Juvenile crime has been an increasing point of debate in recent years. Many people argued whether they should be sentenced as adults or not when convicted of a serious crime, such as murder. Some argue that juveniles deserve to be treated as such despite the crime they have committed, while others believe they are to be treated as adults. This resulted in many juveniles receiving adult sentences like life in prison without parole. Some juveniles commit crimes without a thought of the risks, while some carefully plan out their crimes and get a serious thrill out of it. However, juveniles are still young and naive and may not realize the consequences of their actions. While many argue that juveniles should face the consequences of their actions,
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One reason why juveniles should not receive life in prison without parole is the undeveloped thinking process that occurs. This is further explored in the article, “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains,” by Paul Thompson, an assistant professor of neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles. In the article, Thompson focuses on the cognitive development of the juvenile brain and compares it with the brain of a full grown adult. He uses an example of a juvenile being tried as an adult for second-degree murder to point out how when questioned, the juvenile was unable to give a reason for his actions. He then reports on findings about the teenage brain that he and his research team had discovered. According to Thompson, “the brain is like a puzzle, and growth is fastest in the exact parts the kids need to learn skills at different times. [...] But what really caught our eye was a massive loss of brain tissue that occurs in the teenage years” (Thompson par. 6-7). In this quote, Thompson refers to the brain like a “puzzle” and how most of the growth occurs during the …show more content…
An article that advocates for this is “On Punishment and Teen Killers” by Jennifer Jenkins. Jenkins begins her article by retelling her past experience with a juvenile who murdered her pregnant younger sister. She uses her tragic experience to explain how the teen offender in her case was a serial killer in the making who was raised believing all his problems will be solved by his parents. Then she advocates for JLWOP (Juvenile Life without Parole) and explains that the media and people focus a majority of their attention on the juveniles while disregarding the victims of the crime. In her article, Jenkins states, “The juvenile death penalty was abolished here years ago and a life sentence still allows a great deal of good living to be done--even from behind bars--far more than these teen killers gave to our murdered loved ones” (Jenkins par. 12). In this quote, Jenkins believes that a “life sentence still allows a great deal of living to be done.” Jenkins believes that with the life sentence that these juveniles are receiving, they are able to still live a good life behind bars. She also believes that the punishment of life in prison is still too lenient of a punishment for crimes such as murder when stating “far more than these teen killers gave to our murdered loved ones.” The reasoning for her argument points to only one example where a juvenile individual
One reason why juveniles should not receive life in prison without parole is the undeveloped thinking process that occurs. This is further explored in the article, “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains,” by Paul Thompson, an assistant professor of neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles. In the article, Thompson focuses on the cognitive development of the juvenile brain and compares it with the brain of a full grown adult. He uses an example of a juvenile being tried as an adult for second-degree murder to point out how when questioned, the juvenile was unable to give a reason for his actions. He then reports on findings about the teenage brain that he and his research team had discovered. According to Thompson, “the brain is like a puzzle, and growth is fastest in the exact parts the kids need to learn skills at different times. [...] But what really caught our eye was a massive loss of brain tissue that occurs in the teenage years” (Thompson par. 6-7). In this quote, Thompson refers to the brain like a “puzzle” and how most of the growth occurs during the …show more content…
An article that advocates for this is “On Punishment and Teen Killers” by Jennifer Jenkins. Jenkins begins her article by retelling her past experience with a juvenile who murdered her pregnant younger sister. She uses her tragic experience to explain how the teen offender in her case was a serial killer in the making who was raised believing all his problems will be solved by his parents. Then she advocates for JLWOP (Juvenile Life without Parole) and explains that the media and people focus a majority of their attention on the juveniles while disregarding the victims of the crime. In her article, Jenkins states, “The juvenile death penalty was abolished here years ago and a life sentence still allows a great deal of good living to be done--even from behind bars--far more than these teen killers gave to our murdered loved ones” (Jenkins par. 12). In this quote, Jenkins believes that a “life sentence still allows a great deal of living to be done.” Jenkins believes that with the life sentence that these juveniles are receiving, they are able to still live a good life behind bars. She also believes that the punishment of life in prison is still too lenient of a punishment for crimes such as murder when stating “far more than these teen killers gave to our murdered loved ones.” The reasoning for her argument points to only one example where a juvenile individual