Capital Punishment in America - Research Paper Example

? Capital Punishment: Can It Reduce Crime in America? Word Count: 1525 (6 pages) Deserving offenders should receive capital punishment. The death penalty is too harsh for these people, considering that their errant actions may be remedied. In addition, death is a suitable punishment for anyone. Last, but not least, public opinion is in favor of violent offenders receiving capital punishment. On March 1, 2005, the Supreme Court abolished capital punishment for juvenile offenders, and in a stunning 5-4 ruling judged it unconstitutional to sentence anyone to death for a crime he or she committed while under 18.1 The fact that these people have the capacity to remedy their actions does not make up for what they did, so they shouldn’t be given a second chance to change their ways. It is argued that children, however, should not be subject to the death penalty—the only exception. “‘From a moral standpoint, it would be misguided to equate the failings of a minor with those of an adult, for a greater possibility exists that a minor's character deficiencies will be reformed,’ Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote in the opinion for the court.”2 In that sense, juveniles should be spared, but adults should not be. “As a child psychologist, [California State Senator Leland Yee, Ph.D., has] firsthand experience with troubled children and understands that they have an extraordinary capacity for rehabilitation. The neuroscience is clear — brain maturation continues well through adolescence and thus impulse control, planning and critical thinking skills are not yet fully developed until adulthood.”3 Thus, a juvenile stands a greater chance of being offered parole or some other opportunity that is an alternative to the standard in a corrections facility. Perhaps the juvenile might be able to enter a program with job training and a sentence reduction in return for good behavior. The main point here is that the juvenile’s actions can show growth and change if allowed time and space to flourish—while an adult has lived much of his or her life already, having made various life choices along the way, many not so wonderful. Further, the death penalty is fitting punishment for an adult, but not for a child. As Mr. Yee pointed out, the youth’s brain is still in a developing stage at age 18 and below. “Without positive interventions to redirect the youth's development, an absence common to so many of the youth who subsequently become involved in serious delinquent or criminal activity, these youth are inappropriately subjected to the ultimate sanction without adequate regard for these mitigating circumstances.”4 Not given the appropriate chance to demonstrate his or her capability to rise above and beyond the limitations placed upon him or her due to the circumstances of a bad upbringing or abuse, a youth is faced with the serious task of having to change behavior or be disciplined for it. The death penalty, therefore, seems like a good answer to deter crime in America. “In Gregg v. Georgia (1976), the U.S. Supreme Court mandated that courts must examine mitigating circumstances when issuing the death penalty. However, most juvenile capital offenders are represented by appointed counsel without the time or resources to sufficiently investigate such mitigating factors as psychiatric history, abuse, or mental capacity.”5 With so many youth having mitigating circumstances, the death penalty is not a viable option. Now, by law, it is definitely not an option to hand down a sentence of capital punishment to juvenile offenders. However, for mentally capable adults, the death penalty is simply a permanent solution that yields results: lower crime rates. Now, while the death penalty for youth would definitely not solve underlying issues that youth may have, this neglects the fact that youth deserve a second chance to prove their worth. Capital punishment would be fundamentally flawed as a punishment for a juvenile offender as it would be a final judgment, and there would be no retracting the punishment once it would be meted out—whereas this is not true for adults. Public opinion in the U.S. demonstrates a significant amount of support for capital punishment, although the public wants it to be meted out with fairness. “The most recent national death penalty poll conducted by the Gallup Organization found that, while the majority of Americans support capital punishment, they oppose executing those who are mentally retarded, mentally ill, or who are juveniles at the time of their crime. Only about half of Americans believe the death penalty is applied fairly. The poll found that 69% of Americans oppose capital punishment for juvenile offenders.”6 Unfortunately, it is obvious that there is not an international consensus abou thte issue. The United States is apparently one of the few that have raised the age for capital punishment. With the advent of Islamic fundamentalist extremism and terrorism, the need for having a death penalty increases—as many times these terrorists are not scared of anything except losing their own lives, and sometimes, not even that. “Al Qaeda has morphed into a fractured network of small terrorist franchises strew across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. In Yemen, according to Senate testimony by Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, a ‘jihadist battleground’ is rising amid growing political upheaval and poverty.”7 Al Qaeda, since it is branching out into the world, still remains a major threat to the U.S. It should continue to be investigated and researched as one of the largest main terror groups of the 21st century. So, what are the patterns of terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda? There are a few identifying characteristics. “What is uniquely worrisome about al-Qaeda is its size, resource base, energy, sophistication, global reach, and inclination to conduct mass casualty attacks. Of particular concern to the United States is that the organization has specifically targeted US assets and the US homeland. There are more aspects that are worrisome about Al Qaeda, which concern illegal immigrants coming over U.S. borders. Moreover, some members and associates of al-Qaeda had been able to gain facilitated entry into the United States and even the US armed forces…Al Qaeda is estimated to have affiliations or operational cells in more than 40 countries.”8 What is disturbing is that Al Qaeda is recruiting illegal immigrants in order to carry out its dirty work. This could potentially be problematic for the United States, if people were recruited to specifically bomb places in the U.S. People have been recruited already, for example, to set off bombs in Europe. As one can imagine, this is alarming for the EU. “The Algerian Ennahar daily quoted European sources as saying that there were a number of signs indicating that al Qaeda is trying to recruit Algerian, Moroccan and African illegal immigrants and ex-cons in Italy, Spain and France in order to use them in suicide attacks throughout Europe.”9 Luckily, it seems that tough penalties are being imposed on illegal immigrants who do commit terrorist acts in the United States. Just recently, on September 1, 2009, “A jury picked life without parole instead of the death penalty for two illegal immigrants convicted of a fatal bombing that killed a hot dog stand vendor in a Las Vegas casino parking lot.”10 The implications of this research is that more must be done to study terrorism so that more knowledge is found about illegal immigrants who gain access to the U.S., and so that both terrorism and illegal immigration can be stopped before they start. According to one report, “…45,008 aliens from countries on the U.S. list of state-sponsors of terror or from countries that protected terrorist organizations and their members, were released into the general public between 2001 and 2005, even though immigration officers couldn't confirm their identity.”11 Border security must become a number one priority in the U.S. if America is going to get serious about keeping illegal immigrants out. According to a former Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado, the U.S. should “…build the fence, a true double fence like we have in San Diego, increase Border Patrol manpower to 25,000, and only then have a national debate about what to do with the 20 million illegal aliens already here.”12 This only strengthens the urgency of the necessity of those who have the power, to try to influence public opinion on matters of such important international interest—hopefully encouraging the public to be more in favor of the death penalty, especially to protect U.S. national security. Capital punishment of deserving offenders is a serious discussion that must not be entered into lightly. It is of singular importance that one understands that: the death penalty is not too brusque and austere of a judgment to place upon an adult; capital punishment is not a befitting punishment for youth; and public opinion is highly in favor of capital punishment for adults, especially when terrorism is involved. We need to make sure that the U.S. is a safer country for everyone by making sure that not only the borders are secure, but that the U.S. takes a firm stance on issues such as the death penalty. This lets the enemies of the U.S. know that it is serious when it comes to such issues and will not tolerate terrorism in any shape or form. REFERENCES Conetta, C. Dislocating Alcyoneus: How to Combat Al Qaeda and the New Terrorism. Retrieved 3 Aug 2011. Available: http://ow.ly/p52f The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Facts, Figures, and Statistics on Illegal Immigration. Retrieved 3 Aug 2011. Available: http://ow.ly/p55o Johnson, K. Weakened Al Qaeda is Still a Threat. Retrieved 3 Aug 2011. Available: http://ow.ly/p4ZZ Jury Recommends Life Sentence for Bombers. Retrieved 3 Aug 2011. Available: http://ow.ly/p53S Lane, Charles. 5-4 Supreme Court Abolishes Juvenile Executions. Retrieved 3 Aug 2011, from The Washington Post Company Web Site: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62584-2005Mar1.html. Report: Al Qaeda Seeks to Recruit Illegal Immigrants in Europe. Retrieved 3 Aug 2011. Available: http://ow.ly/p53i Tancredo, T. Commentary: Immigration Debate Without True Border Security is a Fraud. Retrieved 3 Aug 2011. Available: http://ow.ly/p57F Tuell, John A. Juvenile Offenders and the Death Penalty. Retrieved 3 Aug 2011, from The Child Welfare League of America Web Site: http://www.cwla.org/programs/juvenilejustice/juveniledeathpenalty.htm. Yee, Leland. Reforming Life Sentences for Youth Offenders in California. Retrieved 3 Aug 2011, from The California Progress Report Web Site: http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/04/reforming_life.html. Read More