The Death Penalty for Crimes against Children

Among some supporters of the death penalty, there has been a call to expand the death penalty to crimes against children. Perhaps the most visible advocates have been Clint Eastwood and Angelina Jolie, who both spoke out in support of expanding the death penalty to include child abductions, rape and other horrific crimes against minors. These ideas don't reside only in Hollywood, however. Recently, Detroit City Council President Monica Conyers made the news when she called for the death penalty for anyone who killed a child.

The idea that crimes against children deserve a more harsh punishment is appealing on many levels. Jolie sums up the argument made most often: If it was my kid, "I'd want to go after" the killers. The rage we feel against those who perpetrate crimes against children is understandable. However, the revenge motive is not a motive for justice, and it does nothing to protect children. Putting someone to death for a crime against a child does not provide a deterrent, and the idea that getting the perpetrator off the street is served just as well by a life sentence as by a death sentence. We need to vigorously resist all calls to expand the death penalty, even in such emotional cases as crimes against children. Instead, we need to work on abolishing the death penalty while finding ways to reduce violence in our communities. That is the real way to keep children safe.