Juvenile Life Without Parole Essay
Juvenile Life Without Parole
In June 2012, the United States Supreme Court ruled that it is a violation of the United States Constitution to sentence someone to serve mandatory life in prison without the possibility of parole if the person committed the crime when they were under the age of 18. Since then, many states have been trying to re-write their laws to figure out what to do with juveniles who commit crimes. In Michigan, it is even more complicated because we have 370 people in prison now that are serving sentences of “Mandatory Life Without Parole” and were sentenced before they were 18 years old. There are actually two Bill packages in the Michigan Legislature right now that attempt to deal with this problem. Juveniles …show more content…
Their thought process works differently than adults. A juvenile can’t fully comprehend the weight of a lengthy prison sentence. The possibility of a harsh sentence will not be deterrent to them due to their inability to perceive the consequences of the sentence itself on their life. In many ways, teenagers are still children that deserve second chances. In addition, juvenile sentences are harsher than adults. If you are sentenced to life in jail without parole when you are 14 your sentence will be longer than someone sentenced to life at age 36. Juveniles will have also been sentenced in their most formative years, when they would “otherwise finish their education, form relationships, start families, gain employment, and through those experiences learn to become adults.”(Aragon)
As a teenager enters there 20’s, a maturing process takes place and impulsive behavior decreases. “Accordingly, rates for homicide and other violent crimes are highest among 18 to 24 year-olds and decrease markedly after this point—an age at which individuals have more emotional tools at hand to deal with conflict”. (Aragon) “A criminal justice system will be imminently more just when laws are amended to include the possibility of a meaningful opportunity for parole for juveniles, at a time when their judgment and behavior have substantially matured, thus rendering them less of a threat to society”.
In June 2012, the United States Supreme Court ruled that it is a violation of the United States Constitution to sentence someone to serve mandatory life in prison without the possibility of parole if the person committed the crime when they were under the age of 18. Since then, many states have been trying to re-write their laws to figure out what to do with juveniles who commit crimes. In Michigan, it is even more complicated because we have 370 people in prison now that are serving sentences of “Mandatory Life Without Parole” and were sentenced before they were 18 years old. There are actually two Bill packages in the Michigan Legislature right now that attempt to deal with this problem. Juveniles …show more content…
Their thought process works differently than adults. A juvenile can’t fully comprehend the weight of a lengthy prison sentence. The possibility of a harsh sentence will not be deterrent to them due to their inability to perceive the consequences of the sentence itself on their life. In many ways, teenagers are still children that deserve second chances. In addition, juvenile sentences are harsher than adults. If you are sentenced to life in jail without parole when you are 14 your sentence will be longer than someone sentenced to life at age 36. Juveniles will have also been sentenced in their most formative years, when they would “otherwise finish their education, form relationships, start families, gain employment, and through those experiences learn to become adults.”(Aragon)
As a teenager enters there 20’s, a maturing process takes place and impulsive behavior decreases. “Accordingly, rates for homicide and other violent crimes are highest among 18 to 24 year-olds and decrease markedly after this point—an age at which individuals have more emotional tools at hand to deal with conflict”. (Aragon) “A criminal justice system will be imminently more just when laws are amended to include the possibility of a meaningful opportunity for parole for juveniles, at a time when their judgment and behavior have substantially matured, thus rendering them less of a threat to society”.