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Caitlin Beltran

Di Somma

ERWC, Period 5

16 March 2017

Justified Justice

Children should be treated as children, even when they make mistakes! Even when kids

are making adult mistakes, they shouldnt be punished as such because they are not even mature

enough to comprehend adulthood. I agree with the 2012 supreme court decision to give juveniles

who commit murder the chance of parole.

Some people may argue that it is unfair to give anyone who has committed murder even a

chance of parole. There are never any words to describe the traumatic loss of a victims family

members so its important to think about the justice that family deserves (Jenkins). I agree with

this completely but it is important to remember that these criminals are paying for what they did

regardless, by serving very extensive sentences. Juveniles have less of a chance of getting

released the older they are (Juvenile). This makes sense because younger children have a higher

chance at being rehabilitated into changing their criminal ways. It is important to remember that

these juveniles are still serving their time and only receive a chance at getting out on parole, not

a guarantee.

It is important to remember that kids are still kids! Brain studies of the teenage brain

reveal that, ...the regions of the adolescent brain responsible for controlling thoughts, actions,

and emotions are not fully developed (Garinger). This makes sense because teens are known for

their immaturity and their habit of acting upon impulsivity. According to Garinger, juveniles are,
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...more vulnerable to peer pressure, cannot escape from dangerous environments, and their

characters are still in formation, And because they remain unformed, it is impossible to assume

that they will always present an unacceptable risk to public safety (Garinger). Juveniles fourteen

and under have a higher percent of arrests because of violent offenses (Juvenile). This is a result

of the fact that underage brains are not fully developed. In our culture today there is violence

everywhere. It has been reported that children who have committed crimes were simply just

imitating their video games or a TV program (Lundstrom). It is unfair for juveniles to be given

life sentences, looking ahead to being locked up for their entire lifetime. Without a chance of

parole, they will be paying for a mistake they made when their brains were clearly

underdeveloped for the rest of their lives.

These juveniles should be given at least a chance to get better and make something of

their lives. It is impossible at the time of sentencing for mental health professionals to predict

which youngsters will fall into the small minority of criminals who will continue to commit

crimes (Garinger). The majority of juveniles who commit murders would not commit another

one after serving their time. There are often good reasons behind why a child would do

something like this. Even the children who would have a chance at living on parole are told that,

...they could never change and that no one cared what became of them. They were denied

access to education and rehabilitation programs and left without help or hope (Garinger). If

these children were given proper rehabilitation and hope, most of them should be eligible for

parole. People usually write off the under-eighteen crowd as only kids. We cant smoke, drink,

vote, or even see R-rated movies (Lundstrom). This is where i see immense contradiction. Why

should children be treated as adults only when they make a mistake? Youth house in adult jails
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are 36 times more likely to commit suicide than youth housed in juvenile detention facilities

(Young 33:32). This number is way higher than it should be. As I said before, convicted

juveniles should receive proper rehabilitation and they would be eligible to live on parole.

Kids should always be treated as such. People have a hard time treating them as children

when they are making adult mistakes but the juvenile system is there exactly for these cases. It

is unfair to sentence a juvenile to life without parole.

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Works Cited

Garinger, Gail. Juveniles Dont Deserve Life Sentences. New York Times, 14 March 2012.

Print. 93-94.

Harris, Kamala D. Juvenile Justice in California. California Department of Justice. Print. 3

March 2017.

Jenkins, Jennifer. On Punishment and Teen Killers. Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, 2

August 2011. Print. 91-92

Lundstrom, Marjie. Kids Are Kids- Until They Commit Crimes. Sacramento Bee, 1 March

2001. Print. 87-88.

Young Kids, Hard Time Directors Cut. Vimeo. Ken McCaster, 1 March 2016. Web. 1 March

2017.