Prison Sentencing Research Paper

On the fifteenth of June 2012, the Supreme Court decided that juveniles who committed crimes may not be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, even in the cases of murder. The judges concluded with a 5-4 majority that the punishment of life without parole, for a juvenile, violated the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution which banned the use of cruel and unusual punishment. However, the minority opinion stated that any horrific crime committed by a juvenile should always be sentenced with life in prison. Prison sentencing of a juvenile should be determined by the severity of the crime but must not be a punishment of life in prison. While watching the crime show “Solved: Bully”, a 15 year old boy by the name of J.P Remsen admitted to stabbing another boy, Tristan Jensen, to death and dumping his remains in a sewer manhole. The atrocity he committed gave him a prison sentence of 15 years to life. It is justifiable to sentence this juvenile to 15 years because of the murder, however it is not reasonable for him to have a possible life sentence. The Supreme Court has banned this sentence for juveniles because it was cruel or unusual. Teens are far more different that adults when it comes to mental capability. In the article, “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences” by …show more content…
However, in the video “Young Kids, Hard Time” one of the youngest juveniles that has been tried as an adult, a 12 year old boy named Paul Gingerich, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for assisted murder of a friend’s step-father. Gingerich had no prior juvenile referrals before the crime and was given the most severe sentence for a 12 year old boy. The sentencing is too long for Gingerich and would make him 37 years old when he s released from prison. Luckily, a new trial was commenced and Gingerich was released from prison earlier this