We put people in prison for many different reasons, in most cases these reasons revolve around removing this person from society not only for “the safety of others”, but also for “the safety against themselves”. People by definition, extends to all; including juveniles. In fact in some cases, a juvenile can commit a crime as horrific as an adult. In order to demonstrate the principle that some juveniles deserve life sentences; we will look at the case of T.J. Lane. T.J. Lane had a small bit of a criminal past, and a criminal father role model to look up. Other than the occasional “…[losing] touch with reality and suffer[ing] from hallucinations, psychosis and fantasies”(Sheeran), T.J. Lane functioned pretty normal. However, despite this normality he decided to skip going to his school for the day and instead went into “…Chardon High School east of Cleveland on Feb. 27 [, 2012]…”(Sheeran). He then decided that truancy was not enough, so armed with a motive of “…‘I don’t know’”(Sheeran), and “…a .22-caliber pistol and a knife…”(Sheeran), he walked into the school and began “…firing 10 shots at a group of students sitting at a cafeteria table” (Sheeran). The end result was that he “…kill[ed] three and seriously wound[ed] two…”(Sheeran). Those that were “[k]illed in the attacks were Demetrius Hewlin, 16, Russell King Jr., 17, and Daniel Parmertor, 16” (Sheeran). When T.J. Lane was arrested he “…was wearing a T-shirt with the word ‘Killer’…”(Sheeran). At the time of the crime T.J. Lane was “…17-year[s]-old…”(Sheeran). He was “…sentenced him to three life terms in prison with no chance for parole”(Ng). This crime was just as horrific as any adult crime, the only difference was that he was underage at the time of the crime.
In my mi...
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...for that said crime. In the end though, really will society ever have a use for T.J. Lane? If they released him in the same psychopath state he is in they would be punishing to society. I think the sentencing was fair and that no parole is fair. Think of it this way, would you really want to sit next to T.J. Lane and have him be part of our AJ 10 class? I would say no.
Works Cited
Mahbub, Mufsin. “T.J. Lane Gets Life Sentence: Top 10 Facts You Need to Know. Heavy. 19 Mar 2013. Web. 5 Feb 2014
Ng, Christina. “How Ohio School Killer TJ Lane Snuck ‘Killer’ T-Shirt Past Authorities”. ABC News. 20 Mar 2013. Web. 5 Feb 2014
Read, Tracey. “Experts analyze T.J. Lane’s demeanor in the courtroom”. News-Herald. 24 Mar 2013. Web. 5 Feb 2014
Sheeran, Thomas. “T.J. Lane, Chardon High School Shooting Suspect, To Be Tried As Adult”. Huffington Post. 25 May 2012. Web. 5 Feb 2014
"In October 1997, a 16-year old in Pearl, Mississippi, first killed his mother and then went to school and shot nine students, two fatally; in December 1997 a 14-year old went to his school in West Paducah, Kentucky, killed three students and wounded five others; in March last year, two boys, aged eleven and thirteen, killed four girls and a teacher outside their school in Jonesboro, Arkansas; the next month a science teacher was shot dead, allegedly by a 14-year old, at a school dance in Edinsboro, Pennsylvania; last May in Fayetteville, Tennessee, an 18-year old student allegedly shot dead a classmate in the school car park; two days later, in Springfield, Oregon, a 15-year old opened fire at his high school, killing two teenagers and wounding more than twenty (police later found that his parents had been killed at home) ("Lesson"). On April 20th of this year, two teenagers enter their school and open fire, killing 12 students and one teacher before taking their own lives.
...e did not believe the defendant did the crime. After a while, the Alabama court sentenced Haywood patterson to 75 years in prison.
Toppo, Greg, and Marilyn Elias. "Lessons from Columbine: More Security, Outreach in Schools." USA Today. USA Today, 13 Apr. 2009. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
In Case one, I agree with the sentence because both defendants were responsible for each other actions. They were responsible for each others actions because they committed the crime together.In Case two, I do not agree with the sentences at all. Owen Barber should have received the life sentence and Wolfe should have been acquitted due to lack of evidence.In case three, I disagree with the sentince completly. A fourteen year old should not be able to receive a life sentence. How can a person who hasn't experienced
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.
It is a Friday afternoon in Charlesbay High School. Students are piling into the lunch lines awaiting hot pizza, fresh French fries and ice-cold sodas. As the students discuss what they are going to do after the football game and how their 1st hour test was, a gunshot is heard not far away. The students are ordered to stay low to the ground by school security guards. None of the students know what is happening outside the lunch lines. What is going on is a 17-year old frenetic boy who attends Charlesbay, got upset with a couple students. He was sick of hearing them call him “dumb” or “butterball” and pushing him around the hallways. Robby, we’ll call him, took matters into his own hands and decided to do something about his bullies. The way Robby obtained his gun was by a friend, an older friend. This lethal weapon caused the death of 3 students and 5 injuries. What was just explained seems to be a typical storyline heard on the news daily.
...ndtrack of the School Shootings : Cultural Script, Music and Male Rag." Sage Publications. (2011): n. page. Web. 19 Jan. 2012. .
On April 20, 1999, within the tiny, suburban city of Littleton, Colorado, two high-school seniors, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, enacted a full-scale assault on columbine high school throughout the middle of the school day. The boys' idea was to kill many of their colleagues. With guns, knives, and a large number of bombs, the two boys walked the hallways and killed. Once the day was done, twelve students, one teacher, as well as the two murderers were dead; and 21 of them were wounded. The haunting question remains: why did they decide to do this?
Having to grow up in a prison, especially one where they do not care about your feelings, really impacts him cognitively. I think juveniles should not be trialed as adults because there is harsher punishment. According to PBS, "Most leniently parents who kill their children but most harshly child in who kill their parents". During adolescent development decision making is weak, which comes from the brain being so vulnerable. I think in the special case of juveniles they are not harden criminals. In the cases of Jacob Ind and Nathan Ybanez I feel as if the teenagers had a build up of bottled emotions, and couldn't handle it anymore. With the brain being so vulnerable and decision making being so weak I think the teens snapped. After years of abuse and sadness I think the teens thought as if there was no other way out. Either the parents die or they do. Instead of being trialed as adults and spending life in prison, I think adolescents who commit crime should have an alternative that will not negatively impact their brain development. I think the problem derives from the adolescents seeking the wrong coping mechanism. If the adolescents could experience help from adults and professional rather than channeling it through violence and drugs, less crime from adolescents would
Jenkins Jennifer “On Punishment and Teen Killers.” Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, 2 August 2011. 7 May 2014.
America has evolved over the centuries, from a British colony to an international powerhouse. At one point, the U.S was considered the greatest country in the world. America always found solutions to problems, and tried to help make peace throughout the world, but now that is up to debate. Why? The answer is simple, the government. The dishonesty and bad decisions have resulted in America’s title as a superpower to waver. The government is a growing problem that may lead to the demise of America by negatively affecting political, social, and economic issues in the country.
For every 12 homicides committed in the United States 1 of them involves a juvenile offender (Howard N. Snyder, Juvenile Offenders and Victims, 2006). Although most American don’t realize it, juvenile homicide is a problem in the United States that needs to be fixed. Even though statistics show that the homicide rate done by juveniles is at its lowest rate since the early 1980’s it is still a problem. Juvenile homicide has lowered in the recent years, but the fact that it still happens is chilling to most Americans. Most Americans believe that juveniles who show early signs of deviant acts are not a big deal, however if we try and help those juveniles, we can possibly stop them from committing homicidal acts when they get older. In fact the social learning theory, general strain theory, and social control theory point to the idea that juvenile homicide can be prevented.
This shows how instead of having kids get rehabilitated in an a jail it is actually harming them. In adult prisons, “they are also kids that are in for minor crimes. They should not be in adult prison but instead in juvenile facilities where they can be rehabilitated”(Bechtold). This might be linked to the color of skin of a kid because judges think they are dangerous. “Out of all the juveniles, 32.1 percent of them in adult prisons reported being attacked with a weapon while being incarcerated. This could led to many juvenile deaths”(Bechtold). This fact is important because instead of being rehabilitated they are fighting for their lives. They come out thinking everyone is out to hurt them because of what they have endured during the time the have been in prison.Lisa Poliak, author of Teen Crime Adult Time Each Year, Thousands of Juvenile Offenders are Sent to Prison. Does the Practise Discourage Criminal Behavior- Or is it Cruel and Unusual Punishment?,did a case of a kid named Jason
Christopher, Liam. “Mother ‘vindicated’ after girl’s murder suspect held.” Daily Post. 18 Aug. 2006: 19. Proquest Newsstand. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
“Juvenile Justice and Injustice” New York, New York Margaret O. Hyde, 1977. Johnson, Jason B. Slain Teen’s family: Cops eyeing 7-10 suspects.” Boston Herald. 7 April 1995 Olney, Ross R. Up Against The Law. New York, New York: NAL Penguin Inc., 1985.