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Malvo Case: Beltway Sniper Issue: Should minors be put to death for the crimes they commit? Relevance to Case At Hand: Malvo was 17 when him and his accomplice (Muhammad) killed more than four people in a sniping spree. I believe that Malvo’s major influence was Muhammad, 41. Malvo did most of the shooting, but as an adolescent it may not seem fair to be put to death. As a minor, it is so easy to get manipulated and peer pressured into doing things that occur only because their maturity level has not developed. At ages 16-17 a juvenile is still immature and does things without realizing the seriousness of the consequences. At the same time there are juveniles that are leaders of gangs and have a lot of criminal intent on injuring or permanently harming others. How can we separate the children that do not know the seriousness of crimes they have done, from children that matured a lot faster and know the seriousness in everything they have done? Research Findings: It is a tough decision when it comes to determining whether a juvenile should be put to death or not. Research has also claimed that the human brain is not fully developed, specifically the frontal lobe, until the early 20’s. (Cassel, 03) All of our sources of organization, planning, strategizing, judgment, reasoning, and impulse control is not fully complete till the ages of 21 or 22(Cassel, O3). Malvo was 17 at the time of the murders and very easily persuaded by Muhammad. Should he be accountable for his mistakes by death or is it possible that a weekly dose of counseling and jail time be seen as a better punishment for him. â€Å"Adolescents as a group, even at the age of 16-17, are more impulsive than adults. They underestimate risks and overvalue short-term benefits. They are more susceptible to stress, more emotionally volatile, and less capable of controlling their emotions than adults.†(Cooperman, 04) If a child is raised around violence then it’s likely for the child to engage in violent behavior. This also depends how the violence is staged in front of the child. In this case, Malvo was taught violence rather than just seeing it second hand. This makes it more likely for Malvo to do violence acts, but how much of this is really his fault? He is still a minor and has not reached any stage of maturity.