A wasted youth, a wasted life (HamptonRoads.com/Pilot Online)

The Virginian-Pilot
© December 4, 2003

Call them children or call them adults. Either way, Virginia is one of the last outposts in the civilized world to execute individuals for crimes committed before they turned 18.

Almost every nation bans or avoids the practice. In the 27 years since the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment, only seven states have executed an individual who killed as a juvenile.

Texas leads with 13; Virginia follows with three.

The distinction, coupled with the relative swiftness with which executions are carried out in this state, earned Chesapeake the privilege to host the trial of Lee Boyd Malvo. The defendant was 17 when he was the alleged triggerman in a brutal sniper spree last fall.

Should Malvo be treated the same as John Allan Muhammad, who has already been sentenced to die for masterminding the killing spree?

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Those who say “yes” argue that age makes no difference in the heartache and pain suffered by the victims and their families. That is true.

The ultimate punishment is reserved for those who either have committed horrendous crimes or remain a threat to society. If convicted, there is no doubt that Malvo’s actions would fit the first condition. But would he be a threat?

Every parent of a teenager knows what science has been affirming at warp speed over the past several years: Teenage brains are in flux and the portions of the brain controlling impulsiveness and judgment are particularly late blooming.

In fact, the most current research suggests that full maturity in those areas does not occur until the early 20s. This does not mean that Malvo, if convicted, should ever be released from prison. It does mean that the issue of whether he remains a long-term threat can only be answered with a question mark.

To apply adult standards to individuals who create carnage under the age of 18 may seem proportional to the crime or may satisfy a desire for retribution. But it is wholly at odds with all sorts of societal norms deeming 18 to be the age at which reason and maturity take hold.

One must be 18 to vote, to serve in combat, to marry without parental consent, to buy tobacco, to serve on a jury, to be bound by contractual agreements.

Without passing judgment on the merits of the brainwashing defense raised by Malvo’s attorneys, it is easy to see how a juvenile would more easily fall prey to an adult’s manipulation than another adult.

Last year the Supreme Court refused to reconsider a 1989 ruling allowing the execution of individuals whose crimes were committed when they were either 16 or 17.

In contrast to its recent stand barring execution of the mentally retarded, the court failed to find an “evolving standard of decency” dictating against the execution of juvenile killers.

But four justices strongly disagreed. The movement of society is toward a more compassionate view of juveniles, they said. Just 21 states retain the death penalty for crimes committed by juveniles.

In seven, legislation has passed in one chamber of their state legislatures protecting youths under 18.

If Lee Boyd Malvo is found guilty, he may well be sentenced to death in Virginia.

But that would put Virginia outside the mainstream of the rest of the nation and the world. Both science and global society are moving toward an understanding that executing those who acted while not yet mature is its own form of immorality.

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