Should Juveniles Be Sentenced To Life In Prison Essay

Should juveniles be sentenced to life in prison? Some people believe they should because age isn't an excuse for the crimes you commit, but juveniles need to have the opportunity to change. In many cases juveniles should be tried as adults, but never sentenced to life. Think about high school and how much you changed in the four years you were in high school. Now imagine if you had been in high school for 10 years. You would change a lot in that time and so would a juvenile sentenced to ten years in prison. In Paul Thompson’s article “Startling Finds on the Teenage Brain” he talked about how the massive loss of brain tissue in teens and young adults is linked to the increase in school shootings. This change in the brain’s development affects childrens’ and teens’ abilities to know right from wrong, as well as control emotions. A lot of crimes being committed can be linked back to the fight, flight, or freeze response. So when Paul Thompson asks “ Do the studies [on brain development] help explain the impulsive erratic …show more content…
Can’t someone change? Morals are things learned from being taught. If the teachers throughout your life have poor morals then so will you and you will struggle to determine right from wrong. In many cases it is how children are brought up that leads to the crimes they commit. The biggest conflict in the decision to sentence juveniles to prison as adults is whether or not they will change. Gail Garinger stated that “young people.. cannot be held to the same standards when they commit terrible wrongs.” Often after crimes teens and children feel remorse and express regret which goes to show they want to change and they realize that they made a mistake. To confront an issue you must realize two things. First, there is a problem or wrongdoing. Second, you want to change. This is true in all or most