Should juveniles be sentenced to life without parole? Juvenile delinquents who commit a heinous crime should be sentenced to life in prison. The age of any criminal should not be the determining factor whether someone is not sentenced to life. I do not agree with the Supreme Court justices decision to terminate mandatory life in prison for juveniles who commit murder.
Many people argue that juveniles should not be sentenced to life in prison because they are just kids. Everyone understands “young people are biologically than adults. Brain imaging studies reveal that the regions of the adolescent brain responsible for controlling thoughts, actions and emotions are not fully developed”(Garinger). Research on adolescent brain development confirms the commonsense understanding that children are different from adults in ways that are critical to identifying age appropriate criminal sentences. Young teens should have the capability to know right from wrong in most situations. The brain imaging shows how the brain matured but it does not the brain tissue loss. Although many normal teens are experiencing a lot of tissue loss in their brain, it does not mean they do not have accountability(Thompson).
Young teens under the age of eighteen commit and are sentenced to life in prison. Surprisingly there are eighteen thousand prisoners across the United States under the age of eighteen(Calamari). There is a felon by the name of “ Brazil he was charged for killing his middle school teacher and was guilty of second-degree murder(Thompson). A teacher’s job is to make you better and prepare you later for life, not to make you miserable. The young offender Brazil was only thirteen when he killed his middle school teacher, he said it was a stupid mistake. The fact that he brought a gun to school means that he planned the act of killing his teacher, which proves that it was not a mistake. After he killed his teacher he felt remorse because Brazil has accountability for his actions. The impulsive judges believed His actions, while not accidental, were not fully thought out either(Thompson). To argue that his actions and accusations were fully thought out due to him planning to bring a gun to school. Even though Brazil’s actions were a “stupid mistake”, it is a mistake that put him behind bars for a long time.
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Not only is the murder a horrible crime but armed robbery can be just as bad. A young teen “Kenneth received four life sentences without parole for armed robbery at the age of fifteen”(Children). Kenneth’s actions were very immature due to him being young. Armed robbery is a horrible crime to go through with and to build up enough courage to commit. With Kenneth being under the age of eighteen,the Juvenile Justice system states, “regardless of the age, juveniles convicted in adult court were most likely to be sentenced to adult prison or the Division of Juvenile justice”(Harris). Once Kenneth reaches the age of adulthood he will be transferred to adult prison. “Kenneth is scheduled to be released in 2030 he will be forty five years old”(CIPL). Committing a crime at a young age can cause them to spend most of their life behind bars.
Murdering a family member is wrong to begin with, the criminal has issues with her cognitive development stage in life. The young juvenile “Greg Ousley at the age of fifteen was convicted for the killing both of his parents”(Calamari). Greg’s impulsive behavior lead him to think homicidal thoughts toward his parents. “Greg was fourteen when he told his mother that he was scared and that he thought about was murder and suicide”(Calamari). He had been going through some really hard times to be thinking about those horrid actions. Greg thought a lot about his parents, he said, “I remember laying there thinking: Man, this is just never going to change. Mom and dad they are never, ever going to listen to me. I’ve got no choice, I’ve got to go through it”(Anderson). He was lacking attention from his parents, but to go along with murdering his parents is the wrong route to take. Continuously thinking about the situation, four nights later he went into his parents bedroom and shot his father in the head following his mother right after”(Anderson). Thinking he was going to be relieved with what he has done, after a couple of days, he went to the nearby Police Department and fully confessed. If anyone has homicidal thoughts, they should immediately get mental help before they end up behind bars just like Greg.
I do not agree with the supreme court justice to diminish mandatory life in prison for juveniles who commit murder. These young criminals should be able to know right from wrong. Anyone disregarding the age of young people that commit murder should be sentenced to life in prison under no circumstances. There is no reason why they should be rewarded for taking an innocent life.
