Dead Teen Walking

If a person is convicted, without one ounce of doubt and they admit to it, of killing someone, place them on death row, but if a child is placed on death row, I think it's a little bit much.  As outsiders looking in, we have no idea what their childhood was like.  How were they treated as a child, did they suffer abuse of any kind, what went on in their life that would make them kill someone? Those are questions that only months and years of interrogating and investigating would find out.  If a child killed someone, I think the maximum punishment would be to put them in prison.  

From reviewing and reading White Fang I came up with my conclusion to that answer.  Had those children been put in a good home, without any kind of abuse or in a home with rules and discipline, the outcome would probably be totally different.  I don't think a kid in a good home will kill someone when they are young just because.  A child will probably kill someone when they are young when they are raised in a good home, with support, rules and a good family.  Look at White Fang.  When he was placed in the care of Beauty Smith and Gray Beaver, he was a bad dog.  He was vicious and ferocious.  Nobody wanted to go by him or be associated with him.  Now place him in his home with Scott.  There's a very different dog at hand.  All he needed was a little guidance and discipline to know what was right and what was wrong.  Now, at the end of the book, he's a good dog.  He can be with people and can live a great life.

Now back to the article.  Had the lives of the children being put on death row been better, they most likely wouldn't be in the situation they are in now.  They probably wouldn't have committed the murderous crimes and wouldn't be sitting on death row waiting for their appeal or execution date.  The surroundings have everything to do with how someone will act, let it be people or animals.  Place them in a bad situation and they will be bad; place them in a good situation and they will be good.