The article "Dead Teen Walking" and the novel White Fang both give evidence that environment and society have a huge impact on our actions. In "Dead Teen Walking," a study was described which found that most minors on death row had a very rough childhood and were in minority groups. "But in addition to the racial imbalance of the death row population that Hawkins cites, experts say juvenile offenders on death row are often the victims of recent, horrible child abuse." White Fang is beaten and abused, and he is turned into a killer. "They were his environment, these men, and they were molding the clay of him into a more ferocious thing than had been intended by Nature."
Another similarity between "Dead Teen Walking" and White Fang is the fallible and sometimes unjust judicial system in America. In "Dead Teen Walking," Shareef Cousin claims that he is innocent and in fact, has some witnesses that support his story. He says that he has been unfairly condemned. In White Fang, an escaped convict who had been convicted by Judge Scott, attempts to murder him. This convict was unfairly convicted, revealing the imperfect nature of the judicial system. This convict is now bent on revenge because he has been pushed too far.
I strongly disagree with teens being put on death row. First of all, judges and juries can make mistakes, and once a person is dead, they can never be given their life back. Secondly, most of the teens sentenced to death are minorities. This suggests that their is strong prejudice towards blacks and Latinos, and it is unfair that they are not given as many "second chances" as white teens are given. Lastly, many of the teens that have committed horrible crimes, were brutally abused as children and have suffered many physical and psychological damages. Since they are so young, there is hope that, with help, they could overcome their problems and lead productive lives. Everyone deserves that chance. White Fang definitely supported my view of capital punishment being wrong. It showed how society can shape criminals and that the judicial system isn't perfect. Nobody should have the right to take away another person's life, even a hardened criminal's.
