Dead Teen Walking

In "Dead Teen Walking" and White Fang, it's apparent that the environment of both Cousins and White Fang were altered for the worst. White Fang was traded amongst "Gods", getting a feeling of worthlessness, much like when Cousins went to his "father" (isn't for sure). Also, after other outside influences, (wild dogs, Beauty Smith, and Robert Epps) they, who seem like perfectly sane beings, turned into monsters. (Of course, the obscurity of the evidence against Cousins should be taken into consideration.) Cousins was very involved in his school (academics and co-curriculars) and White Fang was curious and innocent. "For the time, fear had been routed by growth, while growth had assumed the guise of curiosity. (London, 77) Likewise, Cousins was "headed places"; "He got A's and B's, played varsity football and served as an usher in church...He wanted to be an accountant so he could manage the money he was going to make as an athlete," claimed his half-brother. Later on, Beauty Smith became the owner of White Fang, and Cousins started hanging out with Robert Epps, going with on many robberies. People have to be influenced in some way to act the way they do.

If the crime was extremely heinous, death row should be taken into account. I can't say that I am vehemently against the death penalty for teens, but it seems like there's always influence that made them this way. We are forced to think, now, about the government's power to make sure people don't have these situations, and also the amount of power the parents have. If we are to dismiss the actions of the individual because of their actions that are because of their past, does that give the government to check parenting skills? Would we protect the would-be victims by monitoring parents? White Fang helped me to see that although you might be put into a bad situation, you aren't forced to do anything that goes against what's right.