According to Laurence Steinberg, a Temple University psychology professor, “It is a violation of constitutional right to be a defendant in a criminal proceeding when you are not competent to defend yourself.” These juveniles being tried as adults do not understand the proceedings. They don’t recognize the risks in different choices and are less likely to think about long term consequences. For example, Robert Acuna, a high school student from Baytown, Texas, was given the death sentence for killing two elderly neighbors. In the article “Supreme Court to Rule on Executing Young Killer,” Ms. Magee said, “He was very nonchalant. He laughed at inappropriate things. He still didn’t quite get the magnitude of everything he did.” There are many other teens like Robert who don’t think before their
According to Laurence Steinberg, a Temple University psychology professor, “It is a violation of constitutional right to be a defendant in a criminal proceeding when you are not competent to defend yourself.” These juveniles being tried as adults do not understand the proceedings. They don’t recognize the risks in different choices and are less likely to think about long term consequences. For example, Robert Acuna, a high school student from Baytown, Texas, was given the death sentence for killing two elderly neighbors. In the article “Supreme Court to Rule on Executing Young Killer,” Ms. Magee said, “He was very nonchalant. He laughed at inappropriate things. He still didn’t quite get the magnitude of everything he did.” There are many other teens like Robert who don’t think before their