Thompson v Oklahoma 1988 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Thompson v Oklahoma 1988 - Essay Example Even advocates of death penalty can hold that executing minors is wrong and undeserved. Most juvenile offenders have a history of bad and abusive childhoods and have not had the chance to make peace with their experiences or lead normal lives. They also do not have a sufficient understanding of death as minors tend to think of themselves as invincible. Therefore, a threat of capital punishment would not really deter juveniles from committing crimes. The government should instead focus on instigating changes is the society so that neighborhoods would turn up less violent individuals instead of imposing the most extreme punishment. Then there's the concept of justice and retribution to justify execution for juveniles. Minors do not fully understand the repercussions and seriousness of their acts, so they do not deserve this. The age, level of maturity, and childhood history should be taken into consideration when deciding a person's punishment. Those who argue the opposite strike me as too unsympathetic. Proponents for using capital punishment for minors maintain that even juveniles are capable of understanding the consequences of their actions and should therefore be held accountable for it.