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Friday, February 18,1994
The Battalion
Page 7
PRO
CON
Should capital punishment he an
option for juvenile offenders ?
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ROY L.
CLAY
Columnist
ver the
last sev
eral
years, there has
Ken a move
ment to try juve
niles — people
under the age of
18 — as adults
M cases of vio
lent crime. Tra
ditionally,
teenagers could
be punished by
the courts, but
normally they
Were neither
tried as adults
nor suffered the same consequences as
an adult offender. For the most part,
teenagers have been sentenced to re
form school for criminal actions.
I But in today's world, we are seeing
an alarming capacity of "juveniles" to
rape, beat and kill with a brutality that
simply can't be attributed to the igno
rance of youth. Trying teenaged people
as adults is no longer enough. The con
sequences of a crime must fit the severi
ty of the criminal act, including the
death penalty in the case of first degree
murder.
m The thought of sentencing a teenager
to death seems cruel, but think of some
of the cases we have seen in the last few
ROBERT
VASQUEZ
Columnist
se step
>nd routir:
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ing teenaged people as
adults is no longer
uietsdi enough. The conse-
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rvous ® fit the severity of the
im, likeli criminal act, including the
P enin 8 death penalty.
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years in Texas alone. Last June in Hous
ton, a gang of boys, most of them juve-
iCes, came across two young girls. The
boys raped and sodomized them, then
strangled them with shoestrings.
| In Ft. Worth, a high school girl is
charged with planning her parents'
death. Her boyfriend and another
young man went into the parents' home
late one night, killed the girl's mother,
and beat her father so badly they
thought he was dead. The apparent
motive was the inheritance of the cou
ple's $21 million estate.
I These atrocious crimes are only a
small sample of those committed by ju
veniles in Texas. However, they pale in
comparison to the amount of violence
and death committed by youths in
places like New York and Los Angeles.
I The simple fact is that the rate of vi
olent crimes perpetrated by juveniles
is steadily increasing in both frequen
cy and cruelty. These young people
have the capacity to understand what
they're doing the same as people in
their early twenties. Criminals just
three or four years older are being sen
tenced to death for the same types of
crimes.
• . There are no age barriers to commit
ting a crime. A 19-year-old who kills is
probably thinking the same thoughts as
a 17-year-old murderer. Slapping their
wrists or putting them into reform
schools is only allowing the violence to
continue. In its own way, it only en
forces the idea that a person can get
away with a major crime with relatively
light consequences. Juvenile penalties
are just not enough to curb this tenden
cy.
f: The fact is that sentencing juveniles
to death is not the tragedy. The real
tragedy is that it has become necessary.
// I am not an
advocate
for fre
quent changes
in laws and
constitutions,
but laws and in
stitutions must
go hand in
hand with the
progress of the
human mind.
As that becomes
more developed
... institutions
must advance
also to keep
pace with the
times. We might as well require a man
to wear still the coat which fitted him
when a boy as civilized society to re
main ever under the regimen of their
barbarous ancestors." — Thomas Jef
ferson
It's long been said,, "the punish
ment should fit the crime." Now,
United States courts are finding that
the punishment should fit the criminal
as well.
Courts across the country — all the
way to the Supreme Court — have
struggled with the question of killing
juveniles for capital offenses. There
was a time when generic punishments
were applied for generic crimes, re
gardless of the age. The Journal of
Criminal Law and Criminology says,
"prior to the last few centuries, the
death penalty was imposed often and
for a variety of offenses, some of
which seem trivial to the modern eye."
The question is not whether these
people are criminals. That point is
clear. Anyone who kills another per-
so?t has committed murder. They are
murderers.
In Thompson v. Oklahoma, the
Supreme court ruled that a fifteen-
year-old boy convicted of murder
It's long been said, "the
punishment should fit
the crime," but courts
across the country have
struggled with the ques
tion of killing juveniles
for capital offenses.
should not be sentenced to capital
punishment. The Justices expressed
the great difficulty they had defining
the line between childhood and adult
hood. The Court noted how no state
allows a 15-year-old to vote or serve
on a jury. All but one state prohibit a
15-year-old from driving without
parental consent, all but four prohibit
a 15-year-old from marrying without
parental consent.
The Journal said, "The Court has
long maintained that the death penalty
is a constitutional penalty under cer
tain circumstances, and further that
the juvenile justice system is itself
worthy of merit. As the Court demon
strated, it is difficult even for reason
able minds to draw an appropriate
line that effectively separates the child
from the adult and the offender from
the punishment. However since soci
ety can protect itself from violent juve
nile crime without resort to execution,
the Court can safely guard the princi
ple that children, though deserving as
citizens of certain fundamental due
process rights afforded adults, must
nevertheless receive the special con
sideration and treatment embodied by
the juvenile justice system."
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Roy Clay is a senior history major Robert Vasquez is a senior journalism
major
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High and dry in a foreign land
Drug possession in some countries a terrible risk
LYNN
BOOMER
Columnist
S pring break is
fast approach
ing, and you're
thinking about leav
ing the country. Care
to do any illegal
drugs? It you're
thinking it's no big
deal, think again.
Mark D (not his
real name), a Boston
College student, was
on break in Thailand
when he was arrest
ed in his Bangkok
hotel for smoking
hashish. The Nov,
1993 issue of "De
tails" magazine tells the story.
"When the cops broke into my room, I
really thought they were making a mistake!
I was like, 'No, no, you got the wrong
guy!"' explained Berger. "I didn't know it
was a setup, that they wanted me to buy
my way out of trouble. I had no cash, only
about forty bucks, and no — damn credit
card — they were willing to charge my
bribe!"
Apparently, some hotel proprietors in
Bangkok will watch their boarders to see
who seems to ha ve money and is glassy
eyed. They then set up a police bust with •
the stipulation that they will get a kick-back
from the bribe the boarder is sure to proffer.
Mark Berger is currently serving a one-year
sentence in Bambat prison "for possession
of nine joints and several grams of hash."
Ironically, although he had never tried
heroin before, Berger is now addicted to the
drugs he can easily buy from the prison
guards. An American undercover agent
rants, "This is a police state run by an unbe
lievably corrupt military government!
Twenty bucks is more than some cops earn
in a month here. If a kid on spring break is
gonna sit in his room smoking pot all day,
someone is going to notice and take advan
tage of the situation."
So what can the United States govern
ment do? Part of the U.S.—Thai Prisoner
Transfer Treaty states that "except under
extraordinary circumstances, no person
shall be transferred to a prison in the Unit
ed States under this treaty who at the time
of his arrest had on his possession one kilo
gram or more of heroin."
A prisoner transfer would allow an
American prisoner to serve out the remain
der of his sentence in the United States, but
only after serving four to six years in a for
eign prison. And if Americans are arrested
with a kilogram or more of heroin, they
would be forced to spend their lives in
prison, with no chance of release short of a
royal pardon.
Even when caught with a drug as seem
ingly minor as marijuana, an American can
be imprisoned for up to five years in an
"open-air cell... [where] each prisoner is al
lotted a space eighteen inches wide on the
concrete floor, where dozens of prisoners
sleep shoulder to shoulder" and where
those who dare to break the 8 p.m. curfew
for communication between prisoners can
be put in solitary confinement for up to 10
days.
A prison Sentence in the United States
for the amount of marijuana that Berger
had when he was arrested might be up to
180 days in jail or a fine of up to $1500.
" According to Richard Gonzalez, former
chief of the Near East and Asia division of
the Citizens Emergency Center in Washing
ton, there were over 3,000 Americans ar
rested in foreign countries in 1992. Forty
percent of these cases involved illegal
drugs."
All of this sounds foreboding, but how
many A&M students plan to go to Thailand
for spring break? And how many plan to
use illegal drugs if they do leave the coun-
try?
A large number of students probably do
plan to visit Mexico, if only to grace its bor
der towns. Many may not be aware that
they are under the jurisdiction of a totally
different government
Monica Daniels, a sophomore genetics
major from El Paso, has made many trips to
the neighboring border town of Juarez. She
explained that police will often arrest
Americans under the age of 18 for drinking
or "disturbing the peace." As in Thailand,
these police expect bribes if the arrested
American wants to stay out of jail.
Daniels said that if it is obvious that
travelers have a lot of money with them or
if they appear to be Americans — particu
larly if they have blond hair — they are
Likely to be harassed by police who will
take any thing from jewelry to credit cards
as a bribe.
The moral of this story?
"It's a foreign country," says Daniels,
"So you don't have any rights. That's some
thing to keep in mind."
Lynn Boohcr is a sophomore English and
psychology major
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Editorials appearing in The
Battalion reflect the views of the
editorial board and are not
necessarily the opinions of other
Battalion staff members, the
Texas A&M student body,
regents, administration, faculty
or staff.
Columns, guest columns and
letters express the opinions of
the authors.
The Battalion will print as
many letters as space allows.
They must be 300 words or less
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Contact the opinion editor:
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guest columns.
Address letters to:
The Battalion - Mail Call
013 Reecl McDonald
Mail stop T ill
Texas A&M University
" “ tfoo, TX 77843 *
Academic windows
shatter historic value
I am writing in regards to the article in
The Battalion (Jan. 26) about the replace
ment of the Academic Building's windows.
I am not only representing my own views
but the views of my organization A.I.A.S.
(American Institute of Architectural Stu
dents) with over 200 members. We strongly
support our Associate Dean of Student Af
fairs and Professor, Dan McGilvray, when
he says "it destroys the historic integrity of
the building." The changing of these win
dows is not going to make the building "fit
in with the other building on campus." The
only thing that will/has occurred is the de
struction of the historic value of our most
distinctive and prominent building.
Why was this important decision made
by the Physical Plant for Engineering with
out the Historic Preservation Department
of the College of Architecture even being
consulted? We have a masters program in
the practice of Historic Preservation and a
very distinguished expert in this field,
David Woodcock. I was informed that he
offered his expertise, in this matter, but was
seemingly ignored.
If this is the policy Texas A&M Univer
sity is pursuing, then they should just tear
down the Academic Building and replace it
with another Box.
Michelle D. Carter
A.I.A.S. President-elect
Class of'94
Find your niche here
In response to the article "Blacks deal
with limited social life," it saddens me to
think there are black students so uncom
fortable here that they would leave this fine
university to transfer somewhere else.
A&M needs more black students. There
are many white students like myself that
attended 99 percent white high schools and
were raised by openly racist parents or un
knowingly racist parents. Students like my
self could benefit greatly by exposure to
other cultures and socializing with people
of other races. I try very hard not to be the
racist that I was raised to be. I have always
been equally friendly to black and white
students alike in my classes, and hope my
actions encourage other students to do the
same. Unfortunately though, nearly every
time I try to include a black student to, for
example, go to lunch with a group, they
say, "No thanks." What else can I do?
I agree that this small town does not
provide a wide variety of night life enter
tainment, but have you tried the Hilton
Sundance Club? I know that it plays a vari
ety of music you won't hear anywhere else
in town. Not all whites think the Dixie
Chicken is the place to be, either.
I am an off-campus student, and I work
full time to pay for my education. I know
what it is like to feel like you don't fit in.
The solution is not to go to another college,
but to find your niche here. You have to
make an effort to make friends, it doesn't
just happen.
Debby Hall
Class of '94
Battalion manipulates
perception of North
In the chronology of the Iran-Contra
scandal, the New York Times reads: "Oliv
er North refused to testify in front of the
Congressional Committee unless immunity
were granted him."
May 4,1989: "Oliver North is convicted
of obstructing Congress, falsifying and de
stroying Congress and accepting an illegal
gratuity."
July 10, 1990: "A federal appeal court
sets aside the North conviction ruling that
the case may have been tainted by the testi
mony that North under a grant of immuni
ty, had given to the Congressional commit
tees."
Oliver North is a convicted criminal
who was set free due to a legal technicality.
The fact that he was set free doesn't mean
he is innocent of falsifying and destroying
documents and lying to Congress.
On Sept. 21, 1993, the day before North
came to Texas A&M, The Battalion wrote:
"North is best known for his involvement
in the Iran-Contra affair.... North was
cleared of all legal charges stemming from
the affair."
Aggies weren't told that North was con
victed and later cleared due to a legal tech
nicality. I find the article manipulative.
North was presented as a good guy, as the
hero the College Republicans say he is.
The same applies to The Battalion cover
age of North's speech on Sept. 23; "North is
best known by his role in the 1987 Iran-
Contra affair.... North was cleared of all
charges stemming from the affair."
On Sept. 22, the editors of The Battalion
censored my letter to Mail Call, in an at
tempt to make my letter seem baseless. In
that letter I called Oliver North a traitor to
American Democracy for violating a con
gressional order: the Boland Amendment.
The Battalion censored my explanation of
what the Boland Amendment was. The
Boland Amendment explicitly banned U.S.
military support to the Nicaraguan contras.
The 2500 Aggies who packed Rudder to
see North weren't violent skinheads who
have no respect for democracy. I believe
they were good but ignorant boys and girls
who were manipulated by the vicious
staffers of The Battalion and the College
Republicans. Ignorant people and naive
children can be easily manipulated, after
all.
Humberto A. Jorge
Graduate student
Editor's note: letters to the editor, as noted
in the above box, should be 300 words or less.
Due to space limitations, it is often necessary to
edit, not censor, for length.