Monthly Archives: January 2018

By Skylar Sigala

Imagine lying in a hospital bed, in agonizing pain, knowing that you will die within the year. The only wish you have is to end the pain that persists day in and day out, to give you and your loved ones peace. That is the picture painted by Sarah Kelly, current member of the House of Representatives.

Kelly penned the bill in inspiration of her father, who was diagnosed with stage five Pancreatic Cancer. She also said the bill was penned while looking at bills that exist today in states such as Oregon, Washington, Vermont and California. Each of the states mentioned having legal physician-assisted suicide via court decisions based on a person being diagnosed with a terminal illness. Kelly’s bill stated that physician-assisted suicide can be available for patients who have been confirmed by two doctors to have a terminal illness and will die within six months. Kelly chose six months on the ground that, at six months the body of a terminally ill patient is already degenerating at a rapid pace. The patient must be eighteen years old and mentally competent

“If anyone is pressuring the patient into requesting the physician-assisted suicide, they will be forced to pay a fine,” Kelly said when asked about forced suicide.

Kelly went on to expand on the process.

“The qualifying patient must file 1 request while in sound mind and a second one fifteen days later,” Kelly said. “From there the physician will put the patient into a medically-induced coma and will give them a medication that will cause them to die peacefully thirty minutes later.”

Kelly wrote the rule of waiting fifteen days between requests in order for the patient to be fully sure about their decision.

Alexa Lacey, proponent speaker, said, “I believe having the choice of your own death is better than letting a disease tell you when to die.”

“This bill is absolutely necessary because it focuses on the absolute necessities of those who are terminally ill but it also takes into account the necessities of the human body…People have the choice whether or not to prolong or end their life,” said Jake Meyer, a fellow representative,

“It’s their right to end their pain.”

While in opposition Shamari Amaro, another representative who penned a similar bill, said, “This bill has good intentions…but has many loopholes and misconceptions.” Amaro spoke of the financial burden for families who cannot afford to pay for the physician-assisted suicide.

She then transitioned in the topic of the mentally ill.

“It is not fair. Are mentally incompetent people not allowed to end their pain also?” Amaro said.

Nicholas Noble, a representative from McKinney High School, contributed to the opposition.

“What the point? Six months is far too late for people who have endured long-term suffering,” Noble said. “I love the intention for the bill, but there

By Caden Ziegler

“No one really knows about appellate,” said Jonathan Ray, Law Academy Director at Creekview high school. “There are a lot fewer

By Gloria Ogunlade

With an estimated 500 Legislative delegates at the State conference this weekend, any YG participant is bound to come across an interesting, disputable, or even confusing bill topic. But what happens when two controversial bills crossing each other are put in the same room?

Delegates Lance Kyle and Robert King each presented bills relating to the discipline of criminals who committed crimes punishable by death. While King’s bill aimed to eliminate death row sentences completely, Kyle’s bill was almost the complete opposite intending to legalize public hangings. Both delegates presented their bills in the same committee room. Including the questioning period, pro/con speeches, and amendments almost every delegate in the room had something to contribute to both bills.

While Robert King’s bill was unanimously passed by his fellow delegates, Lance Kyle’s bill was rejected by the majority of the room. Both bills questioned the inhumanity of the regular death sentence but sought out different ways to combat it.

“I believe that public hangings are a more humane form of executions as well as a cheaper alternative to lethal injections,” delegate Lance Kyle said. “I chose to do this bill because I learned how inhumane and how high of a botch rate lethal injections have. I chose public hangings because they have the second lowest botch rate.”

The two delegates were not the only ones to do bills on the death penalty, but King’s passion for his bill set his it apart from other similar topics that were spoken on.

“I argued in there that we shouldn’t have to live in fear of death and we shouldn’t maintain order by that fear. I don’t think its right that our Texas government lawfully murders people,” delegate Robert King said. “Since last year, I couldn’t get capital punishment off my mind. It’s why I joined Youth and Government.”

Both students questioned the other during the questioning period when presenting their bill, but remained respectful and professional.

“I believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. If those who are on death row were aware of the lethal injection botch rate, I feel they would find it more humane to have a guaranteed instantaneous death than a slight chance of being burned alive,” Kyle said.

The similar goals of the bills made them debatable and distinctive, but both boys had a very different way of looking at the situation.

“I’m not necessarily angry by it,” King said. “I admire the intention. I just think it should have gone a step farther and stopped capital punishment altogether.”

Although only delegate King’s bill was passed, both delegates went a step further in challenging our actual American protocol.

“We are the only major country in the world that still has the death penalty,” Kyle said. “I would ask our government why we haven’t joined with the rest of the world and outlawed it.”

By: Willow Dalehite

Candidates are mentioned in order of appearance.

Laurel Hanson: Attorney General Candidate

“Everyone who’s made it here to state must have one thing in common – Youth and government is important to us.”

“I want to focus on clarity in the Youth & Government program by making sure that important competition information is available for everyone. We need equity of access… and this means posting all registration dates, case release dates, competition dates, and payment dates on the website.”

Grayson Winchester: Attorney General Candidate

“I believe each one of us in this room has the opportunity to positively influence each other, through our knowledge that we gain in our own government.”

“As attorney general, I will make it my goal to increase technologies and networks with which delegates from different schools will be able to better collaborate with one another, in order to be more effectively prepared for the District and State conferences.”

Mia Nguyen: Attorney General Candidate

“Every single participant in Youth and Government matters … Any organization, especially Texas Youth & Government, works best when all opinions are heard, and I will make sure that will happen if I get elected.”

“I would like to seek sponsors for Texas Youth & Government scholarships, because I do believe that what we do here is very amazing; we are full of hard-working, ambitious, and inspiring people.”

Jadarius Jones: Attorney General Candidate

“After hearing the concerns of my fellow judicial participants, the first thing I aim for this delegation is to solve the major issue of scores… In office, I will modify the score forms so it will allow groups to garner their results discreetly and in a timely fashion.”

Equal is everyone getting the same thing. Fair is getting what everyone needs in order to be successful. Help me make our judicial section equal and fair.”

Amena Tep Chief Justice Candidate

“I would like to improve

By Christina van Waasbergen

Yesterday’s opening ceremony began with a invocation in which Noelle Mitchell, the Youth Chief Justice, asked God to watch over the conference and make sure everyone has an enjoyable time. The convocation did not mention a specific religion and simply referenced “God,” but it was explicitly religious.

Many people found it to be an appropriate way to open the ceremony. “

YG Participants….

We look forward to seeing you in Austin in just 2 short weeks.  Soon we will post the Conference Brochure, Bill Book and Proposal Book on the website for you to begin reviewing schedules and making final preparations for the conference. Here are a few updates:

• This year’s YG Officers have selected “Ancient Greece, the Foundation of Democracy” as the dance theme.  We will provide guidelines and some pictures for appropriate attire you can wear to the dance.
• The dress for the banquet is business attire, so students will not need to change upon returning from the State Capitol on Saturday to go the banquet. After the closing ceremonies, students will have time to then change for the dance and evening social.
• Additionally we have posted the memo with judicial questions and answers to the resource portal in both Trial and Appellate.  There are no major changes to the case, just some clarifications to a few of the questions that were submitted.
• Look for emails from your section leaders in Media, Appellate and Elections for some last reminders you need before conference.
• We are hosting a Senior Reception on Saturday evening before the banquet dinner. This is a short 1 hour event for our graduating seniors and will include some round table discussions with guest speakers who will share career paths ins some different fields.

See you soon!