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Gideon Yaffe
Why are children entitled to lenience?
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| Ethan Crumbley At age 15, killed 4 classmates in Michigan Tried as an adult -- i.e. not in juvenile court Sentenced to life without parole Parents convicted of involuntary manslaughter for buying him gun and ignoring warning signs |
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The Developmental View
- The precocity problem
- The empirical dependence problem
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Reasons that should stop a 25 year old counterpart from committing murder
- Victims would suffer
- Victims would lose years of life
- Victims' families would be devastated
- Murder is illegal
- I've had a say over the law because I have the ability to vote***
Reasons that should have stopped Ethan Crumbley from committing murder -- one less reason, so less culpable (5: "those who are reduced in culpability are deserving of lesser sanction")
- Victims would suffer
- Victims would lose years of life
- Victims' families would be devastated
- Murder is illegal
- --
Assumption: the government can do less to someone who has no say in the law.
Similar idea, generally seen as plausible: "No taxation without representation!"
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Objections to the disenfranchisement view
- Teens are somehow different -- 5 year olds
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Other groups who can't vote. Are they also owed lenience?
He says a child facing punishment can say "not my law" and they are owed lenience.
- Visitors and immigrants can't vote, so are they owed lenience? NO.
- They can't really say "not my law" because they came to this country voluntarily.
- Compare the scenario where you are a guest in a house with a "no shoes in the house" rule. True, you didn't make the rule, but you can't really say "it's not my rule" since you decided to come to the house.
- (52:00)
- Asylum seekers can't vote, so are they owed lenience? YES.
- They're not like the visitors and immigrants because they didn't exactly choose to come to this country.
- So they can say "not my law" and they're owed lenience. (54:08)
- Felons in some states. YES
- If they lose the vote and then commit another crime, they can say "not my law" and they're owed lenience.
- He says felons should not actually lose the right to vote.
- (1:03:25)
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What does Yaffe say about why children shouldn't have the vote? (1:00:00)
- Their parents have a huge influence on them
- So a vote for kids is just an additional vote for their parents
- It's unfair to childless people for people with kids to have an extra vote.
- It's inconsistent with equality for all.
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In his talk Yaffe says there are just 3 ways to explain why children are owed lenience.
- Developmental View. Has the precocity and empirical dependence problems.
- Disenfranchisement View -- Yaffe supports
- Irrational sympathy View
Can you think of a fourth view?