Meg Cowan

I strongly oppose HB 1737-FN. Reinstating the death penalty for offenses involving minors under age 13 is an extreme and irreversible policy that is not supported by medical, legal, or criminological evidence. Children lack the neurological development necessary for full impulse control, risk assessment, and understanding of consequences, a reality well established by neuroscience. Capital punishment does not deter crime, carries a serious risk of wrongful conviction, and permanently forecloses the possibility of treatment, rehabilitation, or later judicial correction. Serious crimes involving minors demand accountability, incarceration, and intensive court-directed mental health evaluation—not execution.