[cyberia]

The point of contention here is not if all juvenile murders should be punished as adults to the fullest extent of the law, but should all adolescent murders be granted the same blanket absolution upon reaching the legal age?

I agree that a degree of stupidity and recklessness accompanies the adolescent thought process. And I'm sure many of us here have some incident from our younger days we both regret and are thankful does not haunt our adult records.

I know I do.

However, I'm sure we can both agree that the murder of another human being transcends most other youthful offences.

Adults are tried for homicide by degree.

Should a child who steals a father's gun and then on impulse shoots and kills a playmate without malice be punished to the same degree as one who carefully plots and carries out a revenge or thrill murder?

In my opinion no.

Nor should both be granted full automatic clemency for two decisively different motives simply because the calender turns.

Children who commit murder do so as individuals. The crimes they commit and to what degree need to be judged on an individual, case by case basis.

Hanging teenagers for the "crime" of homosexuality is one end of the extreme.

Releasing someone capable of calculated murder back into society for no other reason than he or she has reached what some consider the magical age of reason is the other.