The Age of Reason is an Approximation
Coming from a country where capital punishment has not been practiced in some decades, I see the advantage to abolishing it. First of all, my father is a civil attorney who specialized in murder cases early in his career. One of his first cases involved a murder trial in which the accused was a fourteen year-old boy. The jury was reluctant to convict, knowing that he would possibly face the death penalty. This isn’t uncommon from what I hear.
Secondly, with regards to the age of reason, we have to understand that this is an approximation. Canonically, the development of the faculty of reason is ungoing and the age of reason or the age of majority simply represents an approximation of when the use of reason in the case of transition from infant to child, or the full use of reason in the case of transition from childhood to adulthood, comes into force. Is it perfect? No. One doesn’t suddenly come bounding down the stairs on one’s eighteenth birthday and yell “Mom! Dad! Guess what? At midnight last night I suddenly, in a flash of consciousness, obtained the full use of reason!”
That being said, Eric asks what difference does the eight months make? Well, voting for one. Legally smoking and, before the partial prohibitionists got their way, drinking for another. Marriage is another in many states. Therefore, if it makes a difference in terms of rights, why not in terms of responsibility?