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Friday April 26, Y989
Death for teens: pols
By RICHARD SISK
News Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - Charging ten escape punishment for publican Research Commit- female jogger.
that youths who commit Iserious crimes because of a
erimes like the Central Park iuvenile justice system in
rape are not the "children of many states that "is modeled
folks like us," a group of basically for the middle class
House Republicans yester-
day urged that juveniles be us, the children... who may
tried as adults and 16-year-
olds face the death penalty.
Douglas and three other
members of the House Re- ing there last week of a young
ferring to the rape and bea.-
Rep. Chuck Douglas (R-
N.H.) said youths under 18 of-
tee Task Force on Crime said
they would introduce legisla- Message to juveniles
tion to make it mandatory un-
der federal law to mete out be: "If you're gonna do big
"full punishment" for "the boy crime, you're gonna do
most violent of juvenile of- big boy time."
fenders" if they are convict-
ed.
He said the message should
- the children of folks like
Douglas also said he didn't
"have any problem with the
death penalty being im-
posed" on youths aged 16.
Rep. Dennis Smith (R-Ore.)
said, "Age is not an excuse,
ly distanced themselves from poverty is not an excuse. We
the remarks of the task force do have to try them as
get into trouble with shoplift-
ing at an early age."
N.Y. pols speak out
New York City's two Re-
publican congressmen quick-
members.
adults."
New York's Molinari also
questioned the wisdom of try-
ing to pick an arbitrary age
That's an for the imposition of the
Referring to Douglas' "chil-
dren of folks like us" state-
ment, Rep. Guy Molinari (R-
N.Y.) said,
unfortunate statement that
should not have been made.
death penalty.
Green was puzzled that the
It doesn't matter whose chil- task force would focus on a
New York incident "when
they themselves admit that
Rep. Bill Green (R-N.Y.) New York has one of the
declined to attend the news stronger codes" on juvenile
justice, the spokesman said.
Rep. Charles Rangel (D-
Hariem) said he was sad-
dened by Douglas' statement
and believed that Douglas
"probably regrets making it."
But Rangel said he agreed
that juveniles should be tried
as adults for serious offenses.
dren they are. Laws are made
to be obeyed by all."
conference and "expressed
his displeasure with how it
was arranged," a spokesman
said
At the news conference.
Douglas said the current sys-
tem is useless "for the kinds
of kids who did what hap-
pened in Central Park," re-
2019
