O u r B e t t e r S e l v e s . c o m - Welcome! - dylann roof death penalty capital punishment against cannot doesn't apply

Published: January 12, 2017

An essay germ.

My theory of Agape, that is, Brotherly Love, does not exclude capital punishment, although it reserves it as a final option that can only be exercised after a hierarchical, multi-tier process of personal exploration and reflection by the immediately bereaved.

However, capital punishment can only apply to persons having reached full intellectual maturity, which, according to the present state of Developmental theory, excludes persons under 40 years old.

The December 22, 2010 article by Lin Edwards in the online health and medical journal MedicalXpress entitled Brain is not fully mature until 30s and 40s states:

"New research from the UK shows the brain continues to develop after childhood and puberty, and is not fully developed until people are well into their 30s and 40s. The findings contradict current theories that the brain matures much earlier."

Accordingly, as Dylann Roof's brain was not fully developed at the time of his crime, and for that matter still isn't, he is not fully responsible for his behavior and thus cannot be made to pay the ultimate price. This is very straightforward.