Capital Punishment And Juvenile Punishment - 1631 Words

Capital punishment is the term used when an individual is put to death by the state or government for the commission of a crime. Until recently, juveniles were not exempt from this punishment, however they would generally need to commit a more serious offense compared to their adult counterpart. Then there was the decision ruling the execution of mentally handicapped individuals was unconstitutional, using the 8th amendment as their authority, while taking into account the diminished capacity of the individual. Succeeding that ruling, in 2005 the Supreme Court ruled that putting a child to death was unconstitutional using the 8th amendment as their rationalization, and the juvenile’s lack of maturity as one of the reasoning. I have chosen†¦show more content†¦This subject is also important because much like many other issues, even though it is considered obsolete at the moment, it may not always be that way. The Supreme Court ruling in the 2005 case that ruled juvenil e executions unconstitutional, passed by a majority of five to four. Since that time we have had two of the five majority leave the Court, two of the minority leave, and added four new justices, including the chief justice. This is important to this subject because the ruling was made based on the interpretation of the information by nine individuals. If this ruling is ever challenged again, we may see a different outcome, thus having a need for research on the topic. By researching the broader subject matter of capital punishment, I am able to collect data from adult cases and compare them the juvenile equivalent, while at the same time evaluate theories that may have fallen short in research for adults, such as deterrence, and determine if they would apply to younger offenders. I will be able to do this by using data prior to the 2005 Supreme Court case which ruled juvenile capital punishment unconstitutional, and comparing it to data in the years following. I will also be able to evaluate the data where the death penalty could have been used prior to 2005, but was not, and compare that to more recent data of juvenile being sentenced to life without parole. Evaluating cases warranting the death penalty compared