a case to case basis. Also, the judgement should be based by factoring the sophistication and maturity level of each individual along with the severity of the crime. In conclusion, it is quite obvious that the continuous rise of violent juvenile crime is increasing each year. The criminal sanctioning of juvenile offenders is not a con...
