Greg Ousely Is Sorry For Killing His Parents Summary

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Juveniles should not receive mandatory life in prison because their brains aren’t fully developed which is why we treat them differently from adults. Just because they commit a crime does not make them older, they should be treated the same way regardless of the crime. In the United States, we grow up in a violent loving culture with weapons being shown in movies, talked about in music, TV shows, and even cartoons. Not everybody grows up in perfect living conditions, and because they are still young they are influenced by what they see and experience around them. When kids commit a crime, it shouldn’t go unpunished however; they shouldn’t be sentenced to life. Sentencing a child to prison for the rest of his or her life should never be an …show more content…

On the other hand, in Jennifer Jenkins article On Punishment and Teen Killers; she says, “if brain development were the reason, then teens would kill at roughly the same rates all over the world”. This statement in general is true however, not all countries have the same violent loving culture that the United States developed which has an effect on these children. Not only should their brain development be taken into consideration but also their living environment, mental stability, and personality. In Scott Anderson’s Greg Ousely Is Sorry for Killing His Parents, Greg Ousley told his mom he had thoughts of murder but was neglected the attention he clearly needed. While Greg was doing his time, he got his education while deeply regretting what he had done and wants to help other young kids who are in the situation he was in. Greg is a prime example that people have the ability to change, especially at a young age. Not everybody is the same; each person is different in their own way and reacts differently to different situations. If a 13 year old can be faced with the same consequences as an adult, then that 13 year old should also be able to smoke, drink, live independently without any parental control, or simply have the same privileges as adults do. We treat a 13 year old differently from a 30 year old simply because the 13 year old is younger and is still considered a child, but why is it when they commit a crime they are now seen as the 30 year old. In Marjie Lundstrom’s article Kids are Kids – Until they Commit Crimes, he says, “the bigger the crime, the more eager we are to call them adults” and that,

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