Sentencing a juvenile life in prison without parole is depriving them of their rights and is clearly hypocritical. The minority who are pro sentencing them to life without parole don't take into consideration the possibility there is in enlightening these kids in becoming better citizens and learning from their mistakes. The reason why I consider the sentencing hypocritical is due to the way society treats juveniles and classifies them as “kids” until they commit a crime. I am in full agreement with the majority of Supreme Court ruling of abolishing mandatory life in prison for juveniles who commit murder. Many who oppose my vision on the topic, use claims such as, “they’re old enough to know better” or “a crime is a crime no matter age,” but
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Judge Gail Garinger in “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentencing” has had first-hand experience in juvenile court cases and has seen that children have the capability to change and turn themselves around. Gail also states that since they are sentenced at such young age, mental health professionals aren’t able to predict whether the adolescent will fall within the majority that grow to be a productive citizen or the minority in which they keep committing crimes. After establishing that, this helps show why juveniles shouldn’t be sentenced to die in prison because they aren’t able to demonstrate their maturity and signs of improvement. Knowing Gail was a court judge and seen the change in the kids, this makes me feel strong against sentencing teen's to life without parole because they aren’t given the chance to change their life around. A child should be sentenced to prison as an adult, not when they are still children and considered as such in this society. When I was in middle school, one of my close friends Michael was in court due to a murder …show more content…
My friend instead served sometime in the juvenile correction facility and was later released after a year. This personal experience has opened my eyes causing me to stand for giving children a second chance. In “Kids are Kids- Until They Commit Crimes” Marjie implies Democratic state rep Ron Wilson a valid point. He stated that if people want to “throw the adult book at kids” then the voting age limit should be lowered to 14. This point he makes shows how people see kids as kids only until they commit a heinous crime. There has been much research on teenage brains to see if it has any effect on the teen’s decision making. Paul Thompson, in “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains” summarizes research done on teenage brains and found out that during this age, there is a large amount of brain tissue missing, and this missing area affects thinking and emotion which may explain impulsive behavior. Thompson knows such changes in the brain do not account for the teen’s violent behavior, but they should not be tried as adults in the criminal justice
Judge Gail Garinger in “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentencing” has had first-hand experience in juvenile court cases and has seen that children have the capability to change and turn themselves around. Gail also states that since they are sentenced at such young age, mental health professionals aren’t able to predict whether the adolescent will fall within the majority that grow to be a productive citizen or the minority in which they keep committing crimes. After establishing that, this helps show why juveniles shouldn’t be sentenced to die in prison because they aren’t able to demonstrate their maturity and signs of improvement. Knowing Gail was a court judge and seen the change in the kids, this makes me feel strong against sentencing teen's to life without parole because they aren’t given the chance to change their life around. A child should be sentenced to prison as an adult, not when they are still children and considered as such in this society. When I was in middle school, one of my close friends Michael was in court due to a murder …show more content…
My friend instead served sometime in the juvenile correction facility and was later released after a year. This personal experience has opened my eyes causing me to stand for giving children a second chance. In “Kids are Kids- Until They Commit Crimes” Marjie implies Democratic state rep Ron Wilson a valid point. He stated that if people want to “throw the adult book at kids” then the voting age limit should be lowered to 14. This point he makes shows how people see kids as kids only until they commit a heinous crime. There has been much research on teenage brains to see if it has any effect on the teen’s decision making. Paul Thompson, in “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains” summarizes research done on teenage brains and found out that during this age, there is a large amount of brain tissue missing, and this missing area affects thinking and emotion which may explain impulsive behavior. Thompson knows such changes in the brain do not account for the teen’s violent behavior, but they should not be tried as adults in the criminal justice