Should teens that murder be given the death penalty?

Answer 1

No. The US Supreme Court ruled in Roper v. Simmons,(2005) that it is unconstitutional to execute an offender for crimes committed while under the age of 18.

This overturned two relatively recent rulings in Thompson v. Oklahoma, 487 US 815 (1988) and Stanford v. Kentucky,492 US 361 (1989) that declared executing someone for capital crimes committed while under the age of 16 was a violation of the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, but that executing someone who was at least 16 at the time the crime was committed was constitutional.

The decision in Roper v. Simmons, (2005), overturned death penalty laws in 25 states.

The last known execution of a juvenile in the US was 17-year-old Leonard Shockley, who was put to death in 1959.

The last person to be executed for a crime committed as a juvenile was Scott Allen Hain, in 2003.

Answer 2

NO because juveniles or kids their to young and their minds are not well develop

Another View: In theory I would agree with the above answer - however - I believe that juveniles ABOVE a certain age (e.g.: 15-16 years) ARE sophisticated and developed enough to know and understand the consequences of their actions, and should be eligible for consideration for the death penalty depending on the circumstances of their offense.

Answer 3

Yes, children may receive the death penalty depending on the crime, state, and child in question and only if the child is tried as an adult.

Answer 4

This, of course, is a philosophical discussion question, but in my opinion, yes. A teen, unless ajudged mentally incompetent, is fully aware of the consequences of their actions.

Answer 5

Juveniles can not receive the death penalty in the United States, as decided by the Supreme Court in the case of Roper v Simmons.

Answer 6

No. The US Supreme Court found that executing a juvenile is unconstitutional in Roper v. Simmons in 2004.

Answer 7

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