The death penalty is meant to deter strongly all the other people who have intentions of committing heinous crimes. Since man began dominating the earth, one of the most things he fears is death because of the uncertainty of what happens after it. Without the death penalty, society will somehow be helpless to capital offenders, because of no or minimal punishment that will be administered to them. Therefore death penalty deters those who would be offenders of murder to think twice. Proponents of the death penalty feel that at age 18, a person has enough experience and exposure concerning life, the laws that govern the land, spirituality, and the value of fellow human beings.
On the other hand, social scientists are the chief opponents who believe that at 18, a person is still an adolescent who has not fully developed his/her cognitive abilities, emotions, judgment, and impulse and is less able to assess the risks involved and control their anger. This means that they are still children. Psychologists opposed to the death penalty have time and again continued to provide new data to show that at 18, one is still limited in terms of reasoning and decision making. They say that an18 years, it is hard to cut the line and judge if someone is an adult or a juvenile (Wiener and Monica 1). In the year 2005, the Supreme Court of the US outlawed the execution of inmates on death row who were 18 years and below by the time they committed their crimes. According to the ruling, about 72 inmates were removed immediately from the death row across the prison facilities of America. This ruling brought a debate that has caused divisions in the justice and social system of America. Most opponents of this ruling were known to come from activism groups whose members were from families of murder victims. But in his notes, Justice Anthony Kennedy remarked that the 18th year is the epoch where lines are drawn in the society for many ventures in the human lifetime. It shows that one has crossed over from childhood and gone into the adulthood stage where one is eligible to face the law (Tisch ). It is at this point that the eligibility for the death penalty should find respite.
There are also humanitarian and religious groups that oppose the death penalty on the ground that none has the authority to take anotherâs life by all means. A section of Christians has always advocated for a hard punishment as opposed to capital punishment. They always insist that all human beings are the same and that none should be given the mandate to judge others, other than the Supreme God. In the Bible, it is written that hard punishment can get rid of evil and a thorough whipping can change evil hearts (Prov. 20:30). This verse and other verses from the Bible do not crusade for the death penalty as a means of punishment. The Bible has often been used as a reference point to guide our social life and at times has some force in the justice system. If the Creator wanted human beings to use the capital sentence, then He should have advocated for it. This is why the death penalty should be eliminated, not just to 18-year-olds but to other offenders as well. According to a report done by Amnesty International, the United States, China, Sudan, Iraq, Iran, and Pakistan are countries that have the highest figures for death penalties for 18-year-olds (Amnesty International). Mark Elliot, chairman of a volunteer group, Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, opposes this (1). At 18 years, someone is too young to know what is right or wrong. More so, someone could be very innocent but because of legal flaws could land someone this death penalty. The volunteer group feels that no state has the power to exert such terrible judgment on a person because once administered it can not be reversed. Capital punishment has also been used in racial wars. It is widely believed that the death penalty targets black Americans and other minor races. In the history books, for example, the last time a white man was killed for killing a person from a minority group in Florida was 1786! (Tisch 2) About 66% of the executions in the State of Kentuckyâs history were black. In the US alone, all those who raped or attempted rape and were executed are black. Almost 60% of the inmates on death row in the US are from the black or the minority groups and 15% of them committed their crimes at 18 years (Tisch 1). Thus the race factor has not favored the 18-year-old blacks as well. According to the government, 18-year-old inmates on the death penalty are a danger to themselves and those who surround them (Ismoilov 12). They may commit suicide, kill their fellow inmates, commit violent acts against the authority or even attempt breaking out of prison because they do not understand their crimes fully. When released these hardened prisoners may be a threat to society after going through the jail system. They may commit even worse crimes after being paroled and released lawfully into society. But this does not always apply to all of them. Psychologists believe that over time, the human heart is bound to change and become remorseful. 18-year-olds are just âchildrenâ who are growing up and they can change with proper counseling. There are those who exceptionally fit into the society fully reformed and ready to help in law enforcement and willing to counsel the teenagers. By advocating their views concerning the death penalty, psychologists have managed to change some governmentsâ hardened position concerning the death penalty (Okongo 150). Capital punishment opponents believe that as children grow, they should be taught to fear and have a very high value for all the laws that govern the land, and more often they should be taught of their consequences. Every child that comes forth onto the face of the earth has nothing on his mind, no experience or notions that are preconceived. This means that they also do not have any idea about what is right or wrong. Despite these, parents should teach them some important lessons about life when they grow up. They learn to appreciate but due to the loopholes in the society, the law itself, and the parents reacting incorrectly to different situations, the children learn to disrespect the rules and lose the fear they have for the consequences. For the reason why the punishments for 18-year-olds should be lighter since they have not yet learned enough.
Proponents to the death penalty say that the Bible advocates for all parents to punish their children. It says that punishing children will get foolishness out of them (Prov 22:15). As they grow, they try to test all the loopholes in society to see how they will be punished. When the justice system does not react accordingly, they tend to get out of hand with the notion that “if I did not get punished for that one, most probably none will banish me for this crime” for the reason why the death penalty should be here. They should be made to be responsible for all their words and actions since at 18 one is viewed as an adult in society and is expected by it to make a liable judgment concerning all issues that pertain to his/her own life. Statistics show that between the years 1973 and 2000, about 54% of the death penalty cases for 18-year-olds have been reversed in Kentucky State. Out of the remaining, only 12% are on death row while the rest are in litigation. Only three have faced the penalty (Juvenile death penalty facts 4). Recent studies have shown that there are more people who are opposing the death penalty for 18-year-olds because of their unreasonable judgment. In a recent survey done by the UK Survey Research Center, about 1100 people the age 18 and over were interviewed. It was found out that a paltry 15% supported the death penalty for 18-year-olds. This shows that there is evolving decency in our society concerning the death penalty (Juvenile death penalty facts 8). Psychologists can generate fresh research outcomes by examining “evolving standards of decency.” Although such data may be of no use in federal courts they try to calculate the compromise on the death penalty on 18-year-olds. Despite that, this information may be of use to the US Congress, state courts, and the legislature, and they may use it to reform the law (Wierner 1).
A lot of taxpayer money has been spent on the prison services, investigating, and sentencing of inmates. The death penalty will serve as a relief to the prison systems since they get rid of health, food, housing, and rehabilitation expenses among others. The use of the death penalty will deter many a criminal from committing murder crimes and therefore a relief to the prison services since they will be decongested. The expense of maintaining one prisoner a year is almost 35 thousand US dollars (Ismoilov 12). Despite this, the other side of the expenses spent to get a death penalty onto the books costs about $50 million dollars. This money could have been otherwise spent on helping the families of the victims and enforcing the law to prevent more crime incidents from occurring (Ismoilov 14).
Works Cited
Amnesty International. United States of America: the death penalty and juvenile offenders. New York: Amnesty International Publications. 2007. Inspirational Bible. Proverbs 20:30.Word Publishing.1987.
Ismoilov, Sukhrobjon. Analytic Report: Abolition of Death Penalty in Uzbekistan.Capital Punishment in Uzbekistan. 2008. Web.
Tisch, Chris. âDeath Penaltyâ. St Petersburg Times Online. (Petersburg) 2005. Tisch, Chris. âFlorida Death Penalty Opponent Lists Reasonsâ. St Petersburg Times. (Petersburg) 2008.
Okongo, James. The Abolishment of the Death Penalty in Kenya. Nairobi: Jomo Kenyatta Foundation, 2007.150 Wiener, Richard, and Monica K. Miller. Death Penalty for 18 year olds? Monitor on Pychology.