Superpredator: Article Analysis

The term “Superpredator” is given to Juveniles that murder someone. Society is fixated on the fact that Juveniles are dangerous to society and once they commit a crime, they can not be rehabilitated for the good of society. Juveniles are indecisive and sometimes don’t even know that they committed a crime because their mindset is still equivalent to a child. Personally, I believe that a Juvenile can change, because, it has happened before and it can keep happening. Juveniles should not be labeled as a “Superpredator”; instead, we should be getting juveniles the help that they crave for so that they can be more productive members of society when they grow up. Juveniles are sponges because as they grow up, they take what is taught to them and they apply it to their decision making, which at times can lead to juveniles making mistakes. In the article Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentence by Gail Garinger, the author mentions that “79 young adolescents have been sentenced to die in prison” (93). 79 lives that could have been saved were thrown away because society deemed that they were no longer worth helping. Garinger highlights that these children were “denied access to education and
rehabilitation programs” (93). There was not even an attempt to change a child for the better. If the mind of juveniles are easily influenced, then why are these Juveniles being left behind to rot and be killed off? Now in our modern society, the death penalty for juveniles has been struck down, but that does not mean the juveniles that were killed before should be forgotten. Garinger points out in her article that very few juveniles inherit criminal genes, except when they are being influenced by a home where they are being mentally and physically abused (93). By being constantly abused at a young age or even being around “bad people” can influence any juvenile to act a certain way. Others may argue that Juveniles are capable of telling apart what is right from wrong but the truth is that they don’t. Studies have started to show how the adolescent brain changes over the course of years and there are many shocking surprises that came with the research that was conducted. In the article Startling Finds on Teenage Brains by Paul Thompson, the author found that in his recent research, he found out that there is “a massive loss of brain tissue occurs in the teen years”(89). In the article Thompson also mentioned that in the teenage years, a person who lost their tissue was filled with gray matter, which is filled by impulses, violent actions, risk taking and much more (89). The study is showing that juveniles don’t even realize that they are changing so much, which causes them to have a mindset similar to a child. Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, a famous neuroscience professor, mentioned in a Ted Talk episode how an adolescent does not think about others, in fact, they can’t think about anyone else except for themselves (Blakemore). The way she conducted the experiment was that she had people from the age of 11 to adulthood take into account the perspective of another person and move objects around. In the experiment, it was shown that the adults make errors roughly about 50 percent of the time, but the average adolescent made an error about 90 percent of the time. This goes to show that the brain of an adolescent does not take into account the perspective of another person. This can be connected to the idea that a juvenile who committed murder, did not take into account the consequences of taking the life of a person and how that loss of life will affect not only themselves but the people around them. One of the questions that have been raised is when does a child become an adult?
In the Article Kids Are Kids-Until They Commit Crimes by Marjie Lundstrom, Democratic State rep. Ron Wilson stated “You want to throw an adult book at kids? Lower the voting age to fourteen (87). Wilson is raising the issue that the judicial system will deem kids to be kids for alcohol drinking or voting until they are of proper age, but they are treated as an adult if they murder someone. Little does the judicial system know that they are robbing these kids of their chance of having a second chance. Lundstrom makes a clear statement that when more and more kids are sent to an adult prison, more lives are lost and these kids will not have anyone to guide them to the right path ever
again. There is a chance for juveniles to change for the better such as many others. Greg Ousley is an example of how someone can change for the better. In the article, Greg Ousley is Sorry for Killing His Parents. Is That Enough? By Scott Anderson, Greg was interviewed by Scott on how his life has changed after he murdered his parents. Greg at the age of 14 went and shot his mother and father with a 12-gauge shotgun, and then confessed to his crimes after he broke down from his sadness and despair (96). Greg mentioned that he had suicidal thoughts as a child and he felt that he was never loved by his parents (95). Greg was sentenced to 60 years in an adult prison, where he received no help (96). After many years Greg Ousley became a model prisoner helping others and being a great worker around the prison (98). At his mid 30’s the dream Greg has once he gets out of prison is to “use my life as an example of what can go wrong” (98). Later Greg mentioned in the article that as he aged, he realized that he was being selfish and he knew deep down that his parents loved him, but the only reason he killed them was because he felt he was “not being accepted… for trying to be myself” (104). Greg realized his mistakes and made the best of them. Greg did mention in the Article that if he could change one thing, it would be the opportunity to have been sentenced to a juvenile center where he would have received the help he longed for (103). If Greg was able to change for the better in an adult prison where he received little to no help, then a Juvenile can change if they are sentenced to a Juvenile center where they will receive therapy, counseling and much more. Greg Ousley is not the only one that changed. Jordan Brown was your average kid who ended up making the mistake of murdering his soon to be stepmom who was pregnant with her child. Jordan Murdered Kenzie Houk, while she was asleep with a shotgun sadly taking away the life of two people. Nancy Lowry of New Castle News wrote an article on how Jordan Brown was released June 13, 2016. Jordan was sentenced to a Juvenile Center at the age of 11 for 7 years and expected to have parole 3 years after he is released. Jordan realized his mistakes and is trying to better himself. “The teenager, who this month graduated from high school and plans to attend a western Pennsylvania university this fall” (Lowry). Jordan wants to change for the better despite his rough past and the juvenile center gave him that opportunity to become a productive member of society. We should not be quick to judge and say that juveniles have no future once they commit a crime. A juvenile has the potential of being an even better person once they realized the mistakes that they have committed. A juvenile can change in many ways, they can be inspired to be a voice for others such as Greg Ousley or they can pursue an educational career similar to Jordan Brown. Juveniles are not “SuperPredators”, therefore they should be given a second chance to prove they can become more than what society deems them to be.