Miami
Herald
Rosalynn
Carter Calls for End to Juvenile Death Penalty
In
a recent opinion piece published in The Miami Herald, former First
Lady Rosalynn Carter called on Florida and other states that
continue to sentence juvenile offenders to death to abandon the
practice, noting that it �violates current principles of American
justice.� Carter stated that America could soon be the last nation
on Earth to execute juvenile offenders, and that the U.S. is one of
only two nations that have not ratified the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child. Carter wrote:
�Our
country has sought to protect juveniles in almost every facet of
their life, enacting laws prohibiting those younger than 18 years
old from using alcohol or cigarettes, entering into contracts,
voting or serving in armed combat. We spend millions on
drug-prevention outreach and sex education in our schools. Yet, when
it comes to the most serious of crimes committed by juveniles, we
fail to acknowledge their lessened culpability and inflict the
severest of punishments.
�Adolescents
are not adults. They lack full capacity to reason, control impulses
and understand consequences. They do not handle social pressures and
other stresses like adults do and therefore, are less culpable than
adults who commit crimes. Scientific studies demonstrate their
lessened responsibility. We previously believed that the brain was
fully developed by age 14, but recent studies have revealed that it
continues to mature until the early 20s.
�We
also know that the frontal lobe, which controls the brain's most
complex functions -- particularly reasoning -- undergoes more change
during adolescence than at any other time. It is the last part of
the brain to develop.
�Such
findings have led the American Psychiatric Association, the American
Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Society
of Adolescent Psychiatry to oppose the death penalty for juveniles.
�If
adolescents who grow up in warm and loving environments cannot fully
reason or control their impulses as research has shown, then abused
children suffer immense emotional and developmental disadvantages. A
2003 study found that on average, juveniles on Death Row have had
multiple experiences of physical or sexual abuse, substance abuse,
mental disorders or are living in poverty. An earlier study of 14
juveniles sentenced to death found that 12 had been physically or
sexually abused, some at the hands of relatives. We as a society
have failed to protect or treat these children and are ill prepared
to deal with them when some of them commit horrible crimes.
�Acknowledging
the lesser culpability of juvenile offenders does not minimize the
suffering and impact upon their victims' families. Tragically, there
are juveniles who commit terrible crimes. But punishment is to be
imposed according to the degree of culpability of the offender.
.
. .
�I hope the Supreme Court will rule later this year when it hears
the case of Roper vs. Simmons that juvenile executions are
unconstitutional 'cruel and unusual punishment.' Meanwhile, the
American public should send a message to the court through their
state legislatures that ''evolving standards of decency'' do not
tolerate executing juvenile offenders.�
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