THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 7, 1994 TAG: 9410070085
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: TEENSPEAK
SOURCE: BY KIRSTIN SORTON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 110 lines
REGINALD EVANS was 15 when he was charged with the brutal murder of Donald J. Reynolds, a cab driver who was shot in the back five times in an attempted robbery. Under a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, Evans could not be sentenced to death, yet a Norfolk prosecutor may ask for the death penalty in his case.
This is just one in a growing number of cases in which the prosecution is asking for the death penalty for a juvenile under 16. Prosecutors say the juveniles should be treated as adults because of the violence of the crimes.
Six students at Deep Creek High were asked what prosecutors are asking themselves: How young is too young to die on death row?
Ashley Marshall, 15, doesn't believe that sentencing a 15-year-old to death is the correct way to handle the situation.
``These are not adults that you're dealing with, even though they are committing adult crimes. They haven't had a chance to live their full lives,'' Ashley said.
Kimberly Muncher, 17, disagreed. ``I feel that if someone. . . kills someone, then they shouldn't have their own life,'' she said. ``At 13 or younger, you know what is right or wrong. You know that killing somebody is not the right thing to do. That's common sense. . . .''
Most juvenile offenders are sentenced to detention homes and rehabilitation. Three of the students agreed that rehabilitation was the best way to deal with murderers.
``If I were the judge, I would put him in a rehabilitation center,'' said Neil Applewhite, 17. ``I hope that the young man would see that I am giving him a second chance. . . .''
The other three students disagreed about rehab. Kimberly opposes rehabilitation because it doesn't always work. Johnathan Woods, 15, and Josh Asble, 14, said that rehabilitation might work in some cases, but not all of them.
``If I was the judge, I would see if he had any remorse and sentence him to rehabilitation,'' Johnathan said. ``If he doesn't improve within a certain time frame, then he deserves to die. What is going to happen if he does go to a detention home and eventually gets out? Anger will build up and he is going to come back out and do the same thing over again.''
The students said that sentencing a 15-year-old to death would have much impact on others in similar situations. Yet each student said that it sent a strong message: If you kill someone, you better be ready to face the consequences which could include death.
They said it also sent the message that the government is giving up on some of America's youth.
``It sends me a real negative message,'' said Tori Whitley, 15.
Josh heard another message.
``The more I think about it, the more I think about how precious life is,'' he said. ``Life is precious and if you take somebody else's life then you deserve to die, so why even mess around with that? . . . Some people don't even care if they die and go to hell. That is (what is) wrong with society. We should be brought up thinking that life is precious.''
R EGINALD EVANS was 15 when he was charged with the brutal murder of Donald J. Reynolds, a cab driver who was shot in the back five times in an attempted robbery. Under a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, Evans could not be sentenced to death, yet a Norfolk prosecutor may ask for the death penalty in his case.
This is just one in a growing number of cases in which the prosecution is asking for the death penalty for a juvenile under 16. Prosecutors say the juveniles should be treated as adults because of the violence of the crimes.
Six students at Deep Creek High were asked what prosecutors are asking themselves: How young is too young to die on death row?
Ashley Marshall, 15, doesn't believe that sentencing a 15-year-old to death is the correct way to handle the situation.
``These are not adults that you're dealing with, even though they are committing adult crimes. They haven't had a chance to live their full lives,'' Ashley said.
Kimberly Muncher, 17, disagreed. ``I feel that if someone. . . kills someone, then they shouldn't have their own life,'' she said. ``At 13 or younger, you know what is right or wrong. You know that killing somebody is not the right thing to do. That's common sense. . . .''
Most juvenile offenders are sentenced to detention homes and rehabilitation. Three of the students agreed that rehabilitation was the best way to deal with murderers.
``If I were the judge, I would put him in a rehabilitation center,'' said Neil Applewhite, 17. ``I hope that the young man would see that I am giving him a second chance. . . .''
The other three students disagreed about rehab. Kimberly opposes rehabilitation because it doesn't always work. Johnathan Woods, 15, and Josh Asble, 14, said that rehabilitation might work in some cases, but not all of them.
``If I was the judge, I would see if he had any remorse and sentence him to rehabilitation,'' Johnathan said. ``If he doesn't improve within a certain time frame, then he deserves to die. What is going to happen if he does go to a detention home and eventually gets out? Anger will build up and he is going to come back out and do the same thing over again.''
The students said that sentencing a 15-year-old to death would have much impact on others in similar situations. Yet each student said that it sent a strong message: If you kill someone, you better be ready to face the consequences which could include death.
They said it also sent the message that the government is giving up on some of America's youth.
``It sends me a real negative message,'' said Tori Whitley, 15.
Josh heard another message.
``The more I think about it, the more I think about how precious life is,'' he said. ``Life is precious and if you take somebody else's life then you deserve to die, so why even mess around with that? . . . Some people don't even care if they die and go to hell. That is (what is) wrong with society. We should be brought up thinking that life is precious.'' by CNB