Are Life Sentences the only Option?

Brian Nguyen

McLaughlin

CSU ERWC, Period 4

4 May 2015

Are Life Sentences the Only Option?

A majority of judges believe that juveniles should not be judged by the adult system, and that mandatory life sentences should be abolished for them. However, there is a tiny number of judges who say that juveniles should not be exonerated for their crimes simply because of age. I agree with the majority because the research done on adolescent brains supports their claim. I truly believe that teens do not deserve life sentences, and should be granted a second chance because everybody, especially young folks, can change for the better if given time.

It is true that teens commit crimes that most people deem inexcusable. However, it does not mean that they should be locked up for the rest of their life for that one crime. Aaron Kinney quoted Phyllis Loya, who knows the pain of losing a family member, and he said “you can’t excuse these terrible crimes by saying that they are just kids.” But, what happens when they become adults? What happens when they finally realize the destruction they caused in society, but there is nothing they can do repent? People who have committed crimes often end up wanting to give back to the society they once viciously harmed.

In “On Punishment and Teen Killers” by Jennifer Jenkins, she explains why the “undeveloped brain” argument is disproven. Jenkins says that “if brain development were the reason, then teens would kill at roughly the same rates all over the world. They do not.” However, this can be refuted for various reasons. Most people can all agree that the society in which the teen grew up in has a large impact on his or her impulsive decision. In addition, the friends they choose can impact them significantly as well. It is everyone in society’s responsibility to raise the teens in an environment so they know better than to commit crimes.

Paul Thompson, a writer for the Sacramento Bee gathered information on teenage brains and concluded that there is “a massive loss of brain tissue that occurs in the teenage years.” Furthermore, Gail Garinger, a writer for The New York Times, supports his claim by saying that teenagers have undeveloped brains,