Juveniles Should Not Be Sentenced To Life In Prison Essay

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Is it fair to give juveniles life sentences? On June 25 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that juveniles who committed murder could not be sentenced to life in prison because it violates the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the majority, stated that “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 the 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.” Juveniles should not be sentenced to life in prison or adult jail until legal age. Due to the facts that many are still young and aren’t over eighteen. …show more content…

Many fall into peer pressure that's because of the friends they come across with. Friends can influence them so much once becoming an adult it isn’t the same because your brain has grown out of it. Many also lack confidence while many look like adults their brain resembles a child’s. While their bodies are aging their brain is rearranging itself in a way that temporarily makes it act the same way it did when they were younger. Most teens are overly emotional studies have found that teens have a much harder time speaking and to other people and so they sometimes react irrationally to emotional situations. Many parents wonder what happens to the smart child they use to have many still put in the exact same effort but get different results that's because the brain losses tissue over the years. Losing brain tissue can cause a teen to act immature and not quite like an adult

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