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Do juveniles deserve life sentence
Juveniles shouldn't be sentenced to life in prison
Life without parole for minors
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Recommended: Do juveniles deserve life sentence
Claim: Juveniles should not receive life sentences without parole.
Argument:
Adolescents, specifically, should not be given the sentence of life without parole. This is on the basis that all juveniles are not aware of the impact of their actions and furthermore, the possible consequences. “Children are not adults” (Ferriss) and therefore should not be dealt a sentence that is equivalent to an adult’s sentence. An adolescent does not possess the mature brain development to comprehend that their actions have a trickling effect. . “The rational part of a teen’s brain isn’t fully developed and won’t be until age 25 or so” (Sather and Shelat). They have an inability to understand that one wrong choice can change the course of their life.
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The thought process of this belief is if a teen commits an adult crime such as homicide or armed robbery, then an adult sentence should be assigned. As previously stated, adolescents do not have the ability to think through the consequences of their actions and they are strongly influenced by their peers. Their brains are still developing and because of this, “they are also uniquely capable of positive growth and change”(Southerland). Life without parole would inhibit the opportunity for positive growth and change in an adolescent. It is true that adolescents do need to be held accountable for their acts of crime and wrong doing in order to learn from their mistakes, but holding children accountable with a life sentence is not age-appropriate and does not permit rehabilitation. Racial bias has a strong existence in the courts when sentencing youth to life without parole. “Since 1992, an African American youth arrested for homicide has been twice as likely to be sentenced to life without parole as a white youth” (Southerland) Socioeconomics and race have unfairly influenced the sentencing of American youth. Children are children and they need to be granted the mercy that they deserve no matter what their race or socioeconomic status
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.
“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).
“You are hereby sentenced to life without the possibility of parole”. These are the words that a juvenile in America is likely to hear. Collectively, as a nation, the United States has incarcerated more juveniles with life sentences than any other nation. With this fact the arguments arise that juveniles should not be punished the same was as an adult would be but, is that really how the justice system should work? To allow a juvenile who recently robbed a store only get a slap on the wrist? Not comprehending that there are consequences for their actions and how what they have done affects the victims.
Heinous crimes are considered brutal and common among adults who commit these crimes, but among children with a young age, it is something that is now being counted for an adult trial and punishable with life sentencing. Although some people agree with this decision being made by judges, It is my foremost belief that juveniles don’t deserve to be given life sentencing without being given a chance at rehabilitation. If this goes on there’s no point in even having a juvenile system if children are not being rehabilitated and just being sent off to prison for the rest of their lives and having no chance getting an education or future. Gail Garinger’s article “ juveniles Don’t deserve Life sentence”, written March 14, 2012 and published by New york Times, mentions that “ Nationwide, 79 adolescents have been sentenced to die in prison-a sentence not imposed on children anywhere else in the world. These children were told that they could never change and that no one cared what became of them. They were denied access to education and rehabilitation programs and left without help or hope”. I myself know what it’s like to be in a situation like that, and i also know that people are capable of changing even children when they are young and still growing.
People have, not too long ago, realized that youth and adults are very diverse and should not be treated the same. They gave no time for children to develop the “meins reis”, therefore, they were not given the opportunity to learn. People were not aware that the brain of the youth were not fully developed and were not given the chance of change. They thought that once guilty you shall remain guilty. For that reason they were considered adults, when in reality, adult criminals will only continue to infatuate their mind with evil. The new Youth Criminal Justice Act focuses on change and reintegration with society. We have learned that the youth have not fully developed and do not have the full ability to comprehend such judgements.
For a juvenile to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole is almost to give that child the death penalty, a punishment that was outlawed in the 2005 case Roper v. Simmons. In Roper Christopher simmons challenged his death penalty sentence for murder at age 17 because of his claim that the was an “immature and irresponsible juvenile”. The Supreme Court overturned his sentence, saying that their was a national consensus against the death penalty for juveniles because so many states had rejected that as a viable form of punishment. A life without parole sentence is equal to the death penalty for a juvenile because the child is having any hope of living a semi-normal life terminated at a young age, in this case 14 years old. If this were your child would you want them to sit in jail for the rest of their life, with no hope and no reason to live? Or would you want them to, even if it was an impossibly long sentence, have a least some sliver of hope that maybe one day they will escape the icy hell of the prison walls and feel the sunshine upon their face once again? When the sentence of life with parole is given it is not a guarantee that the person will be let out, it is simply giving them some glimmer of hope and reason to
In a modern Western society where there is significant amount of research done of rehabilitation and criminal justice reform, the practice of sentencing JLWOP (Juvenile Life Without Parole) seems outdated and primitive. There are a number of prominent human rights groups that advocate for the banning of the LWOP sentence for juvenile offenders. In his 2010 article for the Journal of Offender Rehabilitation titled ‘Extinguishing All Hope: Life-Without-Parole for Juveniles,’ Frank Butler breaks down the ethical arguments against the sentence from a social policy perspective. He uses a number of pertinent facts and dates to support and enhance his argument, but retains a clear and concise presentation style, making the document easy to read and comprehend on an analytical level. It is clear from his title that it is not an objective piece, but his opinion is supporte...
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
In the article On Punishment and Teen Killers by Jenkins, sadly brings to our attention that kids are sometimes responsible for unimaginable crimes, in 1990 in a suburban Chicago neighborhood a teenager murdered a women, her husband, and her unborn child, as she begged for the life of her unborn child he shot her and later reported to a close friend that it was a “thrill kill”, that he just simply wanted to see what it felt like to shoot someone. A major recent issue being debated is whether or not we have the right to sentence Juveniles who commit heinous crimes to life in adult penitentiaries without parole. I strongly believe and agree with the law that states adolescents who commit these heinous crimes should be tried as adults and sentenced as adults, however I don’t believe they should be sentenced to life without parole. I chose this position because I believe that these young adults in no way should be excused for their actions and need to face the severe consequences of their actions. Although on the other hand I believe change is possible and that prison could be rehabilitating and that parole should be offered.
That’s why we don’t permit 15-year-olds to drink, drive, vote or join the military” (qtd. in Billitteri). There is adolescent-development research according to Hambrick, J. and Ellem, J that has shown “children do not possess the same capacity as adults to think thru the consequences of their behaviors, control their responses or avoid peer pressure” (qtd. in Lyons). There are some very good points made in the argument against sentencing youth as adults but I still have a hard time agreeing with peer pressure or impulse control as a reason to be held in a juvenile center for less than a few years for murder. Ryan, L. uses the example of a report released by the Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention on “Juvenile Transfer Laws : An Effective Deterrent to Delinquency?” This report found that prosecuting youths as adults has little or no effect on juvenile crime.” She uses this information and backs it up with the report showing “youths prosecuted as adults are more likely to re-offend than youths handled in the juvenile justice system” (qtd. in Katel). This is definitely a new perspective, but I still stand with my first take on the subject. “We know young people can commit serious crimes, and the consequences are no less tragic” (qtd in
There has been a large controversy debating whether teen killers should be sentenced to life in prison or given a chance to petition for parole. This is a complicated issue, but from what I have read and annotated, juveniles deserve the right to petition for parole depending on the situation, their mindset, and the setting they’ve been raised in. Justice Elena Kagan argues that life without parole for a juvenile overlooks their age and the environment they’ve been hopelessly influenced by. However, Justice Alito disputes that no matter what major crime a juvenile has commited they deserve the right to at least fight to be [released into society. ]
Approximately 2,500 juveniles get life without parole each year in the U.S. There are pros and cons of kids getting life. The pros are: once someone commits a crime they are more likely to commit another, people have closure knowing the criminal got the punishment they deserved. The cons of sending kids to jail for life are: the severity of the crime might not fit the punishment, the burden on taxpayers; $305 per day and most juveniles spend 135 days in juvenile detention center. Juveniles should be given a second chance.
Within reason, it is not imperative for them to be put into life in prison without parole because the expectations of a young mentality contradicts those of a life sentence in a facility made for adults; where no guidance is received to furthermore improve as individuals. Any type of possible punishment should depend on age, background, and mental state. Compared to an adult, a juvenile’s impulse forces them to want to end whatever situation they’re in therefore committing the heinous crime. Although the situation does not give someone the right to commit murder, their pain and suffering should mean something and they should be given more chance.
Should juveniles be trial as an adult after committing a heinous crime and sentenced to life? As a teenager, this question if far complicated to answer due that I am a teenager yet in my opinion, I believe that the juvenile should not be sentenced to life. I believe that there 's other way to punish them for their crimes. The last execution was in 2006 in California. On June 2012, the supreme court of justice ruled that juveniles cannot be sentenced to life in prison. On July 2014, in California the death penalty was removed. The 8th amendment banned the use of cruel or punishments. The reason why this rule have been imposed or banned was because many believed that they deserve a second chance. There are many reasons why juveniles commit crimes such as murder.
In today’s generation there are many children and teens that commit crimes to satisfy their self being. Every day we see in the news about the reasons why children or teens commit crimes like murder or homicide. Sentencing juveniles to life in prison is not a right response to prevent homicide and serious murder, because their brains are not fully develop and the bad environment they live in. Teenagers or children need to be remain unformed of preventing crimes in today’s society. With this said, juvenile’s mental brains, backgrounds and growth are the reasons why they are not proficient to maintain themselves in a prison cell.