The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the Constitution forbids the execution of killers who were under 18 when they committed their crimes, ending a practice used in Texas and 18 other states.
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, Justice Clarence Thomas and Scalia, as expected, voted to uphold the executions. They were joined by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
Tuesday’s ruling prevents states from making 16- and 17-year-olds eligible for execution.
The trend is to abolish the practice because “our society views juveniles … as categorically less culpable than the average criminal.”
I remember being 16 and 17 years old. And I remember that I was fully aware of my actions and their consequences. To say that a 17 year old doesn’t understand the severity or the consequences of brutally murdering someone is bullshit.
So let’s meet some of these innocent little babies (as the ACLU would have you believe), and see just how culpable they really are:
- Christopher Simmons was 17 when he kidnapped a neighbor, hog-tied her and threw her off a bridge in 1993. Prosecutors say he planned the burglary and killing of Shirley Crook and bragged that he could get away with it because of his age.
- A jury found Lee Boyd Malvo guilty of capital murder and terrorism in the Washington-area sniper case, which left 10 people dead and terrorized the region. Malvo was 17 at the time of the shootings.
Texas has already executed 13 juveniles, to include:
- Toronto Patterson a former teenage drug dealer was executed for killing a 3-year-old cousin at her Dallas home - 1 of 3 relatives gunned down so he could steal some fancy car wheels.
- Napoleon Beazley, executed for car jacking and murdering a 63-year-old man, whom he shot in the head with a .45-caliber pistol.
- T.J. Jones — during the robbery of a 75-year-old man, pulled the man from his vehicle as he was backing out of his driveway, and shot him in the head with a .357 magnum pistol.
The following men all committed horrendous and deliberate murders when they were 17 years old. They are currently sitting on Texas’ death row. Because of this new Court decision, they will probably be spared the fate they deserve:
- Raul Villarreal — Convicted for kidnapping and killing Jennifer Ertman (14) and Elizabeth Pena (16). The girls had taken a shortcut home. Each girl was repeatedly raped by Villarreal and his fellow gang members, and then strangled to death. Villarreal later bragged that he stepped on the neck of Jennifer Ertman in an effort to strangle her because the “bitch wouldn’t die†after being strangled with a belt.
- Robert Acuna — Convicted of killing two elderly neighbors, James and Joyce Carroll, shooting them “execution style” and then stealing their car.
- Geno Wilson — On 12/02/98 on the streets of Houston, Texas, Wilson shot an adult male during a robbery attempt. The victim was reportedly selling bottles of cleaning solution on the street and was approached by Wilson and 3 black male companions. Wilson indicated he would buy a bottle of the cleaning solution then produced a handgun and pointed it at the head of the victim, demanding cash. When the victim denied having any cash, Wilson shot him once in the back of the head.
- Bruce Williams — On 02/03/99, Williams abducted two Asian females. The victims were forced by Williams at gunpoint to go to a wooded area where he then shot both of the victims. One victim survived the shooting and called police.
- Tran Son — Tran and three others lured a man to a club in Houston and murdered him because of his relationship with a woman who worked at the club. Tran and the others involved learned that another woman who worked at the club was aware of their identities. Tran and two of the others drove that woman to a secluded beach and shot her in the head, resulting in her death. Tran and two others then became concerned that the fourth person involved in the first murder might not keep their secret. The fourth person was lured to a meeting under false pretenses. He brought a friend along. Tran and one of the others shot and killed the fourth person and his friend. Prosecution for the death of theses last two murders resulted in the capital murder conviction for Tran.
- Whitney Reeves — On 8/20/1999, Reeves and one co-defendant shot and killed a 14 year old white female and her father, a 40 year old white male, with a 12 gauge shotgun. The double homicide occurred at the victims’ apartment in Beaumont. The apparent motive for the shooting was that the 14-year-old girl had testified at a grand jury hearing that resulted in charges of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child against the co-defendant.
- Michael Lopez — On 09/29/98, during the early morning hours in Houston, shot and killed a 26 year old Deputy constable on a routine traffic stop.
- Jorge Salinas — On 07/28/2001 in Mission, Texas, Salinas and 2 co-defendants fatally shot a 29 year old Hispanic male 1 time with a 12 gauge shotgun and caused the death of a 21 month old Hispanic female by abandoning her in an area where she was not likely to be found. Salinas and 2 co-defendants carjacked the victim for his 2001 Chevy Malibu vehicle. Salinas and 2 co-defendants then dumped the 29 year old Hispanic male victim in an orchard and took the 21 month old Hispanic female child, while strapped in her car seat, and placed her in a tall grassy area. Salinas and co-defendants fled in the victim’s vehicle.
‘Less culpable’ kids don’t kidnap their neighbors, hog tie them, and throw them off bridges. ‘Less culpable’ kids don’t execute their elderly neighbors so they can steal their cars. ‘Less culpable’ kids don’t gang-rape and strangle other little kids. Hell, even your ‘average adult criminal’ doesn’t commit crimes as heinous as these.
I’m sorry. I don’t buy the ‘less culpable’ part of the argument. These men are evil; they have committed crimes deserving of our society’s harshest punishment: death. To argue that their age has any mitigating factor on their ‘culpability’ (a synonym for culpability is “guilt”) is a slap in the face to their victims and their families.
dude i know exactly what you mean. all these juveniles deserve to die. they committed a crime, now they need to reep the consequences. i am currently 17 now and i am definetly mature enough to know that i shouldnt murder anyone or commit a crime. heck ask any 13 year old and he would say the same thing.
Left by Blake on March 18th, 2005 at 5:32 pm