Controversial Issues Research Paper

Barbieland Judge

As judge of Barbieland, I stand firmly in support of abolishing the death penalty, not only for juveniles, but for every person as well. Roper v. Simmons was a welcomed decision for my belief system and I support its movement away from the violent and senseless practice of the death penalty that does nothing to prevent crime but rather validates violence as a useful tactic to control troublesome populations. Scalia and O'Conner's bloodthirsty dissention suggests that they support state sanctioned murder as a viable tool.

According to the case, " The Court reaffirmed the necessity of referring to "the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society" to determine which punishments are so disproportionate as to be cruel and unusual. The Court reasoned that the rejection of the juvenile death penalty in the majority of states, the infrequent use of the punishment even where it remains on the books, and the consistent trend toward abolition of the juvenile death penalty demonstrated a national consensus against the practice.The Court determined that today our society views juveniles as categorically less culpable than the average criminal."

My ethics are simple: Do unto others as one would have do unto them, the Golden Rule. There is no room for state sanctioned murder in my ethical composition for such barbaric and loathsome applications of the law demonstrated with the death penalty and those who support this anti-life movement. Regardless of the majority's opinion on culpability, and how it relates to responsibility is less of a concern then the sheer cruelty that accompanies….....