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Should young juveniles be punished like adults
Should young juveniles be punished like adults
Hippocratic oath and the ethics of medicine
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A 16 year old boy is at the peak of their adolescent life, learning and discovering about puberty, maturity, right and wrong and future life goals. On the other hand, a man of 25 has matured, lived long enough to have made both good and bad judgments and has already been in the process of achieving those life goals they once thought of as a teenager. In a given situation, is it ethical to hold these two age groups, with mentalities that are worlds apart, to the same standards and punishments in the justice system? Until Roper v. Simmons in 2005, the justice system did just that, treat the actions of 16 year old with the same consequences as if they had been committed by an adult. In Roper v. Simmons the United States Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional to sentence a juvenile under the age of 18 to the death penalty. Before, Roper v. Simmons, in Thompson v. Oklahoma it had been decided that only those under the age of 16 could not be considered for the death penalty. Were these decisions correct? If an adolescent can commit such a heinous crime as homicide should they not also be able then to handle the consequences? The other side of the argument against the juvenile death penalty states that juveniles do not have the same reasoning skills as an adult and therefore cannot be held to same criminal blameworthiness.
Facts will show that the United States Supreme Court was correct in their decision to ban the death penalty for all those under the age of eighteen. Recent brain imaging scans have shown that an adolescent’s brain is not fully developed until late in adolescence causing them to be immature, have diminished decision making capacity and underdeveloped reasoning and thinking skills (Aronson, 2007); qualities which ...
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...onduct. (2011). Ethics and Judicial Conduct. Guide to Judiciary Policy, 1-19.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (2010, August 18). Brain Basics: Know Your Brain. Retrieved July 2011, from National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/brain_basics/know_your_brain.htm
North, M. (2002). Greek Medicine: The Hippocratic Oath. Retrieved July 2011, from National Institute of Health: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/greek/greek_oath.html
Paus, T. (2005). Mapping Brain Maturation and Cognitive Development During Adolescence. TRENDS in Cognitive Sciences, 60-68.
Steinberg, L., & Scott, E. S. (2003). Less Guilty by Reason of Adolescence. American Psychologist, 1009-1018.
Strater, S. D. (1994-1995). The Juvenile Death Penalty: In the Best Interests of the Child? Layola University Chicago Law Journal, 147-182.
In the United States Supreme Court case of Roper v. Simmons of 2005 the Supreme Court ruled in a five to four ruling that the death sentence for minors was considered “cruel and unusual punishment,” as stated by the Eighth Amendment, according to the Oyez Project online database. Christopher Simmons, the plaintiff, was only seventeen at the time of his conviction of murder. With the Roper v Simmons, 2005 Supreme Court ruling against applying the death penalty to minors, this also turned over a previous 1989 ruling of Stanford v. Kentucky that stated the death penalty was permissible for those over the age of sixteen who had committed a capital offense. The Roper v. Simmons is one of those landmark Supreme Court cases that impacted, and changed
...s was a federal case and a federal ruling which means that this new law outlawing the execution of anyone under the age of eighteen at the time of the crime extended its reach over the entire United States. This also overruled all state laws allowing juvenile executions. The Roper v. Simmons ruling overturned the decision from Stanford v. Kentucky which allowed the death penalty for juvenile offenders over the age of sixteen.
As a junior in high school, I am considering medicine as a possible career choice. Through my research in this field, I discovered the Hippocratic Oath. The Hippocratic Oath is the most famous of the Hippocratic documents; it has served as an ideal for the professional attitude and ethics of physicians to the present; the historical origin of the oath is so obscure that even the date of its composition is placed from the 6th to the 1st century B.C.
The article titled “ Juvenile Justice from Both Sides of the Bench”, published by PBS, and written by Janet Tobias and Michael Martin informs readers on numerous judges’ opinions on the juveniles being tried as adults. Judge Thomas Edwards believed that juveniles should not be tried as adults because they are still not mature enough to see the consequences of their actions and have a chance to minimize this behavior through rehabilitation programs. Judge LaDoris Cordell argues that although we shouldn’t give up on juveniles and instead help them be a part of society, however, she believes that some sophisticated teens that create horrible crimes should be tried as adults. Bridgett Jones claims that teens think differently than adults and still
On the contrary Jenkins argues that if that was the case, then teens would kill at roughly the same rates all around the world. On my behalf I concur with Jenkins because everyone is responsible for their own actions and behavior. Consciousness, is what awares our minds whether we decide if we want to do something or not and what is right and wrong. If brain underdevelopment is supposedly one of the reasons, then why aren 't my siblings and I kill people like the other juveniles who are. Professor Stephen Morse reasons that “the actual science does not in any way negate criminal culpability”. We cannot incriminate science or anything because every individual will be different in many aspects because every kid matures and grows at different ages and stages. For example, from my own experiences I have seen a twelve year old child be more mature and formal than a thirty year old adult. In some cases, some children mature when they go through puberty, others till later or maybe even at a very young age.. The “underdevelopment brain” argument should not be an issue to interfere with why a juvenile should not be trial to life in prison. Although a teenager will suggest and demand that their emotions ran high, which was why they killed somebody and their
Secondly we will take a short look at the two major court cases that dealt with this issue in the United States. Next this paper will present the factual statistics of the death penalty for juveniles and also take a look at our country's stance on the issue in the international arena. We will then spend a short time looking at some views on the juvenile death penalty, reasons for the death penalty itself, and the arguments for and against the death pe... ... middle of paper ... ...
As every child grows up in a different environment, not all have a safe one to grow up in and as a result everything that surrounds them becomes apart of the clarity that their mind incorporates and becomes apart of that child 's behavior of way. In terms of brain development children or teens often listen, and see what is around them, it is also said, by researchers of the National Institute of Health, that in recent studies that were made that in teen years massive loss of brain tissue...
Twenty years ago Don Henley sang a song called “The End of the Innocence,” and portrayed a coming of age scenario. In Henley’s song, he sings the lines, “Offer up your best defense/ but this is the end/ this is the end of the innocence.” The disputable age-of-accountability permeates American society. In the essay, “Too Immature for the Death Penalty,” Paul Raeburn offers his defense into the chemical and environmental make-up of juveniles in their decision-making processes. However, the issue of personal accountability, or an end of innocence, is never brought up. Regardless of age, Americans cannot avoid decisions, because decisions determine destinies. Individuals choose either the path of wisdom or the path of folly, and no one can postpone or sidestep these choices. When does responsibility begin and accountability end? While juveniles’ brains may not be fully developed, juveniles must be held accountable for their actions. No matter what age group is involved, murder is still murder, and requires the death penalty to enforce the consequences of the crime.
Similarly, going along with the prior rebuttal of the importance of differentiating juvenile’s characteristics and actions of that of an adult, science is compiling more evidence of its vitality. Many adults can look back and reminisce about an action he or she did when younger and say, “Wow I cannot believe I did that.” Science has proven the reason behind that is because an adolescent’s brain has not yet fully matured. Tsui states “Studies conclusively established that the brain of an adolescent is not fully developed, particularly in the area of the prefrontal cortex, which is critical to higher order cognitive functioning and impulse control” (645). The facts of scientific research need to be taken into consideration when distinguishing
Supreme Court ruling Graham v. Florida (2010) banned the use of life without parole for juveniles who committed non-homicide crimes, and Roper v. Simmons (2005) abolished the use of the death penalty for juvenile offenders. They both argued that these sentences violated the 8th Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. While these landmark cases made great strides for the rights of minors passing through the criminal justice system, they are just the first steps in creating a juvenile justice system that takes into consideration the vast differences between adolescents and adults. Using sociological (Butler, 2010) and legal (Harvard Law Review, 2010) documents, this essay will explicate why the next such step to be taken is entirely eliminating the use of the life without parole sentence for juveniles, regardless of the nature of the crime being charged.
In the article On Punishment and Teen Killers by Jenkins, sadly brings to our attention that kids are sometimes responsible for unimaginable crimes, in 1990 in a suburban Chicago neighborhood a teenager murdered a women, her husband, and her unborn child, as she begged for the life of her unborn child he shot her and later reported to a close friend that it was a “thrill kill”, that he just simply wanted to see what it felt like to shoot someone. A major recent issue being debated is whether or not we have the right to sentence Juveniles who commit heinous crimes to life in adult penitentiaries without parole. I strongly believe and agree with the law that states adolescents who commit these heinous crimes should be tried as adults and sentenced as adults, however I don’t believe they should be sentenced to life without parole. I chose this position because I believe that these young adults in no way should be excused for their actions and need to face the severe consequences of their actions. Although on the other hand I believe change is possible and that prison could be rehabilitating and that parole should be offered.
The opposition believes that holding court cases where juveniles remain tried as adults undoubtedly violates the rights of the juvenile. Initially, the age of a person when the alleged crime occurred decides whether or not he or she will be tried as a juvenile. “Definitions of who is a juvenile vary for different purposes within individual states as well as among different states” (Rosenheim 36). Children, ages seven to seventeen, who are suspected of crime, must be treated as children in need of guidance and encouragement, and not as vicious criminals (Emerson 6). Also, the opposition feels that the juvenile cannot accept full responsibility for his or her actions. Some people insist that each minor who committed a crime was influenced in some way or another (Emerson 8). Not only does the opposition believe that the minor was influenced, but they also believe that the juvenile was not able to control his or herself (Emerson 8). In addition, juveniles have not yet reached the necessary maturity level to share a prison amongst other adults. Minors, isolated for punishment, do not deserve this radical treatment (Staff Report C13). Numerous lawsuits are filed annually to fight the improper incarceration of juveniles who were tried as adults (Staff Report C13). Most importantly, courts must not rely on prosecutors to prove that a child knew whether or not that the crime committed was right or wrong. “The court is exhorted to treat children brought before it with the same kind of care, custody, and discipline that they would receive ...
For instance, juveniles do not deserve life sentences because their brain isn’t fully developed yet and lack awareness of their actions. In the article “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains” by Paul Thompson, he explains the development of the brain and how in some situations the brain isn’t ready and it can affect the person. This effect in divergent ways; psychologically and emotionally. Thompson's article introduces the case of Nathaniel Brazill, at age 14, charged with second degree murder, trial as an adult and sentenced to life in prison without parole. After some serious research, it has shown that as many other juveniles who have committed a crime they are “far from adulthood”.
In a world where crime occurs every second of the day on every street, the effort to prevent our youth from witnessing such things has grown nearly impossible. The duty those who are older than juveniles have is to place them in a positive place to grow, away from violence. Since the youth may not recognize right from wrong, someone must do so for them. The juvenile is looked at by the Judicial System almost as the child of the state. By this the state has the best interest for the child and will act in whatever manner necessary to accomplish this. Although the State does understand that juveniles should be treated as if they are less to blame for a crime than an adult, there have been many counts of juvenile cases that raise questions about current laws. When a juvenile commits a crime that would normally see an adult face serious time in prison, the sentencing process falls nowhere in the same category. This is because of the certain rules and regulations for courts in the Juvenile System that limit the juvenile sentencing drastically. Just for the reasoning that a juvenile is a growing human being with an undeveloped brain, does not condone a juvenile to commit gruesome crimes that will conclude in no way near the punishment deserved.
Hippocrates was a Greek physician that left a legacy that existed during his lifetime in Classical Greece and continues today. His moral and ethical standards were the foundation of his teachings, along with his meticulous writings concerning the study of the human body. He firmly believed that poor health and disease were the result of a natural process that could be discovered and cured through careful clinical reasoning and observations. Hippocrates travelled throughout Greece teaching and describing disease symptoms, and taught doctors how to analyze and treat specific illnesses or diseases. Hippocrates’s accomplishments give him the respect from doctors and medical professionals around the world that continues even today.