“For Life?” the question that just kept replaying in Lionel Tate’s head over and over again. He never thought he would be sitting in a courtroom at the age of thirteen. Tate had just been sentenced to life without parole. He did not really know what to think as he was charged with murdering a six year old. Tate was only twelve at the time of the murder and was now thirteen. The rest of his life, his future, will be in the same place each and every day. No change what so ever. He would not be able to live his childhood dream. Nothing. To some this is what he deserved. They might believe that Tate should suffer the penalty of his actions. This is how they feel towards thousands of adolescents that are getting charged with life without …show more content…
Most of these offenders are now adults and have spent most of their life in the same place. These people could have went to college and become something, like a doctor, chef, and so much more, but instead they were left sitting in a cell. These children are in the midst of still growing and learning. They need to learn from their mistakes not just sit on them their whole life. The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth states that more than eighty percent of juveniles serving life have had a past that reflected their choices. For example they might have experienced violence in their homes or in their neighborhoods. Eighty percent of the girls sentenced have been physically abused in their past. All this anger and fear left inside of then leads up to their poor actions. Children were always told that they can not change their past, but they can change thier future. Well, how are children supposed to change their future and themselves by sitting in a cell? They already know what their future looks like. I believe that their should be up to them not the …show more content…
These other people might say that they do not know any better. If children commit the same crime as an adult, they should deserve the same consequences. Due to their bad past and lifestyle they might not be able to change. They won’t learn from it because where they came from it is okay. These people might also believe that one someone does something bad there is no hope. These children might never mature or grow up. They will be the same each and every day, so releasing them from jail will just cause more trouble in the world. Hundreds of judges that are, mothers, fathers, husbands, and wives, are getting left with the tough decision. Should this juvenile be sentenced to life without parole. Am i going to ruin this child’s childhood by putting them somewhere for the rest of their life. For me, I strongly believe people can change. What would you
There exists, in the world of criminal justice, a special group of criminals. These are criminals, that despite being minors, are charged as adults. Karter Kane Reed is in this group. When he was just 16, he stabbed and killed Jason Robinson. He was found guilty of second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison, albeit, with the possibility of parole after having served 15 years of incarceration.
People argue that some juveniles are “too young and they don’t understand” but either way, they still broke the law and should be fairly punished. A fact stating “There are approximately 6,000 juveniles in adult jails and prisons in the United States” shows that people who have broken the law with felonies have been confined by law, no matter the age. People need to learn before they act in a similar manner, again. A similar case is a boy named Craig Price from Rhode Island who had committed multiple felonies, such as four murders and was charged as a minor, meaning he was arrested around age 16 and would get out and have his criminal record sealed at age 21. Because of this, a law was changed so that juveniles could be tried as adults with serious crimes.
So why was he tried and treated like an adult during his case and given such a harsh sentence if he was “just a kid”? The U.S Supreme Court agreed; “There is evidence, in fact, that there may be grounds for concern that the child receives the worst of both worlds: that he gets neither the protections accorded to adults nor the solicitous care and regenerative treatment postulated for children.” (Juvenile Justice) Did Tate show early warning signs with his previous
If they are going to plan out a crime, then later go on to brag about it, there is something obviously wrong with them that is more than just being a minor. Every situation and case is different, and should be treated that way. If you send a child to prison expecting them to be able to change by themselves, you would be very wrong. They are at a stage where they are the most malleable; they take so much from the influences around them. So when you put them in a place filled with criminals, they’re going to change from children to
In the article “On Punishment and Teen Killers” by Jennifer Jenkins, she tells the story of a teenager who murdered a wife and her husband. It happened in 1990 in suburban chicago. The teen shot her and her first child still in the womb. The teen claimed that he just wanted to shoot
Alex King killed his father at the age of 13, he got only 7 years in prison. Once he was out, he got into a car accident and ran from authority going back into the system. This is just one incident, now moving onto Nathaniel Abraham, who killed a 17 year old when he was just 11 years old got only 10 years in a juvenile facility. Abraham was not tried as an adult, got out was charged with not only drug possession, but also charged for assaulting 2 guards facing more time in prison. Therefore, not trying juveniles as adults will or possibly can lead them to committing other minor or major crimes.
There are approximately 1,200 people that are in jail for life for crimes they committed as children (“Sentenced Young”). More than 25% of those people “were convicted of felony murder or accomplice liability”, that is they were not the person who killed the individual and may have not even been there when the killing took place (“Facts and Inforgraphics”). The majority of the juveniles sentenced to live-without-parole come from states that’s the mandatory sentence regardless of their age or circumstances (“Facts and Inforgraphics”). California, Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania have the greater part of the juveniles sentenced to live-without-parole(“Facts and Inforgraphics”). 14 states have banned live-without-parole sentences
America has the most overpopulated prisons in the world and that is because we would rather put a person (or in this case child) in prison for life than address the root of the situation. Data analyzed by Ashley Nellis, Ph.D., Research Analyst with The Sentencing Project, a project that advocates for the reform of justice policies and tackles the disparities in race and gender in the criminal sphere, reported, “ Survey research in the past 10 years consistently shows a majority of the respondents to favor trying juveniles in adult court for serious felonies, with roughly 75% of the typical adults surveyed believing that violent juvenile offenders should be treated as adults” (Neils) this attitude towards juvenile criminals is insidious to America’s youth, and does nothing to lower the crime rate. The real question is not when should juveniles receive life sentences, but how can we prevent it? How can we reform the Juvenile Court System in a way that actually addresses the crimes (and the needs) of Juvenile criminals so that they can be punished, rehabilitated, and reintroduced to society to actually love their lives? It is not until we see the bigger picture that we can make this
Juveniles need rehabilitation instead of lifelong sentences their deviance could be factors of conformity to how they grew up, and we need to help them grow out of their old ways to become a new person instead of sitting in a cell for the rest of their
In the article, “Prison for Young Killers Renews Debate on Saving Society’s Lost” by Don Terry, Terry talks about the debate on how to treat a twelve year old and a thirteen year old that had dropped a five year old child out a 14-story window. Both boys, whose names were not given, had lived in a dangerous neighborhood and had all the adults in their lives fail them. Also, both of their IQs fall below the average IQ of a normal person. Each state had called for a harsh punishment for the boys. The age for being put into a maximum security juvenile prison had been lowered to a ten years of age.
Juveniles should be tried as adults with life without parole but only in certain cases: depending on their motive or modus operandi, their crime, and criminal background. Motivation Scandalous kids who commit crimes for unreasonable motives should most definitely have life without the possibility of parole. In some cases, they’re just doing what they think is best. Jacob Ind, a 15 year old from Colorado, was beaten and sexually molested by his step father. His mother abused him as well.
Ethos is a rhetorical device authors use to establish their credibility to speak authoritatively on a topic. To strengthen their arguments, they also use logos, or logical arguments and scientific data, and pathos to create an emotional reaction in the audience. In the ERWC Juvenile Justice unit, four different authors, with four different levels of ethos, discuss whether or not juveniles who have been charged with murder should be tried as adults in the adult court system. Most argue that minors should be tried in the juvenile court system, while one demands that adolescents who massacre innocent victims spend the rest of their lives in prison. After closely reading each author’s opinion, it is clear that Paul Thompson has the most ethos
There have been many times over the years where a child commits a crime and they either get the punishment of a child or they get the punishment of an adult depending on their age, or depending on what the crime they committed was. If you send a child to adult prison it is a lot more harsh than juve so they have to be kept from the other inmates because it is too dangerous for them to be around them. The children transferred to criminal court were less likely to commit the same crime than those who went through the juvenile system. The children who re offended offended sooner and more often than the children who were tried in the juvenile court. In some states if the child is convicted in criminal court they can plead insanity and get out of the of the sentence they would be facing.
Doing so has had countless adverse effects on the youth. Despite this, many prisons and facilities have turned a blind eye to these negative factors, and continue to plant them in the adult systems. Children should not have to be put in jails and prisons with adults because they have an increased chance of being raped, educational services are often too expensive, and their minds are inclined to becoming mentally unstable, which often leads to suicide. Solutions to these issues include lifting the ban that prevents grants to be awarded to inmates, and abolishing children from adult jail facilities altogether. Conversely, others may argue that these children deserve this treatment, children are becoming more intelligent and know right from wrong, and that these sentences will show others what can potentially happen.
Juveniles Justice Juveniles who are criminals being sentenced to life without parole can be shocking to some people. I believe if a juvenile is able to commit a crime, then they are able to do the time. The article “Startling finds on Teenage Brains” talks about how the brain can be different from the time you are teens to the time you are an adult. After, considering both sides on juvenile justice it is clear that juveniles should face life without parole because they did the crime so they can do the time. Also I believe the juvenile’s age should not influence the sentence and the punishment give.