Would 14-Year-Old Be Condemned by Jury of His Peers?

Orange County adults overwhelmingly support capital punishment. On the off-chance they worry about the next generation being a bunch of softies, here’s news from the front.

Some California politicians have bandied about the idea of making 14-year-olds eligible for the death penalty. “Appalling” was the word I used in a recent column on the subject. How could the state possibly consider executing a 14-year-old? I asked.

Brendan Newberry read the column to his 13- and 14-year-old students at Tuffree Middle School in Placentia. I would have assumed they’d decry the idea as grotesque and frightening.

Instead, Mr. Newberry’s poll of 137 students showed that 81 favored reducing the age to 14, 26 opposed it and 30 were undecided. Translated, just under 60% favored the idea, and only 19% opposed it outright.

Here are excerpts from their follow-up letters to me:

Danny Leibowitz: The first thing I would like to say is that I totally disagree with your opinion. If a person of any age commits such a crime as murder, they do not deserve to live. Some people argue to give a child a life sentence in jail instead of killing them. My question is, why should our taxes pay for a murderer to live?

Shauna Leeds: Being 14 myself, I can understand why you’re appalled at the idea of killing 14-year-old criminals. Yet, I have to say, if a 14-year-old or anyone is proven beyond a doubt, guilty of murder, he should be sentenced to death. If teenagers are able to get away with murder (no pun intended), what is stopping them from killing more people?

Adam Pomeroy: By the time someone reaches 14, they are old enough to know that it is wrong to kill someone. . . . You may say that violence should not be used to stop violence. I say punishment given after a proper trial is far different than the street violence of a murder.

Nick Rinner: Personally, I think the concept of the death penalty is wrong entirely. It’s pure hypocrisy. To kill one human being to justify the death of another is a walking contradiction. Then to kill 14-year-olds, practically still children, in the name of justice and peace, is appalling.

Kimi Nielsen: When the poll was taken, I raised my hand for the undecided group. But as I have been thinking about it, I am against it. How can the state kill someone who has killed another person? I think that being in jail and facing the horrible things that go on, that they would learn their lesson. I don’t think it’s right that the state would kill an immature (at least mentally) 14-year-old child.

Grant Biniasz: I agree that this is an appalling proposition, but not for the same reasons as you. I believe that the execution of a 14-year-old would not be cruel enough. Prison is an awful place to spend a lifetime. Wouldn’t you agree that 65 years in prison, ending with the electric chair, would be a lot worse than being executed at 14? Although execution is a very real punishment, it is hardly ever used. Which leaves us the sick truth that this was merely a political issue. You ended your column with the question of which was worse, a country in which kids kill, or a country that kills kids. But shouldn’t the real question be, “Which is worse: A country where kids kill or a country run by people who exploit killing kids for political leverage?”

Shannon Crosby: I was amazed at how many of my peers were for capital punishment! At the age of 14, teens are still young enough to turn their lives around for the better. Perhaps we should influence their lives for the better before they commit a crime.

Heidi E. Roman: A 14-year-old who takes the law into their own hands deserves to be punished in the exact same manner that they have punished their helpless victims. . . . An example would be a 14-year-old that has bad feelings toward another and decides to take his or her life. I feel that the attacker should be taken out in the middle of an empty field and be shot and killed or tortured the way their victim was.

Michelle Plegel: Truthfully, I have mixed feelings about this subject. Because I am a very religious person, I should not believe in executions at all. The Lord is supposed to be the only one who has the say on when a person should die. I believe that if a person kills another, except for self-defense, he shall have his life taken also. Now, here is where my feelings become mixed. I think that the thought of executing a 14-year-old is a little ridiculous. We are only children and most of our minds and intelligence have not matured. . . . It is true that teenagers these days are growing up faster and we need to stop the violence, but execution is not the answer.

Mohsin Zaidi: If the 14-year-old is “mature” enough to go and kill someone, he is mature enough to take the heavy consequences. Now, the thought of executing a 14-year-old is horrifying, but so is executing anyone.

Kyle Ellison: I know a lot of people believe in “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” theory but that has been changed because of what Jesus did. I think that if the person is truly sorry about what they did and asks for forgiveness, they should be forgiven, just like the Bible says to do. Even if they are forgiven, though, they are still guilty and need to serve their time in jail. I don’t know if I can say that I would send someone to the chair, though.

Michael J. Harter: Fourteen is still a very young age and we may give the impression that we know what we are doing, but three-fourths of the time, we don’t. If the government is going to consider 14-year-olds as adults, will they give them the same privilege as adults?

Kristen Moretti: I can’t imagine being a lawyer asking a jury to send a 14-year-old to the electric chair, even if they did commit murder. You would have to be a cold-hearted adult with no children, because no parent would want to give their child an example showing that it’s acceptable to send anyone to the electric chair, or any other form of capital punishment.

Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers may reach Parsons by writing to him at The Times Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or calling (714) 966-7821.