Youthful Offenders Should Not Be Sentenced

Life without parole is a waste of life. Juveniles have been sentenced to life without parole. Juveniles are never given second chances. I believe that rehabilitation is necessary it gives hope to them. In juveniles Don't deserve life by Gail garinger she states ¨nationwide, 79 young adolescents have been sentenced to die in prison. These children were told that they could never change and that no one cared what became of them¨. In on punishment and teen killer by jenifer jenkins she states ¨The juvenile death penalty was abolished here years ago and a life sentence still allows a great deal of good living to be done even from behind bars¨. After considering both sides

All juveniles should not receive life sentences for felony crimes committed one time. Every year in the US, children as young as 13 years of age are sentenced to spend the rest of their years of life in prison; sometimes, without the option of parole. Juvenile life without parole may also be known as “JLWOP.” Even though there’s a consensus saying that a child cannot be tried or held at the same standards as an adult and recognize that children are empowered to a higher level of treatment and protection, the US still allow for children to be tried and/or punished as an adult.

There are times juveniles should not be convicted as adults because sometimes the “crimes” may not harsh enough to be charged as an adult. For example, if a 8 year old saw a gun in their mother's purse and thought it was a toy and grabbed it and began to shoot who would be at fault ? Plus children in adult prisons are 10 times more likely to be taken advantage of in their time. Research shows that children prosecuted in the adult criminal justice system are more likely to reoffend than those held in the juvenile justice

Many people believe adolescents should pay for the crime they have committed however, others believe they shouldn't because their brains are not fully developed according to scientists who have made this study. District Attorney Peter Weir, talks about Austin Siggs who committed a felony and emphasizes his opinion on siggs being fully charged as an adult. As a result, others disagree and strongly believe teenagers should not be charged as adults and say ¨His [Austin Sigg] brain is not fully developed. He can't make good decisions or be held fully accountable for his actions¨. In other words the quote above explains adolescents do not have the right mentality to be charged with an adult felony and this is not actual justice. Nevertheless many believe if teens have the mentality to commit a horrendous crime they should face the consequences and must know right from wrong by this age.

Juveniles should not receive severe adult sentences for the murders they commit due to their underdeveloped prefrontal cortex not allowing them to fully process decisions and consequences at a young age. In fact, the prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain where decision making originates and does not fully develop until the age of 25. Furthermore, sentencing a juvenile as an adult while they are at an impulsive age and subject to peer pressure is resulting to cruel and unusual punishment as defined in the eighth amendment of the United States Bill of Rights. Eventually, imposing an adult verdict over a juvenile would inhibit a proper rehabilitation for the convicted juvenile. Hence, it is recommended that states that currently have life without parole or the death penalty laws, ratify a new law for juvenile convicts for proper sentencing and rehabilitation.

They are many different article that talk about teen killers but Garinger is the most accountable in her work and uses the most and best ethos. She wrote the paper called “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences.” In her write she argues about how kids are just kids and don’t have a fully developed brain. They don’t deserve to be given a adult sentence and deserve to have a second chance to have a life of no crimes. One step she uses to make us think that she is credible is the way she uses how teens are just tempted by other to do something they shouldn’t. “Peer pressure also makes them promising candidates for rehabilitation”(8). This use of works makes the reader feel that if they are peer pressured to do something then maybe the tens deserve

Approximately two million adolescents a year are arrested and out of that two million, 60,000 of them are incarcerated according to the American Journal of Public Health. The 60,000 incarcerated adolescents each year are being tried as adults in court because of the serious crimes they have committed. The crimes they have committed are anything from armed robbery to murder. Some juveniles might be first time offenders and others might be repeat offenders. Crimes have always been a major issue in the United States and can cause controversy in the criminal justice system. Charging a minor as an adult in criminal court varies from state to state based on each state’s jurisdiction. Some states consider anyone up to the age of 18 still a juvenile and would not be charged as an adult in criminal court, but other states may charge a juvenile as an adult at the age of 16 or 17. Jordan (2014) states, “Although states already had methods for transferring youth to the adult system, as a result of the growing fear of juvenile violence, most states implemented new laws to increase the number of youth entering the adult criminal system’ (Bernard & Kurlychek, 2010; Torbet et al., 1996)” (p. 315). While it sounds beneficial to incarcerate more adolescents in the adult criminal justice system to avoid juveniles from committing crimes in the future, that is not always the case. Incarcerating these juveniles can be life changing in a negative

Between 1990 and 2010 the number of juveniles in adult jails went up by nearly 230%. Now about a tenth of confined young people are in an adult prison or jail. Minors shouldn’t be charged as adults, but it does make a little sense.

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)

Others may think that juveniles should be sentenced to life without parole because if they are old enough to commit the crime, then they are old enough to serve the time. These individuals may think that teens who commit crimes need to take responsibility for their own actions. However, most teens who are convicted of crime live in a community where they eventually learn that crime is something typical rather than something inhumane. A juvenile serving life without parole mentions in an article, “ I looked to the gang in the streets for love and support…I stopped going to school because I was not learning or getting special help with my learning disability” (qtd. in Nellis 9). This quote demonstrates that these teens who live in a community full of crime, tend to see crime as something that is rather acceptable.

In the module Juvenile Justice, the class learned about how many of today's prison systems hold children that are serving life sentences without the option of parole. Many of these kids are in prison because of a mistake or something that they did during a mental break. These kids came from dark backgrounds with abuse and pain and then have one bad break and get put into jail until the day they die. Depending on the situation that the kids were in before the crime should also determine why they acted out and committed that crime. These kids should not get life without parole because they are underdeveloped and not given a fair chance at the reasoning behind their crimes.

When teens commit a crime they have just as much responsibility as an adult has when committing a crime. As Marjie Lundstrom says in “Kids are Kids”, “They are kids that is, until they foul up. Until they commit crimes. And the bigger the crime, the more eager we are to call them adults.” In this quote I believe her words because there are some kids out there that do worse crimes than adults and there are kids that commit crimes when some adults don’t commit crimes at all.

Should juveniles get adult jail sentences? In today's society juvenile offenders are facing the law to full force, in two court systems. Not only are they tried in the juvenile justice system, but also charged as adults. The issue of charging juveniles as adults has stirred various views owing to the violent crimes committed by the young offenders. Politicians comment that the best solution is to lock up juvenile offenders for a long time and ignore rehabilitation. However, prior researches on the topic of juvenile delinquencies suggest that trying young offenders in the adult legal system and putting them in adult prisons will only lead to increased crime, higher costs, and increased violence(John & Jiangmin 568).

Many young adolescents who have committed horrendous crimes have been a huge topic amongst the Supreme Court. Whether young adolescents are viewed as innocent, naive children to the public, this not changed the fact they can commit brutal crimes. In spite of the fact that adolescents have committed brutal crimes such as murder, one needs to understand that their brains are not as fully developed as an adult brain would be. Adolescents should not be trialed to a life sentence or attend adult prisons; however, they should be punished for their actions and undergo rehabilitation programs to help them be prepared to fit in with the rest of society.

The parts of the brain connected to judgment, impulse control and decision-making abilities are undeveloped in juveniles. The human brain is not fully mature until the age of 25. Kids who commit crimes should have another chance. It’s not their fault. It’s who raised them, what environment they live in and how their brain function all affect kids.