Committing Adult Crimes

If a juvenile has committed an act of murder, they must be sentenced to life in prison. A crime is a crime so punishments should be set equal for everyone depending on the intensity of the crime. There should be no excuses as to why a juvenile should be let off the hook for committing a crime of murder. If juveniles are capable of committing adult crimes then they are capable of doing adult time. Provided that juveniles be let off the hook, there would be no justice for the victim, nor would the public society be safe. If juveniles can act as an adult and commit adult crimes, then they are just as much of an adult to do adult time. Plenty of people believe that kids are not mature enough to be put with adults or to be sentenced for life. I …show more content…
Murderers should not be roaming the streets no matter how old they are. Killing someone is murder and no one is to ever be let off the hook for that. What causes these acts of murder in these young kids is the way the frontal lobes of the brain control our impulses. Paul Thompson stated that “These frontal lobes, which inhibit our violent passions, rash actions, and regulate our emotions, are vastly immature throughout the teenage years” (Thompson). Just because the frontal lobes of a teenage brain are immature is not an excuse for murder because the victim still receives no justice. The family who lost their loved one will always know the killer teen is still on the loose if teens were not tried as adults and be put into jail for life. I believe that there needs to be justice for the victim and their family because as Jennifer Jenkins said, “Some never recover” (Jenkins). This is a very true fact because a family will never forget losing their loved one. I personally know how it feels to lose a loved one and if they were to be murdered by some teen who is still out and about, I would never forget …show more content…
Studies have shown that teens in fact lack brain tissue in their teenage years. A neurologist Francis Jensen, found research that teen brains “a crucial part of the brain –the frontal lobes– are not fully connected yet” (Knox). He says that it is the part of the brain that asks the question ‘Is this a good idea?’ It is not like the teenagers do not have frontal lobes, they are just going to acces it more slowly. This is one excuse to not sentencing children to life in prison because they lack part of the brain that controls their impulses. However, teenagers still have a sense of right or wrong doing and what kind of consequences are