Eliminate Life in Prison for Juveniles To cause trouble and brake laws, or rules, is imprinted into human genes and those characteristics begin it illustrate themselves at the earliest stages in a humans life. At a very young age humans are rewarded for something that is perceived as ‘good’ and punished for braking rules. In the 1980’s a group a criminologists made a prediction that a violent and ruthless generation of juveniles was approaching. This influenced politicians to toughen up juvenile justice systems and reduce the age at which juveniles could be tried as adults. This prediction I was has caused a vast increase in the number of juveniles serving sentences in prison for the rest of their lives. Children as young as ten years old
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A mistake committed at a time when the pre frontal lobe has not yet been fully developed. It does not give the juvenile a chance to show that they could become a well-mannered, productive part of society. A perfect example of this would be Greg Ousley. In his article, “Greg Ousley is Sorry for Killing His Parents. Is That Enough?” Scott Anderson interviews Greg Ousley to hear his explanation as to why he killed his parents. At the time Greg was thirteen years old and was just beginning the teenage right of passage known as puberty. In the article Anderson states that Ousley said,”’ I remember lying there thinking: Man, this is just never going to change. Mom and Dad, they are never, ever gonna listen to me. I’ve got no choice, I’ve got to go through with it…Kill them.’” (Anderson 95). Greg may have been in a very unstable emotional state. His assumption that his parents were never going to listen is an indication that he was not thinking rationally and his first instinct was to kill them. Greg was eventually sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Greg was essentially sent to waste the rest of his life in a prison cell and forgotten about in
A mistake committed at a time when the pre frontal lobe has not yet been fully developed. It does not give the juvenile a chance to show that they could become a well-mannered, productive part of society. A perfect example of this would be Greg Ousley. In his article, “Greg Ousley is Sorry for Killing His Parents. Is That Enough?” Scott Anderson interviews Greg Ousley to hear his explanation as to why he killed his parents. At the time Greg was thirteen years old and was just beginning the teenage right of passage known as puberty. In the article Anderson states that Ousley said,”’ I remember lying there thinking: Man, this is just never going to change. Mom and Dad, they are never, ever gonna listen to me. I’ve got no choice, I’ve got to go through with it…Kill them.’” (Anderson 95). Greg may have been in a very unstable emotional state. His assumption that his parents were never going to listen is an indication that he was not thinking rationally and his first instinct was to kill them. Greg was eventually sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Greg was essentially sent to waste the rest of his life in a prison cell and forgotten about in