But they found a key door closed to them.

Sen. James T. Vaughn, D-Clayton, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he closed his office door to a trio of young lobbyists because they were interrupting a meeting he was having with Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner John Cordrey.

Vaughn holds the bill's fate in his hands.

"I told them I'd look at their signs and what they had, but that I was busy," he said. "When they didn't leave, I took their material and closed the door."

Danielle Lipman, a junior at Brandywine High School, said she was surprised by Vaughn's actions.

She said the students are working to pass the bill because studies show that many teens have not developed sufficient mental capacity to face execution for their actions.

Vaughn said he thinks Senate Bill 70 needs more study and that he's not likely to bring it up for a vote this session. The measure is opposed by Attorney General M. Jane Brady.

But the teens and the bill's sponsor, Sen. Margaret Rose Henry, D-Wilmington East, have an ally in Rep. Hazel D. Plant, D-Wilmington Central.

This summer, Laquan Robinson is to go to trial for first-degree murder in the slayings of Cedric Reinford, 30, and Maneeka Plant-Davis, 24, granddaughter of Hazel Plant and the late Rep. Al O. Plant Sr.

If convicted, Robinson could face the death penalty, if the jury decides the crime meets requirements in state law. Robinson was 17 at the time of the shootings.

"I don't think we should take another life," Plant said. "I will go and talk to Senator Vaughn about this. I think he has a heart and I hope he will listen."

Special to The News Journal/DEE MARVIN

Supporters of Senate Bill 70 (from left) Jenny Roh, Julie Newmeyer and Danielle Lipman, students at Brandywine High School, talk with Sen. Gary Simpson, R-Milford, Wednesday at Legislative Hall in Dover.