Should Juveniles Be Sent To Life In Prison
Do you believe that kids who commit heinous crimes should be sent to life in prison regardless of age? The Supreme Court ruled that they shouldn’t because it violated the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Other justices strongly disagree with this claim because they say that anybody that commits heinous crimes should be sent to life in prison even if it’s a juvenile. From my point of view, I believe that juveniles should not be sentenced to life in prison.
First, when it comes to the teenage mind, they are different from that of an adult. Of course I’m not the only who says this. Gail Garinger argues that “Young people are biologically different from adults. Brain imaging studies reveal that the regions of the adolescent …show more content…
There are teens out there that commit heinous crimes because of what they have been through growing up and their house environment. But don’t take my word for it, let’s take a look at Jose. Jose is a fifteen year old who had a difficult childhood with his father being a heroin addict and his mother abandoning him. Instead of punishing him and sending him to life in prison, we should send him to a juvenile system instead to help him out. Paul Thompson argues that “Given this delicate-and-drastic-reshaping of the brain, teens need all the help they can get to steer their development onto the right path”. In prison, it is more likely they will become worse out there in the world because of all the mental and physical pain that they endured. Kids like Jose, need all the help that they can get.
In conclusion, I believe teens should not be sent to life in prison. As I have noted, the Supreme Court said that teens shouldn’t be sent to life in prison because it violated the Eighteenth Amendment on the ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Other justices strongly disagree, saying that anybody that commits heinous crimes should be sent to life in prison regardless of age. No matter who said you agree with, there will always be that one kid who will be stuck in a lonely and dark prison cell for the rest of his
First, when it comes to the teenage mind, they are different from that of an adult. Of course I’m not the only who says this. Gail Garinger argues that “Young people are biologically different from adults. Brain imaging studies reveal that the regions of the adolescent …show more content…
There are teens out there that commit heinous crimes because of what they have been through growing up and their house environment. But don’t take my word for it, let’s take a look at Jose. Jose is a fifteen year old who had a difficult childhood with his father being a heroin addict and his mother abandoning him. Instead of punishing him and sending him to life in prison, we should send him to a juvenile system instead to help him out. Paul Thompson argues that “Given this delicate-and-drastic-reshaping of the brain, teens need all the help they can get to steer their development onto the right path”. In prison, it is more likely they will become worse out there in the world because of all the mental and physical pain that they endured. Kids like Jose, need all the help that they can get.
In conclusion, I believe teens should not be sent to life in prison. As I have noted, the Supreme Court said that teens shouldn’t be sent to life in prison because it violated the Eighteenth Amendment on the ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Other justices strongly disagree, saying that anybody that commits heinous crimes should be sent to life in prison regardless of age. No matter who said you agree with, there will always be that one kid who will be stuck in a lonely and dark prison cell for the rest of his