If you are 16 or 17, you can understand the consequences of what you are doing. It's not like, when you turn 18, that all the Secret Arcane Knowledge of Reality is suddenly bestowed upon you.
Hell, I'm all for executing kids over the age of 12 if they really deserve it; or at least locking them up for life.
I think that many people underestimate how much kids understand. I was a little kid; I knew the consequences of my actions.
Hang 'em high, I say! Err... well, maybe not so high if they're just kids.
