Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Asha Baron
CAP English 9
Blue Group
May 7, 2018
The United States is the only developed country that sentences people to life in prison
without the possibility of parole for crimes they committed before they turned eighteen.
Currently, there are about 2,500 juvenile offenders serving life in prison. Since 2005, The United
States Supreme Court has made an effort to make punishments for juvenile offenders less harsh.
They have recognized science surrounding adolescents brains, and have banned the use of
mandatory life sentencing for juveniles. Despite this, only twenty of the states in the United
States, and Washington D.C., have banned the sentencing of life in prison without possibility of
parole for juvenile offenders. Maryland is not one of the states that has banned the mandatory
life sentencing for juvenile offenders. The State of Maryland must create a law that bans the
sentencing of juveniles to life in prison without possibility of parole because minors are more
prone to do reckless things because their brains aren’t fully developed, sentencing juveniles to
life in prison without possibility of parole is a violation of the eighth amendment, many children
are able to grow out of their violence, and when sentenced as adults, juveniles learn nothing
The brains of juveniles aren’t fully developed, therefore, juveniles are more prone to do
reckless things. The human brain isn’t fully developed until around the age of twenty five. Many
teens struggle with impulsivity, as “impulsivity is often related to deficits in the prefrontal
cortex. The ability to maintain self-discipline and avoid impulsive behaviors hasn’t reached its
peak until the 20s”("At What"). Many teenagers lack the ability to think long and hard about a
decision before they make it. They are more prone to making impulsive decisions, not realizing
that their decisions may have consequences in the future. Teenagers are also more prone to
justify their behaviors “ based off of emotions rather than logic”("At What"). Juveniles will
likely to do something in the heat of the moment when they feel angry They will often neglect
using logic, not understanding that their anger doesn’t justify committing a crime. In addition,
because their brains aren’t fully developed, minors are also more susceptible to peer pressure.
Steinberg claims that new brain research “gives credence to the idea that this isn’t a choice that
kids are making to give in to their friends, that biologically, they’re more vulnerable to
that”("Teens' Brains"). Teens are at a higher risk to give into peer pressure. If a teens friend dares
them to commit a crime, they are more likely to commit that crime than an adult because their
brains aren’t as developed as that of an adult. Teens shouldn’t be punished the same as adults
The eighth amendment to the United States constitution states that, “Excessive bail shall not be
required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted”(Stevenson
and Stinneford). Punishing juveniles by giving them a sentence to life in prison without
possibility of parole is a violation of the eighth amendment. New research done on the
development of adolescent brains confirms “common sense understanding that children are
different from adults in ways that are critical to identifying age appropriate criminal
sentences”(Rovner). Due to the differences in the brains of adults and adolescents, it is unjust to
punish them in the same way. Adults have more of an understanding of what they are doing,
therefore they deserve a more severe punishment. Children aren’t able to fully understand how
their decisions will play a part in the rest of their lives, and therefore shouldn’t be punished as
harshly. In the case of Miller versus Alabama, Justice Elena Kagan wrote the majority opinion.
In it, she wrote, “Mandatory life without parole for a juvenile precludes consideration of his
chronological age and its hallmark features—among them, immaturity, impetuosity, and failure
to appreciate risks and consequences. It prevents taking into account the family and home
environment that surrounds him—and from which he cannot usually extricate himself—no
matter how brutal or dysfunctional”("U.S. Supreme"). Mandatory life sentence for a juvenile
offender is unjust because it often doesn’t take into account factors such as the immaturity of
juveniles, the impulsiveness of children, and the lack of ability to understand long term
consequences. Mandatory sentencing also tend to neglect the environment in which the offender
was raised. Teens aren’t able to control the environment in which they were raised, or the family
that they were born into, but those things often have an effect on who they grow up to be. If teens
grew up in a more violent area, they are more likely to commit a violent crime. It is cruel to
punish juveniles so harshly without taking into account that they can’t control some of the
Children are able to change their behavior, and many youth who are violent grow out of
their violence. Not all violent children grow up to become violent adults. Although many kids
may display violent behavior, “a violent adolescent doesn’t necessarily become a violent adult.
Some two-thirds to three-quarters of violent youth grow out of it…”(Ritter). Juveniles who
commit violent crime don’t always grow up into violent people. According to University of
Emory psychiatrist Peter Ash, violence “tends to peak in adolescent years”(Ritter). When kids
are between the ages of ten and nineteen, they tend to be more violent towards other people.
After their teenage years, many kids become less violent, and are able to make more rational
decisions. Teens are also more prone to have aggressive behavior than adults. Adults are less
likely to feel some of the strong emotional reactions that many teens feel because “When the
prefrontal cortex is fully developed, it dictates an appropriate response to the hormones, usually
ignoring the amygdala and preventing outbursts or anger. The problem is that the prefrontal
cortex doesn’t fully develop until the mid-20s for many individuals. Until then, the amygdala has
the power to dictate responses to the hormonal rush”("Teen Anger"). The prefrontal cortex in
teenagers brains aren’t fully developed, so they aren’t able to control their emotions as well as
adults. When teenagers grow up, their brains develop more and they become more able to control
their emotional reactions to certain events. Over time, as teens brains develop, they are able to
outgrow their violent reactions and are able to prevent their outbursts of anger. As they become
adults, teens start to think more about what they are doing, and are able to control themselves so
they don’t commit as many acts of violence as they did when they were younger.
When sentenced as adults, juveniles learn nothing other than how to become better
criminals. Throwing juveniles in a jail rather than a rehabilitation center doesn’t help them
because they don’t have the opportunity to learn how to change. According to an article in the
Washington Post by Brad Plumer, “Not only does throwing a kid in detention often reduce the
chance that he or she will graduate high school, but it also raises the chance that the youth will
commit more crimes later on in life”(Plumer). When juveniles get thrown into a prison they often
don’t have the opportunity to finish high school, so they often turn to the adults in prison to teach
them things. Since the adults are more experienced criminals than the youth, they often teach
them how to commit worse crimes. When juveniles first get to prison, they are “spending a lot of
time around other criminals, seasoned veterans who know the lay of the land” and the other
criminals can teach the juveniles “the mechanisms — ways to get away with crime”(Vedantam).
Since the teen brain isn’t fully developed yet and still needs to learn many of the juveniles will
absorb everything that the older criminals tell them. If these juveniles ever get released back into
society, they are more likely to commit more dangerous crimes. This is bad for the society
because it can put the juvenile's life in danger and it can also put other people’s lives who are
Supporters of life without parole for juveniles argue that the United States needs to teach
juvenile offenders a lesson for the crime(s) they committed. Proponents argue “it is important to
punish the worst juvenile offenders harshly in order to establish forcefully that the U.S. does not
tolerate youth crime“("Sentencing Juveniles"). People believe that juveniles need to understand
that their actions have consequences and that the laws of the United States are not a joke, and
need to be followed by all of its citizens. Although juveniles do need to understand that their
actions may have serious consequences, they deserve a second chance to learn from their
mistakes and not make the same ones again. The part of a child’s brain that determines right
from wrong and judges long term consequences of actions isn’t fully developed yet, so children
have a harder time judging the consequences of their actions. The prefrontal cortex of the brain
controls risk management, which is “The ability to assess risky situations and determine whether
they will result in long-term benefit”("At What"). Many juveniles don’t have the ability or
judgment to assess a situation and determined whether the situation will be beneficial or harmful
to them in the future. Supporters of life without parole for juveniles also argue that juvenile
offenders are dangerous, and need to be locked up. Supporters of laws created in the 1990s that
make it easier for judges to give sentences of life without parole to juveniles argue that the laws “
helped make the U.S. safer by removing dangerous criminals from the streets before they had a
chance to commit even more brutal crimes”("Sentencing Juveniles"). Many people believe that
juveniles need to be taken away fro communities because they are a threat; and, that if they stay
on the streets any longer, they may have the chance to commit more crimes, and harm more
people. Although some juvenile offenders can be a threat to others, many of them have the
ability to change their behavior. According to an LA Times article by Miriam Aroni Krinsky,
“Experts confirm that youths have greater potential for reform than adults; in many cases, young
people "age out" of the type of behavior that leads to crime”(Krinsky et al.). Teens are more able
to change their violent behavior than adults do. They are not defined by the crimes they commit,
and therefore don’t deserve to be locked in prison for the rest of their lives because of them.
Over the past thirteen years, there has been a conscious effort in the United State to
lessen the punishment for juvenile offenders. About 2,100 people serving life sentences for
crimes they committed before they turned eighteen now have the possibility of release. The
Supreme Court has looked at studies that show adolescent brain development and taken the
studies into account when ruling in their cases. Cases such as Miller versus Alabama and Jackson
versus Hobbs have helped push the Supreme Court to give less severe punishments to juvenile
offenders. In the case of Graham versus Florida, the Supreme Court “banned the use of life
without parole for juveniles not convicted of homicide. The ruling applied to at least 123
states”(Rovner). Despite the many efforts made by the Supreme Court thirty states, including the
state of Maryland, still allow juveniles to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of
parole. The State of Maryland must create a law that bans the sentencing of juveniles to life in
prison without possibility of parole because minors are more prone to do reckless things because
their brains aren’t fully developed, sentencing juveniles to life in prison without possibility of
parole is a violation of the eighth amendment, many children are able to grow out of their
violence, and when sentenced as adults, juveniles learn nothing other than how to become better
criminals
Works Cited
"At What Age Is the Brain Fully Developed?" Mental Health Daily,
mentalhealthdaily.com/2015/02/18/at-what-age-is-the-brain-fully-developed/.
"Teens' Brains Key to Their Impulsiveness." CBS News, The Associated Press, 7
"U.S. Supreme Court: Prior Finding That Mandatory Life without Parole Sentences
for Youth Are Unconstitutional Now Found Retroactive." Juvenile Law Center,
us-supreme-court-prior-finding-mandatory-life-without-parole-sentences-youth-are-
Ritter, Malcolm. "Experts Link Teen Brains' Immaturity, Juvenile Crime." ABC
Mar. 2018.
"Teen Anger & Aggression Causes & Treatment." Rawhide, Rawhide Boys Ranch, 18
"Sentencing Juveniles to Life Without Parole: Should judges sentence the worst
crime,-law,-and-justice/
sentencing-juveniles-to-life-without-parole.aspx?sln=1&hd=1694. Accessed 19
Mar. 2018.
Plumer, Brad. "Throwing Children in Prison Turns out to Be a Really Bad Idea."
2013/06/15/throwing-children-in-prison-turns-out-to-be-a-really-bad-idea/
Vedantam, Shankar. "When Crime Pays: Prison Can Teach Some to Be Better
169732840/when-crime-pays-prison-can-teach-some-to-be-better-criminals.
"At What Age Is the Brain Fully Developed?" Mental Health Daily,
mentalhealthdaily.com/2015/02/18/at-what-age-is-the-brain-fully-developed/.
"Teens' Brains Key to Their Impulsiveness." CBS News, The Associated Press, 7
provided information on many of the different Supreme Court cases having to do with juvenile
sentencing.
"U.S. Supreme Court: Prior Finding That Mandatory Life without Parole Sentences
for Youth Are Unconstitutional Now Found Retroactive." Juvenile Law Center,
unconstitution. Accessed 19 Mar. 2018. This site helped support my thesis. It provided
information on the opinion of Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan in the case of Miller versus
Alabama.
Ritter, Malcolm. "Experts Link Teen Brains' Immaturity, Juvenile Crime." ABC
Mar. 2018. This website helped support my argument. It provided information on violence in
adolescents.
"Teen Anger & Aggression Causes & Treatment." Rawhide, Rawhide Boys Ranch, 18
support my claim. It provided information on how angry teens can change and become less
violent.
"Sentencing Juveniles to Life Without Parole: Should judges sentence the worst
crime,-law,-and-justice/
sentencing-juveniles-to-life-without-parole.aspx?sln=1&hd=1694. Accessed 19
Mar. 2018. This site helped with my rebuttal. It provided information as to why juvenile
argument. It provided information about how children can change their behavior.
"A State-By-State Look at Juvenile Life without Parole." WTOP, The Associated
2018. This website provided information on the laws for juvenile sentencing
Marimow, Ann E. "Teens Sentenced to Life in Prison Say Maryland’s Parole System
public-safety/
teens-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-say-marylands-parole-system-is-unconstitutional
/2018/02/06/
91f2dc72-0ab5-11e8-8890-372e2047c935_story.html?utm_term=.5a0991c55cd0.
Accessed 19 Mar. 2018. This website provides information about the parole
unconstitutional.
susceptibility-to-peer-influences-psychosocial-development/. Accessed 19
Herald, Parent. "Teens More Aggressive, Agitated than Adults, More Prone to
www.parentherald.com/articles/2943/20131112/
teens-more-aggressive-agitated-adults-prone-violent-behavior-crimes.htm.
Jacobs, Tom, and Natalie Jacobs. Every Vote Matters. E-book, Thomas A. Jacobs,
J.D., and Natalie C. Jacob, J.D. This book provided information about the
Plumer, Brad. "Throwing Children in Prison Turns out to Be a Really Bad Idea."
2013/06/15/throwing-children-in-prison-turns-out-to-be-a-really-bad-idea/
thesis. It provided evidence about why throwing kids in prison with adults
Vedantam, Shankar. "When Crime Pays: Prison Can Teach Some to Be Better
169732840/when-crime-pays-prison-can-teach-some-to-be-better-criminals.
Accessed 6 May 2018. This source provided evidence that supported my claim.
It talked about how teens only learn how to become worse criminals when
thrown in prison with adults.