death penalty news October 14, 2004
USA: Death Penalty Quotes Remarks from participants and spectators as the Supreme Court considered the constitutionality of executing people who were age 16 or 17 when they committed crimes. "I thought we punished criminals for what they were, not for what they are. To say that adolescents change, everybody changes." ? Justice Antonin Scalia. --- "The consensus (supporting the juvenile death penalty) seems to be eroding." ? Justice David H. Souter. --- "It has gone up and gone down. Whether we'll go back up to where we were 10 years ago, I don't know." ? Missouri solicitor James Layton, explaining to justices a decline in the number of juveniles receiving death sentences. --- "The court has to be very wary of leading rather than reflecting society's norms." ? Layton. --- "The line (of age) 18 is one that has been drawn by society." ? Seth Waxman, the lawyer for convicted teenage murderer Christopher Simmons. --- "We don't use 18 for everything." ? Scalia. --- "To vote, to sit on juries, to serve in the military." ? Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. --- "He told his friends he could get away with it because of his age. If he knew he was going to receive the ultimate punishment, an innocent woman would be alive today. We need to send a message to juveniles who understand right from wrong and the consequences of their actions. They better think twice or they'll pay the ultimate price." ? Mitch Brim of Los Angeles, a lawyer for Justice for All Alliance, after the court's argument. --- "No mature adult would have thought `I can get away with this.'" ? Waxman. --- "A number of juveniles run in gangs ... wouldn't that make 16- or 17-year-olds subject to being persuaded to be the (gang) hit men?" ? Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. --- "I think it was recognized this is a case not only of national importance but international significance as well. The world is watching what we're going to be doing with this case. This is a human rights issue. I think ultimately the court will decide that 16 or 17 is too young for the death penalty, that those are not among our worst of worst cases." ? Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, after the argument. (source: AP / Oregon Live)
