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Caylie Shelton

Ms. Sanchez

ERWC Period 1

9 March 2017

Shameful Sentences

Over the past couple of years, the court case regarding juveniles being sentenced to life

with or without parole is increasing in importance and is becoming more significant. Even

though juveniles can commit extremely unthinkable crimes, like murder, that should not

determine where they die in prison. Life in prison without parole is not the solution because it

completely strips away any chance that the youth has to mature and complete understand right

from wrong. Furthermore, the court has ruled that laws requiring youths convicted of murder to

be sentenced to die in prison violate the Eighth Amendments ban on cruel and unusual

punishment (Liptak). Juveniles should not be sentenced to life without parole and should be

given the opportunity to grow up and rehabilitate.

Some may say that once a killer always a killer, however some peoples opinion may be

biased. In On Punishment and Teen Killers by Jennifer Jenkins, her reasons are obviously

biased due to the fact that her sister and her husband were shot. Unfortunately, the killer had no

apparent reason other than the fact that he was pressured to feel the thrill to kill (Jenkins). The

shooter was one of those teens whose parents go them out of everything and, therefore, he

basically relied on them after he murdered the married couple, which is completely wrong. Also,

the shooters friends had an impact on influencing him to commit that crime because they thought

he should experience what it would feel like to murder someone. In such a violence-loving

culture, weapons are easily accessible to youth (Jenkins) making it even easier for children get
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ahold of weapons when they should not even know what those are. This is not solely the

childrens fault, therefore, it is societys wrongdoing for constantly promoting weapons and a

violent community at such a young age. In 2015, 416 adult sentences were given to children

between the ages of 14 and 17 (Harris). Although, some may say that these children are serving

life in prison and being kept out of society for a positive reason, they are still being deprived and

forbidden from having a childhood and experiencing life as a kid. Even though some of these

points are, in fact, valid, juveniles do not deserve life sentences without the chance for

rehabilitating and turning their lives around.

There are many reasons why juveniles should not be sentenced to life without parole.

First, juveniles are less mature, more vulnerable to peer pressure, cannot escape from dangerous

environments, and their characters are still in formation (Garinger). In many incidents it is not

all the killers doing, however, it is the friends of the killer who antagonize and pressure one to

committ bad decisions. Since juveniles do not have the mental capacity or even stability to say

no so they give into peer pressure which causes more horrific outcomes. According to the

Supreme Court, youth offenders should be punished less severely than adults (Drizin). Juveniles

are frequently tempted by older youths or even adults who often pressure and impact them to

participate. Also, juveniles often ignore the long term consequences of committing a crime to this

extent and only focus on the short term impact since that is usually how teens live their lives.

Today, the court will have to consider childrens individual character and life circumstances,

including age before sentencing them to life without parole (Liptak). There is always self

improvement options and a life outside prison. Juveniles are still trying to figure out and

understand who they really are and as opposed to completely categorizing them as killers,

society should encourage them to seek help in order to get back on the right track. Lastly, in
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2010, the US Supreme Court officially ruled juvenile life sentences illegal which meant that the

2,500 juveniles that were previously sentences had a chance to obtain release (Pequeneza, 15 to

Life: Kenneths Story). Furthermore, this gives children the chance to experience life and even

turn around and change for the better. Especially since these juveniles have not fully matured, it

is crucial that society comes together to help these children in need of self improvement.

After long discussions, the court decision has stood with the increasing scientific research

on this topic. This confirms that the brain continues to develop and changed throughout

adolescence and that these parts of the brain governing impulse control, judgement and other

characteristics tied to more culpability dont mature until the early 20s (Rule). Since the brain

is not fully developed until age 20, juveniles under that age should not be tried or sentenced

because cannot truly comprehend all the repercussions of the crime they have committed.

Maturation is a major factor when it comes to committing these crimes because juveniles do not

fully understand the aftermath. In New York of 2012, a young juvenile was involved and a

witness to his older friends committing murder. I was his first offense, however he does not say it

was a mistake. Instead he viewed it as a learning lesson about being mature. He claims he is not

that person anymore and [he] was a kid, as a man, [hes] changed (Rule). Despite the many

obstacles of incarceration, many people turn their lives around behind bars. Many people have

got GEDs, created better family relationships, and if they are given the opportunity, they have

chose to do programs that benefit their development (Rule). Even with the long recovery

journey ahead of these teens, they can still show effort and try their best to better themselves and,

therefore, society needs to understand the gift of chances when it comes to teens. Since their

brains are not fully developed, it is crucial to understand and differentiate the small things the

teens put forth in order to develop more into adulthood. Instead of completely taking away their
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lives away and giving them life without parole, society could help educate by by giving them

credit for good behavior, completing their education, and attaining certificates in various trades.

Such flexible sentences will force juvenile offenders to think about the long-term consequences

of misbehaving in prison, incentivize their good behavior and self-improvement, and will give

them some hope of a life outside of prison before they have one foot in the grave (Drizin). As a

juvenile, life is not always focuses on the long term effects of a crime this horrendous, however,

if people truly set out to determine what is really wrong in the certain situation, whether it be a

mental disability or issues with family life, then it will be imperative to create an easier

environment for these children to live in.

All in all, any one who has lived through the teenage years or is a parent to a teen can

simply comprehend why juveniles should not be sentenced with life without parole. This is a

crucial time in adolescence and even though, mistakes can be made, they need to be dealt with

through rehabilitation and mental help rather them throwing them in the criminal justice system

with adults who are mentally mature. Along with violating the Eighth Amendment, it completely

takes away the childrens right to live and develop. This gives them no chance to change

especially since their character is still in formation. For juveniles, life in prison without parole is

not the answer.

Work Cited

Drizin, Steve. "Time to Put Truth and Common Sense Back Into Sentencing of Youthful

Offenders." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 01 May 2015. Web.

10 Mar. 2017.
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Harris, Kamala D. "Juvenile Justice in California." California Department of Justice, 2015.

Accessed 28 Feb. 2017.

Jenkins, Jennifer. "On Punishment and Teen Killers." Juvenile Justice Information Exchange. 06

Feb. 2014. Web. 9 Mar. 2017.

Liptak, Adam. "Justices Bar Mandatory Life Terms for Juveniles." The New York Times. The

New York Times, 25 June 2012. Web. 10 Mar. 2017.

Pequeneza, Nadine, Director. 15 to Life: Kenneth's Story. Produced by Nadine Pequeneza,

Hitplay Productions, 2014. Accessed 28 Feb. 2017.

Rule, Sheila R. "Throwing a Lifeline to Youthful Offenders." The Huffington Post.

TheHuffingtonPost.com, 06 July 2012. Web. 10 Mar. 2017.