The Supreme Court heard oral arguments concerning the juvenile death penalty today. I wish that I had more time to spend giving my thoughts, alas. I do think that there needs to be a bright line rule that under 18 is too young to be culpable. I am sure there are some of the juveniles on death row who are culpable, however, I think that for a few reasons 18 needs to be the cut off for the death penalty (if we are forced to have a death penalty). My reasons are mainly that medical/psychological research shows that there is a difference between adolescents, as far as mental development, and adults. Also it would provide uniformity with civil law and uniformity for states imposing the death penalty across the country. Finally, I think that the juvenile death penalty is a bad thing for society.
If you want to read some good conversations about this case, which is a great case this term, then check out these:
Ad Populum
Julian's Lounge
US Justice's Skeptical about Juvenile Death Penalty
Crescat Sententia
SCOTUS Blog
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Roper v. Simmons
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