Life Without Parole Essay

According to www.aclu.org, “Approximately 2,570 children are sentenced to juvenile life without parole or ‘JLWOP’ in the United States.” The Supreme Court ruled that juveniles sentenced to life without parole is a violation of the Eighth Amendment, but there are some justices within the Supreme Court who believe that mandatory life without parole is a reflection of America’s philosophy that those who do the crime, do the time. I agree that children's crimes should not go unpunished, but we should not be giving juveniles mandatory life in prison without parole for murder without knowing the full details of the case. Most of this debate comes from the argument that teens are still developing their brain and bodily functions. This claim can be justified by looking at the brain patterns within teens and how they correlate with underdevelopment of the brain. Paul Thompson has done exactly that; in his article “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains”, he highlights the fact that, “...brain cells and connections are only being lost in

Not wanting to feel left out or not wanting to seem dull, teens are willing to do most of anything to be looked upon highly by their peers. This can be a reason as to what would cause a juvenile to commit murder or other heinous crimes; this can also open up the idea that teens are able to be rehabilitated and that there are other options other than life in prison. Put it this way, the same techniques used to make a teen have one beer or take one puff can be used to steer their lives back on the right path. As Gail Garinger in the article, “Teens Don’t Deserve Life Sentences” puts it, “The same malleability that makes them vulnerable to peer pressure also makes them promising candidates for rehabilitation.” This ties into teen’s brain development and how certain areas of the brain are to be looked at for figuring out the best rehabilitation techniques for better success in these