About three years ago, the Supreme Court decided to end the practice of sentencing juvenile offenders to death. Now, the Court needs to consider banning the sentencing of minors to life in prison without a chance of parole.
Generally, most people view life in prison as a softer alternative to capital punishment. In most cases, it is perfectly acceptable to sentence an adult who has committed a heinous crime to life in prison since adults should have decent judgment and should know how to recognize the consequences of their actions. If the punishment fits the crime, by all means, put adult criminals behind bars forever, if they really deserve it.
With minors, the situation is a little different. Unlike adults, many juveniles lack the capacity to reason and have almost no control over their impulses. Multiple studies have shown that the frontal lobe, which is responsible for judgment and impulses, does not fully develop in humans until they reach their mid-20s. Thus, society should not expect minors to make intelligent decisions, which explains why we can’t vote until we’re 18 or drink legally until we’re 21.
If the government does not hand over most of the responsibilities of adulthood until an individual turns 18, why is it allowed to treat minors like “thinking” adults and to sentence them to a life behind bars? It doesn’t seem fair that the government can pick and choose in what areas it considers someone under 18 to be an adult and in what areas it considers a person a minor.
This discrepancy clearly needs to be resolved one day because discrepancy is one of those elements that people can attack a person or an organization about later in the future.
If this discrepancy isn’t enough, what about the fact that the United States has actually signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child? This document, which protects children from harsh criminal punishments, hopes to ensure the well-being of every child in the world. However, the United States has failed to ratify this treaty because of many concerns, including the fact that our health care system is sub-par compared to some other countries and cannot guarantee health care for every American child (which is kind of embarrassing).
Intense, long-term rehabilitation needs to replace life sentences for juveniles. Since a juvenile’s brain hasn’t fully developed, there is a pretty good chance that a child criminal could benefit significantly from rehabilitation. Though the Reagan administration threw out the idea of rehabilitation in favor of the “tough on crime” approach, rehabilitation is making a comeback in corrections facilities thanks to the realization that harsh sentences don’t actually have an effect on the crime rate.
Instead of throwing juveniles behind bars and letting them rot, rehabilitation actually attacks the root causes of crime. Through education and therapy, rehabilitation transforms a juvenile delinquent from a criminal into a productive member of society. Giving a child the skills necessary to get a job and to contribute to society seems like a pretty noble goal. Plus, when the ex-convict starts working, he or she will actually be helping states receive more funds instead of spending them on a life’s supply of food and medical care.
Considering our evolving values and the fact that many countries no longer sentence juveniles to life in prison, using this form of punishment in the U.S. just seems a bit outdated.
