Should Juvenile Offenders Be Sentenced to Life Without the Possibility of Parole

1134 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The role of environment on child development

After reading the article Should Juvenile offenders ever be sentenced to life without the Possibility of Parole (Steinberg, L.& Scott, E. 2010) I did some research on the adolescence stage of human development, regarding the reason juvenile offenders should not be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. And I have conducted a few facts of the adolescent brain supporting this argument. I have heard many stories of the cruel and evil crimes that some children have committed. There are a number of causes that can occur during development, that can cause these, kind of criminal behaviors. Antisocial behavior which can be broken down into different types of behavior (1.) the presence of antisocial behavior for instance aggressive and disobedient behavior (2.) the lack of prosocial behavior, prosocial is a behavior that demonstrates cooperative, truthful and caring children. Behaviors such as these can really alter a child’s behavior. Most children show signs of some antisocial behavior during their development, and different children demonstrate different levels of prosocial and antisocial behavior. Some children however, may manifest extreme levels of both antisocial and prosocial behaviors; for example, a very loving but hostile child. Some children can experience low levels of both types of behaviors. Extreme levels of antisocial behavior are considered a mental illness. Young children may show extreme antagonism towards authoritative figures, and be diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder. On the other hand, older children may lie, or engage in violent behavior, and be diagnosed with conduct disorder. Factors that contribute to an individual child’s antisocial behavior vary, but frequently the... ... middle of paper ... ... References Steinberg, L., & Scott, E., (2010). Should Juvenile Offenders Ever be sentenced to Life without the Possibility of Parole? Human Development, 53, p. 53-54. DOI: 10.1159/000288207 Steinberg, L., & Scott, E., (2010). Should Juvenile Offenders Ever be sentenced to Life without the Possibility of Parole? Human Development, 54, p. 53-54. DOI: 10.1159/000288207 Papalia, D. E., & Feldman, R. D., (1975-2011). A Child’s World: Infancy through Adolescence. (12thed.)In M. Campbell & H. Paulsen (Eds.), Psychological Development in Adolescence (pg. 463) New York, NY: Mcgraw-Hill. Myers, G. D., (2010).Psychology (9th ed.). In T. Kuehn & P. Twickler (Eds.), The Biology of Mind. (p.64). New York, NY: Worth Publishers. Myers, G. D., (2010). Psychology (9th ed.) In T. Kuehn & P. Twickler (Eds.), The Biology of Mind. (p.65) New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of Greg Ousley Is Sorry For Killing His Parents

    202 Words  | 1 Pages

    Juveniles don’t deserve life sentences without parole for many reasons but one main reason is becase people don’t know a person’s life at home and sometimes living in a broken home can affect their social life. According to the article “Greg Ousley Is Sorry for Killing His Parents”, the author Scott Anderson states that,“The only way to unlock the mysteries of the psyche is to dissect your childhood, especially the formative influence of your parents” (Anderson 56), proving that juveniles are easily influenced to do terrifying crimes and is not their fault because no one was there to guide them.

    Read More

  • The Empty House Of Lena Bruner

    927 Words  | 2 Pages

    “More than 2,500 children in the United States had been sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Most juveniles sentenced to life imprisonment without parole had been convicted of homicide crimes. We estimated there were fewer than two hundred juveniles serving life without parole for non-homicide offenses” (Stevenson, 2014, pp. 269-270).

    Read More

  • Making A Murderer Essay

    639 Words  | 2 Pages

    The sentencing of underage criminals has remained a logistical and moral issue in the world for a very long time. The issue is brought to our perspective in the documentary Making a Murderer and the audio podcast Serial. When trying to overcome this issue, we ask ourselves, “When should juveniles receive life sentences?” or “Should young inmates be housed with adults?” or “Was the Supreme Court right to make it illegal to sentence a minor to death?”. There are multiple answers to these questions, and it’s necessary to either take a moral or logical approach to the problem.

    Read More

  • The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) To Youth Offenders In Canada

    1402 Words  | 3 Pages

    The inappropriate or unnecessary use of incarceration is “expensive, ineffective, and inhumane,” and initiates a “cycle of juvenile reoffending” (Bala et. al, 2009). A study conducted by Mann (2014) exemplifies this cycle of youth reoffending. The youth interviewed demonstrated that despite a stay in sentenced custody, the threat of future punishment was not enough to deter from future offences. Cook and Roesch (2012) demonstrate that youth have developmental limitations that can impair their involvement in the justice system; for example, not understanding their sentencing options properly or their competence to stand trial. Therefore, deterrence as a justification for youth incarceration is ineffective, as incarceration proves to be not a strong enough deterrent. Alternative methods such as extrajudicial measures and community-based sanctions were considered more effective (Cook & Roesch,

    Read More

  • Life Without Parole for Juveniles

    958 Words  | 2 Pages

    Supreme Court ruling Graham v. Florida (2010) banned the use of life without parole for juveniles who committed non-homicide crimes, and Roper v. Simmons (2005) abolished the use of the death penalty for juvenile offenders. They both argued that these sentences violated the 8th Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. While these landmark cases made great strides for the rights of minors passing through the criminal justice system, they are just the first steps in creating a juvenile justice system that takes into consideration the vast differences between adolescents and adults. Using sociological (Butler, 2010) and legal (Harvard Law Review, 2010) documents, this essay will explicate why the next such step to be taken is entirely eliminating the use of the life without parole sentence for juveniles, regardless of the nature of the crime being charged.

    Read More

  • Juveniles Deserve Life Sentences Analysis

    823 Words  | 2 Pages

    First off sentencing juveniles without parole should not be allowed to happen because the juveniles brain has not yet matured enough and they don’t think before they act. In the article “Juveniles don’t deserve life sentences” by Gail Garinger he asserts “young people are biologically different from adults. Brain imagining studies reveal that regions of

    Read More

  • Baddeley and Hitch’s Working Memory Model

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    Passer, M., Smith, R., Holt, N., Bremner, A., Sutherland, E., & Vliek, M. (2009). Psychology; Science of Mind and Behaviour. (European Edition). New York.

    Read More

  • Juveniles Should Not Be Prison

    1015 Words  | 3 Pages

    Age is a factor in why Juveniles should not be sentenced to life in prison. As Paul Thompson states in his article Startling Finds on Teenage Brains from the Sacramento Bee, published on May 25, 2001 “ ...These frontal lobes,which inhibit our violent passions, rash action and regulate our emotions are vastly immature throughout the teenage years.” he also says that “The loss[of brain tissue] was like a wildfire, and you see it in every teenager.”. This loss of brain tissue plays a role in the erratic behavior of teens, they cannot properly assess their emotions and thoughts. During this period of brain tissue loss teens are unpredictable, adults do not know what their teen’s next move will be, teens themselves do not even know what their next move will be. As we grow our brains develop, therefore teen brains are not fully developed, so they cannot be held to the same standards as adults.

    Read More

  • Juveniles Deserve Life Sentences Analysis

    223 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the article, “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences” Gail Garinger states that , “young people are biologically different from adults. They cannot be held to the same standards when they commit terrible wrongs.” ( Garinger ). Teens are easily put under pressure by society, studies show that juveniles are shaped by their surroundings such as their environment and people they socialize with.

    Read More

  • Four Year Old Development Analysis

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gall, S. B., Beins, B., & Feldman, A. (2001). The gale encyclopedia of psychology. (2nd ed., pp. 271-273). Detroit, MI: Gale Group.

    Read More

  • The Relationship Between the Transactional Model, and the General Adaptation Syndrome

    1591 Words  | 4 Pages

    Gross, R (2010). Psychology: The science of mind and behaviour. 6th ed. London: Hodder Education. p188.

    Read More

  • The Oedipus Complex - Sigmund Freud vs. Jacques Lacan

    1388 Words  | 3 Pages

    Davis, Tom. The Theories of the Mind Lectures. Ed. G. Baston. Birmingham University. 9 Nov. 2000

    Read More

  • The Contribution of Split-Brain Studies to Our Understanding of Brain Functioning

    1339 Words  | 3 Pages

    Passer, M., Smith, R., Holt, N., Bremner, A., Sutherland, E., & Vliek, M. (2009). Psychology; Science of Mind and Behaviour. (European Edition).Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill. New York.

    Read More

  • Youth Criminal Justice System

    1178 Words  | 3 Pages

    When a crime is committed, the system decides an appropriate sentence for the offense. However, the increase of mandatory minimum sentencing and lack of judicial discretion have slanted this core value. Denying juries, the ability to deliberate the factors of the case to make an appropriate punishment. This issue of youth criminal justice is especially important in cases of youth that have been sentenced to life without parole. With their ability to change and grow, mandatory minimum sentences are both predominant and problematic throughout the criminal justice

    Read More

  • Should Juveniles Be Prison For Life?

    1524 Words  | 4 Pages

    For instance, juveniles do not deserve life sentences because their brain isn 't fully develop yet and lack awareness of their actions. In the article “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains” by Paul Thompson, he explains the development of the brain and how at some situation the brain it isn 't ready and it can affect the person. This effect in divergent ways; psychologically and emotionally. On Thompson article introduces the case of Nathaniel Brazill, at age 14, he was charged second degree murder, trial as an adult and sentenced to life in prison without parole. After a serious research, it has shown that as many other juveniles who have committed a crime they are “far from adulthood”. As other experiments have been done, more statistics have find “a massive loss of brain tissues occurs in the teen years”, this supports his idea that brain lack of awareness due to the missing of important tissues. In another article “Adoles...

    Read More

More about Should Juvenile Offenders Be Sentenced to Life Without the Possibility of Parole

Open Document