Should Children Be Sent To Life In Prison?

Paul Thompson in the article, Startling Finds Teenage Brains, explains that a teen named Nathaniel Brazill was ruled by a Florida grand jury, who had previously ruled Brazill, was going to be tried as an adult. Thompson supports his explanation by first analyzing the problem and if Brazill had been tried before. He then investigates the situation and why teens decide to commit crimes. Lastly, the author explains how there was a university that researched why teens act the way they do. They were surprised at what they found out. They found out that massive loss of brain tissue occurs in the teen years. Thompson’s purpose is to show why teens commit crimes and act the way they act in order so that their parents take care of their teens and so

The juvenile court was founded on the belief that juveniles just don't posses the cognitive capacity to fully understand the repercussions of their actions. The juvenile court used to use all its resources to focus on how to rehabilitate juveniles, now all the court proceeding are to establish the legal guilt of a juvenile offender and a small percentage of the legal process establishing adequate punishment. Research on the brain over the last twenty years gives us more knowledge about how children develop and think. Until recently scientists believed the brain was fully developed by age 12. With brain imaging research we now know that this is not true(4 walker). The May 10, 2004 issue of Time Magazine discusses the development of the teen brain in great detail. Dr. Ruben Gur, a professor and director of the Brain Behavior Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania states that impulse control is the last area of the brain to develop and the first to fail as we age(4 walker). Teens do not think like adults due to the lack of impulse control and raging hormones. Hormones fuel emotional responses in teens. Drug use during these formative years damages brain development. How teens spend their time may affect the development of the brain(4 walker). Other research at the National Institute of Mental Health suggests that full

In the article Startling Finds on Teenage Brains, by Paul Thompson, believes that teenagers are still maturing and they should not be treated like adults if they are committing crimes. Thompson has the strongest ethos because has the most information on the teenage brain, and also has logical statistics to understand his argument. Thompson is an assistant professor of neurology at the UCLA, and has done many tests to prove his statement, for example he states, “teen-brain research is finding that a massive loss of brain tissue occurs in teen years (4).” This means that throughout the years the brain is deteriorating. He also claims, “... the part of the frontal lobes that inhibit reckless actions restructure themselves with startling speed

When dealing with a topic as controversial as is, we must take into consideration all aspects since there is a human life a risk. A life many may consider to not have even started yet. For a child to get sentenced to life in jail makes absolutely no sense. I agree with the Supreme Court justices who are for the eradication of mandatory life sentences to prison for juveniles because teens are still developing and changing everyday. We should take into account this proven biological fact as well as the environment of which they are exposed to every day.

On June25, 2012 the Supreme Court ruled that juveniles who committee murder could not be stentced to life in prison because it violates the eighth amendment. I understand that it violates the eighth amendment, but if we don’t stop these kids doing this kind of crime then we are letting them know that it is okay for them to do it at a young age when it’s not. Then we ask ourselves what we could’ve done when we lose a love in the violate choice that they chose. I would disagree with the Supreme Court in this case because we have to let them learn their lesson, they need to start to take responsibility, and because it has nothing to with the mentally.

Juvenile who show remorse for the crimes they commited should not be sentenced life without parole. Some kids commit crimes without realizing the damage they’ve cause, and I don’t think it's fair to be sentenced to life without parole. In the book “Just Mercy” the story of Trina who accidentally set a house on fire that killed two people. She was only fourteen, mentally disabled and sentenced to life in prison without parole for a crime she didn't’ intend to commit. A Lot of the crimes that committed by kids are usually mental illness and bad upbring and they shouldn’t be imprisoned for life without parole.

Many would say children who commit harsh crimes deserve to be punished, and the punishment should fit the crime. On one hand, support groups for juveniles argue it is unconditional for a children to spend the rest of their live in jail because their mind are not fully matured and they do not have a clear understanding of the crime committed and punishment that follows. On the other hand, these children killed and most hide from their crimes as it was never committed. Many of these children that were sentences to life in jail face a hearing rather than a trail, psychological casework is done to determine the state of mind of the child at the time of the crime, before and after. The child’s life is in

Whether Brandon Moore should be sentenced for life due to crimes he committed at age of fifteen, or receive a chance to parole.

Yes, juveniles deserve life sentences in jail if they decide to commit a violent crime. This is because there is no effective deterrent to force them to think twice. Over the course of time, this has resulted in even more juveniles being arrested for these activities. Evidence of this can be seen with figures provided by the Center for Disease Control. ("Youth Violence," 2010)

There are approximately 1,200 people that are currently serving a life sentence for crimes they committed as children (“Sentenced Young”). More than 25% of those people “were convicted of felony murder or accomplice liability”, as in they were not the person who killed the individual and may have not even been there when the killing took place (“Facts and Inforgraphics”). The majority of the juveniles sentenced to life-without-parole come from states where that is the mandatory sentence regardless of their age or circumstances (“Facts and Inforgraphics”). California, Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania have the greater part of the juveniles sentenced to life-without-parole (“Facts and Inforgraphics”). Fourteen states have banned

People need to realize that life sentencing is not bad. It is a form of justice, “Getting an eye for an eye”, but the more realistic way. Because if people were to kill because someone killed their own, there would be no peace and crime would occur everywhere. Many people are biased to say that a juvenile should get sentenced to life when it involves their own family, who wouldn’t. But we have to be reasonable enough to realize that a juvenile doesn’t deserve to die, they are just starting their life. In the article "Behind one Supreme Court case, the tale of forgiveness for sister's killer", by Cristian Science Monitor, the author states “Three years ago, the Supreme Court declared that mandatory life sentences were unconstitutional for those

Do you remember when you were scolded by your parent after you stayed beyond your curfew or scratched your their car? You were probably in trouble but then given another opportunity to redeem yourself. Just as a parent forgives his child when they did something wrong after they face their consequences, our judicial system should not sentence juveniles as adults since adults can face life in prison. In 2012 the Supreme Court ruled that juveniles cannot be sentenced as adults and serve life sentences. They argued that life sentences would be unconstitutional because they would violate the 8th amendment regarding the ban of cruel and unusual punishments. Juvenile should not be sentenced as adults when they commit heinous

Think about one thing real quick. Look back at the stupidest decision or act that you made when you were ten, fourteen, or even seventeen years old. If you were put in the same circumstance now as you were then would you make the same choice? Most likely not. You see; we, now as adults; don’t think the same way we used to when we were minors.

In day’s society, there is a lot of debate and discussion on whether or not Juveniles should be sentenced to life in prison. Take in consideration that were talking about kids as young as like 6 years old. People talk about whether it’s right or not in other country’s they even banned the death penalty. Different people believe in different things. For example a group of people believe that juveniles should be sentenced to life in jail if they commit a heinous crime. Then there are people that believe that the juveniles should not be sentenced to life in prison. I personally belief that Juveniles or young adults should be sentenced to life in prison if they did commit a heinous crime.

People obviously know that teenagers do not have a fully developed mind, but they do not know what causes these immature actions. In the article On Punishment and Teen Killers, “If brain development were the reason, then teens would kill at roughly the same rates all over the world. They do not” (Jenkins Par. 8). This shows that teenagers are not all killers or sociopaths, it states that teens do not think the same way as others do in different situations. In the article Startling Finds on Teenage Brains, “These frontal lobes, which inhibit our violent passions, rash actions, and regulate our emotions, are vastly immature throughout the teenage years” (Thompson Par. 7). This fact proves that teens do not have a mature mind to make correct decisions