defending public safety. In 1987 four states amended their statues that the minimum age that a person may be put to death. Indiana and Kentucky rose their age to 16, North Carolina raised it to 17 and Maryland to 18. In 1989 Stanford v. Kentucky and Wilkens v. Missouri the Supreme Court decided that the death penalty could be used on those who were mentally retarded or underage (but 16 years and over) at the time of the killing. 41 A trend that the Supreme Court is following is making a cut back on the appeals that death row inmates could make to the federal courts. Despite strong opposition in 1998 from national and international human rights leaders, three juvenile offenders were executed this year, two in Texas and one in Virginia, the first such executions since 1993. Virtually all of the other countries in the world refrain from executing those who were under 18 at the time of their crime. Two men suffering from mental retardation were executed this year. Four foreign nationals were also executed this year, three of whom challenged that they were not informed of their rights under the Vienna Convention to consult with their consulate at the time of their arrest. 42 I feel strongly toward using the death penalty as punishment for unspeakable crimes. I do not feel that it serves as a deterrent to crimes but I do feel that the law whether capital punishment or life with out parole does serve as a guarantee that punishment is certain and severe. If we lived in a society with out consequences of punishment for violations of what society deems as wrong we would live in an even more chaotic society....
