1. Rights Of Juveniles
Charles Keene was killed on the morning of January 23, 1983. His body was found in the Washita
river of Grady County, Oklahoma, tied to a concrete block. He had been brutally beaten, shot, and
stabbed several times. The murderers, a team of four, were ultimately caught and each given the
death sentence, including, shockingly, the victim's former brother–in–law: William Wayne
Thompson, who was only fifteen years old. At the time, there was no national minimum age for the
death penalty; states could execute whomever they saw fit. However, Thompson's lawyers, citing the
8th Amendment of the Constitution, appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States on the
grounds that giving the death sentence to a juvenile constituted "cruel and unusual ... Show more
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As of 1987, 37 states in the US allowed the use of the death penalty, and 27 of those states allowed
the execution of minors under the age of eighteen. The state of Indiana, for example, had a
minimum execution age of ten. About a dozen states had no declared age limit, and only six states
out of the original 37 had adopted eighteen as the minimum age (Times Wire Services). At the time
of Thompson v Oklahoma, the state of Oklahoma had a juvenile rehabilitation system that permitted
the execution of minors for murder; they believed that despite the fact that they were children or
adolescents, they were perfectly aware of the wrongness of their actions and had no hope of being
rehabilitated (Cengage Learning). Approximately 20,000 individuals have been legally executed in
the United States in the past 350 years, but the controversy surrounding the death penalty has almost
always existed (Wilson). In the era of Thompson v Oklahoma, fifteen–year–olds had few rights.
They could be tried as adults and given the death penalty, but could not drive, vote, drink alcohol,
get married, buy drugs, sit on a jury, or gamble (Cengage Learning). Furthermore, time spent on
death row can be from six to over twenty years, so many criminals convicted as juveniles are not
executed until they are adults, after essentially growing up in prison and potentially undergoing
massive changes in character (Wilson). In addition, the 8th Amendment to the Constitution reads:
"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual
punishments inflicted" ("8th Amendment"). Execution has been viewed as a cruel and unusual
punishment by many for years. In the very beginning, when the Constitution was written, the
Framers defined "cruel and unusual punishment" as something blatantly
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2.
3. Bully: a True Story of High School Revenge
The story of Bobby Kent, a true Bully, can be read through the writings of Jim Schutze. Bobby Kent
was a young man who grew up in Broward Country Florida and seemed to live two completely
different lifestyles. To parents and teachers, he was often times known as an intelligent individual
with goals that would lead to success in the future. Bobby Kent was a young man who maintained
good grades in school and seemed to be athletic. He was naturally charming and attractive while
appearing to have good character. Bobby Kent had parents who wanted nothing but the best for him
and were determined to give him what has become known as the "American Dream". His father,
Fred Kent insisted that Bobby become his own boss and offered to help him open up ... Show more
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Lisa believed that Bobby Kent was the main negative influence on Marty Puccio's life and that the
relationship the two boys had must come to an end at some point. In trying to detour Bobby Kent
from Marty's life, Lisa introduced Bobby Kent to one of her friends, Allison Willis. Allison Willis
was known by the name of Ali to her friends and she too was a high school dropout. Allison had
many outbursts and often times acted crazy but her parents seldom said or did anything because they
felt it related back to when she was raped at the age of fourteen. Lisa introduced Bobby and Allison
in a selfish attempt to better the relationship that she (Lisa) had with Marty. A close friend to Allison
Willis is Heather Swallers who also has a violent history. In Heather's situation, there are no close
family ties and her family shows a history of drugs. Heather's actions in taking part of the murder of
Bobby Kent are in all actuality not surprising when one has looked at her family history. Heather's
grandfather became a well–known killer and Heather was reminded of this time and time again by
her mother.
Another important character shows a strong relationship to both Allison Willis and Bobby Kent.
This is so because he is the new boyfriend of Allison Willis and therefore, serves as the replacement
for Bobby Kent. This young man goes by the name of Donald Semenec. Like many of the others
mentioned thus far, Donald is a high school drop out
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