Thousands and thousands of different crimes are committed every year in the United States. There is also a selection of different punishments that a person can be subjected to for their crimes. The decision ultimately rests with the justice system. Crimes can be punishable by fines, jail or prison, community service, the list goes on. In the United States, one of the most severe and controversial forms of punishment is known as capital punishment. Sarat states that in the 20th century, over 7,000 people in the United States were executed while 3,000 were on death row awaiting their execution (2001). What becomes even more of a subjective topic is only accentuated when we articulate the idea that minors should be part of that statistic. The course of human events and sciences has caused the alteration of laws and regulations. The earliest evidence of capital punishment can be traced back to Jamestown, Virginia when the English carried out hangings and firing squads in the 1600s. Dwankowski states that it was not until the Declaration of Independence was signed that people involved such as Dr. Benjamin Rush ( creator of the Palestinian Authority prison system), Benjamin Franklin and William Bradford believed that capital punishment was not applicable to all crimes ( 2017). In 1794, the state of PA was the first to formulate degrees of homicide. First-degree murder was also the only crime punishable by death. The 19th century brought many changes that one would not expect regarding the death penalty. There was an air among the populations of wanting to abolish the death penalty. The cruel and unusual punishments practiced by past generations were those of the Jacksonia era and required change (2017). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The use of the gallows was a thing of the past at this point, and states that practiced capital punishment were seeking more humane methods of execution. Immediately afterwards, the number of those sentenced to death was reduced and consequently the state penitentiaries were created. Between 1834 and 1888, numerous changes toward capital punishment were made throughout the United States. Pennsylvania moved public executions to penitentiaries, Tennessee and Alabama abolished them entirely, and Michigan abolished them completely except for the crime of treason (2017). As the United States advanced into the 20th century, the position on the death penalty fluctuated wildly before quickly beginning to stabilize. A historic decision was made in 1960, when the death penalty was declared unconstitutional under the 8th Amendment (2017). From this point on, states where the death penalty was not outlawed submitted cases to the Supreme Court in which variables such as jury discretion, other recommendations, and impartiality were discussed. According to the FBI, in 2015, 15,696 murders, 90,185 rapes and 327,374 robberies were committed (2016). The Department of Justice (DOJ) was able to provide a more specific set of findings. Of these heinous crimes committed, 790 murders and 18,500 robberies were committed by minors (2018). Of the murders and robberies committed in the United States in those years, 5% were committed by people under the age of 18. Unfortunately, youth statistics for the crime of rape are not available after the year 2012. This is because in early 2013, the FBI had changed the criteria and specific definition of the term rape. The term “forced” was removed and statements regarding vaginal penetration with a foreign object or genitals were added (2016). Roper v.Simmons was a case that occurred in 1993. At the time, a 17-year-old male named Christopher Simmons had planned and committed capital murder. Over the next 10 years, the had filed numerous appeals at both the state and federal levels (Cornell, 2005). During the trial that followed Simmons turned 18 and was sentenced to death. Based on a previous case raised (Atkins v. Virginia), it was decided to initiate a second review of the case. The case Atkins v. Virginia reflects that of the 8th and 14th Amendments regarding the execution of mentally retarded persons. This was a violation of this principle because the Americans believed that it was a violation and in this context they reconsidered the Simmons case (Cornell, 2005). Reflecting on the 1989 Atkinson case, which ended in a 6 – 3 decision, it was held that the execution of a minor was unconstitutional and would no longer be considered valid from that point on. In Standford v. Kentucky, a 17-year-old boy was convicted by a jury not only of murder, but also of sodomy, robbery and receiving stolen property. Standford had received the death penalty at the time under the stipulation that a minor could be eligible for the death penalty in circumstances where he committed a felony or capital crime. Similar to the other cases discussed, Stanford also believed that the decision to put him to death violated his human rights (Cornell, 1989). The Supreme Court ruled in a 5 – 4 decision that in most cases extenuating circumstances exist and a comparison between the details of the case and the evolving standards and morality of today's society should be identified here. In turn, Stanford not only received 45 years in prison, but also the death penalty for his actions (Cornell, 1989). The case of Roper v. Simmons had established, based on the evaluation of both cases, that special groups of offenders (in this case children and mentally retarded people) have little or no intellectual deficit compared to adults who have committed the same crime. As a long-term result, 72 people who had been sentenced to death were effectively remanded under the 2005 Supreme Court decision. The major ethical issues and values ​​that fall into this mix are of utmost importance. We live in the United States under that of the Constitution. Our Constitution is the supreme law of our country. It is a set of rules and principles that we not only live by, but that many of us would die for. Within the supreme law, there are a number of amendments that have been debated and discussed over the years regarding their interpretation. Previously, the 8th and 14th Amendments were mentioned in the context of capital punishment against the mentally retarded and how the execution of a child was classified as cruel and unusual punishment. The ethical dilemma in question is the violation of laws in the United States at both the federal and state levels. This stands for state laws and amendments. In the minds of some, they believe that one should be punished for crimes committed against their fellow man. Based on a given individual's crimes, he or she may be sentenced to a variety of things ranging from prison, community service, fines, etc. Depending on the circumstances of the crimes, the punishment can become more or less harsh in the long run. 99% would agree on both sides of the argument that punishment is due for violation of crimes, amendments and supreme law. At this point values ​​have a say in the process. Values ​​are what we as individuals find important. They are highly linkable to those of morality and can be defined as what we believe hasvalue, importance, something worthy, etc. The reasons people sometimes oppose capital punishment are because life without parole is an alternative (especially if there is any chance the person behind bars is innocent), the cost of capital punishment, etc. There are also aspects such as taking another person's life and capital punishment against religions. Understanding the human brain and that of a teenager or even younger is something that not only parents want to understand, but also law enforcement. At this young age, good judgment is something that must be experienced over time. Like Rome, it cannot be built in a single day. No matter what someone's GPA is, what they scored on the SAT, or what their IQ may be, life choices and good/bad decisions are on a completely different spectrum. According to Rochester, the human brain doesn't actually finish developing until around age 15 (2018). Research has actually proven this theory, establishing that the brain of an adult works very differently than the brain of a child or adolescent. For example, in the normal human brain, an adult will use the prefrontal cortex to make decisions. This is the rational part of the brain; focuses on making decisions based on certain factors such as the consequences of one's actions, judgment-based decisions, and awareness-based decisions (Rocheseter, 2018). On the other hand, a child/adolescent will make decisions using the amygdala. This part of the brain is based on emotions (Rochester, 2018). Additionally, the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and the rest of the brain continue to develop as we age. This unfortunately does not happen with every minor individual as everyone is different and will continue to develop and grow at a different rate. This is one reason why children can sometimes become consumed by such emotion. In fact, they may feel much more than their mind is thinking at that moment. Society and public policies themselves have had difficulty keeping up with the constant changes in the fields of neuroscience and neuroimaging. Another issue at hand is the lack of evidence linking the neurodevelopmental process and adolescent behaviors in the real world (Johnson, 2009). This development shapes how audiences create policies such as the age at which a person can purchase alcohol, the age at which they can enter a film for mature audiences, as well as the expected punishments for crimes a minor may commit . In their children's lives, there is little that parents, role models and guardians can do. More importantly, a child must know the difference between right and wrong. They must be aware that actions such as lying, cheating and stealing from an early age are not acceptable. Brain development continues for nearly a third of a person's life. According to Kalb, an average child can represent the difference between right and wrong from age 7 to 15 (2000). There was a recent study that tested this phenomenon in a court of law. Evans had to determine the competency of a child's ability to testify in a court of law. He began by taking 154 different 5-year-olds who had witnessed instances of sexual abuse over a 35-year span. The dismissal of selected children who were able to testify was found to fall on people such as the judge and lawyers (Evans, 2012). It turns out that the problem was the way a question was asked or the way a certain question was asked of a child. For example, the diction used in the questions was sometimes too difficult and the hypothetical questions were also problematic. (Evans,2018). Yes and no questions were meant to be more statistically accurate rather than definition- or story-based question-and-answer situations. (2012). The main question is: does the death penalty reduce crime? If so, would it be able to deter crime against minors in the same way it potentially does against their adult counterparts? Can a child step back from a situation and think about their actions and judgment and articulate that, if they committed a crime, they could lose their life? The first execution of a child occurred in Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts in 1642, and since then, approximately 365 minors (that we know of) have been executed for crimes (DPIC, 2018). Since 1608, this constitutes approximately 1.8% of the approximately 20,000 executed to date. 22 of these executions were imposed after the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976 and constitute 2% of executions in America since 1976. Since 1990, only 11 countries are known to have executed juveniles for crimes within their territory. land: Iran, Yemen, Republic of Congo, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, Nigeria, China and the United States. In the United States alone, there are 16 states that do not apply the death penalty. Many of the countries listed have since banned and formulated laws regarding the prohibition of executing people under the age of 18 or people who were under the age of 18 when they committed the crime. Studies reflect both sides of the spectrum, but capital punishment in the United States has been statistically proven to deter violent crimes such as murder. According to Muhlhausen, 67% of Americans are in favor of the death penalty while only 28% of them are against it. to it (2007). Although there are some constitutional provisions to this effect, the majority is in favor. The difficulty at this point is convincing officials at the local, state and federal levels. This idea falls back on something known as deterrence theory. When a given individual fears the thought of apprehension or punishment, he or she is less likely to take action to avoid that punishment. In this case it is the death penalty. In recent years, studies have been conducted to better evaluate the connection between capital punishment and the decrease in the homicide rate. All this is based on the theory which focuses on aspects of the theory that can range from net costs to various benefits (Muhlhausen (2007). Some of the first research on such aspects was conducted by Isaac Ehlrich in the 1970s. Isaac had the first research known at the time for this, perhaps a reason why his work was controversial and questionable In turn, due to the lack of other available supporting or disproving research, Ehlrich began by taking capital punishment statistics from the years 1933 to. 1969 and mixed these variables with a variety of variables ranging from unemployment to per capita income to form a mathematical formula According to Lamperti, his work produced a negative coefficient for the execution variable. In latent terms, it was determined that they would be carried out more executions result in fewer murders throughout the community (2007) Ehlrich went on to state that his work and hypothesis could not be rejected. This was true; deterrence at this level. Over the years, more research has been carried out on the same topic. Most of these are panel datasets made up of industry people like Naci Mocan, Kaj Gittings, and Paul Zimmerman. In another study, the results came from Rubin and Shepherd when they took data from over 3,000 counties in the United States from the years 1977 to 1996. They compared it with state-level panel data from the years 1960 to 2000 (Lamperti, 2007). WhatWhat made this research unique compared to other work performed was the fact that they were able to compare the relationship between the data between executions and murders that occurred before, during and after the Supreme Court moratorium. (Hashem, 2006). According to their results they found that executions had a strongly negative relationship with homicides and that Supreme Court moratoriums were responsible for the increase in homicides (2007). As a final result of their research three important factors were discovered. The first was that, on average, each execution that occurred was presented as reducing both murders and crimes of passion by 3. Subsequently, each execution reduced the number of whites murdered by 1, blacks by 1.5, and all others half breeds. Finally, they found that for every 2.75 years removed from the waiting time for an execution actually deterred 1 homicide (Muhlhausen, 2007). Finally, the rate of criminal recidivism in the United States combined with what we know about adolescent brain development and crime deterrence is more than sufficient to understand why capital punishment should be applicable to selected children. Given the crimes, it would simply make them fall into the same eligibility category as their adult counterparts. Recidivism is a former criminal's relapse into crime after being punished or undergoing an intervention of some kind and falling back into criminal behavior (NIJ, 2018). In 2008, over 2 million children were arrested. Of these, 95% had been charged with a violent crime including murder, rape, or aggravated assault (Gottesman, 2011). When a minor enters the system, the courts usually take control a little differently. There are options for punishment such as fines, rehabilitation, curfew, etc. Not everything is prison or harsh punishments at this age. What experts need to understand is that these methods are only effective in almost half of the cases and that some circumstances require special measures. The Washington State CFA conducted a specific fact sheet on recidivism. Of the 2,418 girls who re-engaged, 45.53% re-engaged, while of the 9,155 male children, 52.81% also re-engaged (CFA, 2018). Nearly 9% of crimes committed in the state fall into the category of violent crimes. Unfortunately, Washington state isn't the only place that has seen high recidivism rates. According to Pierre, a study was conducted in 2007 on 6 data sets across the United States. Experts kept tabs on people for 1.5 to 6 years to see whether they would return to the justice system or keep a clean slate. In the state of Florida, after the introduction of new laws, there were 34% more arrests for crimes among the youth community (Pierre, 2007). This represented all crimes and was a mix of all different forms of crime; not just violent. Sometimes traditional subsidized residential treatment is not an option for juvenile offenders. More extreme punishments have been used which have not proven effective in the long term. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The transfer of juveniles to adult correctional facilities is not something that is new within the borders of our country. With a scenario like this, it is only more likely that the childhood recidivism rate will increase by 30% (Gottesman, 2011). There are clauses between states that we know as judicial waivers, prosecutorial discretion, statutory waiver, automatic transfer, and once an adult/always an adult. As the latter implies, there are some factors that will force either.