Should the death penalty apply to juveniles? The Supreme Court refused to hear a case challenging the death penalty for minors. The issue remains unresolved.

• Position: Opinion

YES I've always believed in "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." All people need to be accountable for their actions, including juveniles. The death penalty is a fair punishment for those who murder--even if they were under 18 when they killed. I don't believe that killers can be rehabilitated, even if they are young.

Since August, my classmates and I have corresponded with death-row inmates in Texas as part of a class we're taking on the criminal-justice system. I have been repeatedly shocked and disappointed to see how the inmates lie about their cases. Their inability to be truthful even when they are already in jail has reinforced my opinion.

I don't feel any sympathy for someone who kills; I don't care how old they are. It would be one thing if they were 4 or 5 years old and didn't know right from wrong, but a 16-year-old should know better. If a killer has the intellectual ability to understand that what he or she did was wrong, then that killer must pay with his or her life.

In the biblical story of the Garden of Eden, God tells Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit, but they eat it anyway. So Adam and Eve are banned from the Garden of Eden--one strike and they are out. This principle should hold true for murderers of any age--one strike and you are out.

Furthermore, why should taxpayers pay to feed, house, and clothe a murderer for life? Killers with life sentences live better than our homeless people or those who work and are poor and deprived.

If you take a life, it cannot be given back. The ultimate punishment for murder should be death, even for teenagers.

CASEY JOHNSON, 18 DEER PARK, TEXAS NO Minors cannot vote or run for office, and in most cases they cannot live without guardians. Minors cannot even hold bank accounts or sign legal contracts without the consent of their adult custodians.

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