Life Without Parole for Juveniles On December 17, 1992, 15 year-old Jacob Ind went to school after having murdered his mother and stepfather in the early hours of that morning. In an interview with Frontline he recalled, “I remember I was sitting in the police station and this is how out of touch of reality I was. I had a small amount of marijuana, like an eighth of an ounce, in my bedroom. And I 'm telling my brother, 'You got to get the marijuana or else I 'm in trouble” (Profile Jacob Ind). His attorneys contended that he was acting in self-defense, claiming that the murders were the climax of years of insult by his parents. On June 17, 1994, he was convicted and handed a mandatory sentence of lifetime without parole. This is just one of many life experiences of juveniles sentenced to life without parole in the U.S. There have been many other instances where the juvenile was not the real murderer, but was however given the lifetime without parole sentence. In those instances the defendant would have been convicted of felony murder, in which the defendant could have just been an active participant in a crime during which a murder was committed and consequently, spend life in jail without parole. Felony murder came into play in the case of Devon and Jovon Knox, in July 2007, the 17-year-old twins set out to steal a car together (Sentencing Juveniles). During the car jack, one of the brothers shot and killed the car’s owner. The panel could not decide which brother pulled
In the case of Georgia vs. Schmidt, this is an interesting juvenile case. Lacey Schmidt who was 15 at the time of the attack murdered his 14 year old girlfriend at the time in her Miles Road home. He was charged with theft, possession of a firearm and murder. Lacey is accused of shooting and murdering Alana Calahan by shooting her in the back of the head while inside her home in Harlem Georgia. Lacey was sentenced to life without parole. The crime happened in January of 2011 in the neighborhood of Harlem where Lacey and Alana were from. Lacey was then convicted of malice murder, felony murder while in commission of aggravated assault in February 2011 where he received life in prison without parole. Prosecutors say that Lacey had planned the
Gail Garinger the author of “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences” claims that juveniles should not be given a life sentence and should be given a second chance to redeem themselves. Gail Garinger gives the most ethos most likely because she herself is her own credibility. In her article she gives credibility to herself and everyone else that she has personally worked with. ” As a former juvenile court judge, I have seen firsthand the enormous capacity of children to change and turn themselves around(8)” In this quotation Garinger uses herself as a credible source and explains that all juveniles should have a second chance.
They are many different article that talk about teen killers but Garinger is the most accountable in her work and uses the most and best ethos. She wrote the paper called “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences.” In her write she argues about how kids are just kids and don’t have a fully developed brain. They don’t deserve to be given a adult sentence and deserve to have a second chance to have a life of no crimes. One step she uses to make us think that she is credible is the way she uses how teens are just tempted by other to do something they shouldn’t. “Peer pressure also makes them promising candidates for rehabilitation”(8). This use of works makes the reader feel that if they are peer pressured to do something then maybe the tens deserve
Gail Garinger in the article, Juveniles don’t deserve Life Sentences,claims that juveniles should not get a life sentence. Garinger supports her claims by first lists teens and young adults that have done terrible crimes. She then describes homicide as the worst crime,but explains how the Supreme Court won't give juveniles a life sentence for it. Lastly, the author explains how criminologists promoted a superpredator but how it never came to be. Garinger’s purpose is to inform people how kids don't deserve life sentences in order to inform people that they still have so much to live for. The author writes in a formal tone for the readers. This work is significant because it informed me on all the lives that have gotten life sentences.
The author of this article is Kallee Spooner is a PHD candidate at Sam Houston State University. Currently she works on a National Institute of Justice study as a Doctoral Research Assistant. Her focus is corrections, juvenile justice, and legal analyses in criminal justice (S.H.S University). In her article, “Juvenile Life Without Parole,” Spooner addresses the punishment of Juvenile life without parole and questions its constitutionality. She begins with raw numbers, including which states have the most juvenile serving LWOP. Further discussed are the facts that 98% of JLWOP inmates are male, and that black youth are 10 times more likely to receive the sentence than white youth. In terms of severity, LWOP is significantly harsher for
Juveniles should not receive severe adult sentences for the murders they commit due to their underdeveloped prefrontal cortex not allowing them to fully process decisions and consequences at a young age. In fact, the prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain where decision making originates and does not fully develop until the age of 25. Furthermore, sentencing a juvenile as an adult while they are at an impulsive age and subject to peer pressure is resulting to cruel and unusual punishment as defined in the eighth amendment of the United States Bill of Rights. Eventually, imposing an adult verdict over a juvenile would inhibit a proper rehabilitation for the convicted juvenile. Hence, it is recommended that states that currently have life without parole or the death penalty laws, ratify a new law for juvenile convicts for proper sentencing and rehabilitation.
BANG!!!! The sound of the gun shot being fired by James, a sixteen year old thug. THUNK! The sound of the body of an elderly man hitting the ground. James has just shot and killed the neighborhood grocery store owner for a few hundred dollars and a twelve pack. James was quickly arrested and the question is should he be convicted as a juvenile or as an adult? Juveniles should be convicted as adults for violent crimes because they are old enough to know what they are doing and if they commit a crime they should be convicted for it.
Whether Brandon Moore should be sentenced for life due to crimes he committed at age of fifteen, or receive a chance to parole.
Yes, juveniles deserve life sentences in jail if they decide to commit a violent crime. This is because there is no effective deterrent to force them to think twice. Over the course of time, this has resulted in even more juveniles being arrested for these activities. Evidence of this can be seen with figures provided by the Center for Disease Control. ("Youth Violence," 2010)
Juvenile courts have a wide range of sentencing options (usually called "disposition orders") that they can impose on juveniles or youth offenders who are found to be "delinquent" (that is, finding that the minor violated a criminal law). Typically, disposition options fall into two camps: incarceration and non-incarceration. One non-incarceration option in particular -- probation -- forms the backbone of the juvenile justice system. Read on to learn about the different kinds of sentencing options used in juvenile court, the ins and outs of probation, and whether a disposition order can be appealed or changed. (For more information on juvenile court cases, see Nolo's article Juvenile Court: An Overview.)
In America we sometimes house juveniles and adults in the same prison system. In the state of Wisconsin in 2014, we have incarcerated 121 minors into the adult system. While incarcerating these juveniles in the prison system some may wonder how does it affect a juvenile, Also what problems do they face while in prison and lastly, how has their life change for better or worse after they are released back into society.
I do not think there is anything to help equip juveniles deal with the issues getting transferred to an adult prison. While in juvenile detention the youths are house with 53 other young kids sentenced as adults. Once the prisoner turns 18 they get transferred to the adult block where now there are 200 hundred other inmates and also bucking with another cell mate. Also it seems like In the documentary the kids were pushed to get and finish getting their G.E.D. while in jail. I don’t think there would be the same type of encouragement in adult prison. Last is while serving time in juvenile detention you was house with similar aged people and for the most part was there to do their time without trouble. Didn’t have any hardened criminals
If judges and prosecutors didn’t care to learn how adult prisons affect juveniles, our juvenile crime rates would be very different than they are today. If juveniles were tried and put into adult prisons, we would be creating more criminals rather than trying to prevent them. According to U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention, they said “If the point of juvenile courts is to deter and rehabilitate juveniles so that they can succeed as adults, then it is important to evaluate the success of that mission when a juvenile is charged as an adult in the criminal justice system” (Scialabba). Some judges and prosecutors believe putting juveniles in adult prisons will deter them from delinquency rather than the
Capital punishment for juveniles is one of the most controversial topics to ever be explored in society and in the criminal justice system. The death penalty is a rare occurrence amongst juveniles since it is so arguable as to whether they should be tried as adults. Lynn Cothern from the Juvenile Justice Resource Center suggests that “the primary purpose of the juvenile justice system is to hold juvenile offenders accountable for delinquent acts while providing treatment, rehabilitative services, and programs designed to prevent future involvement in law-violating behavior” (Cothern). The juvenile death penalty has been argued over for centuries and has stirred enough people to still be around today. While juveniles have been known to commit heinous crimes, sentencing a juvenile to death is an inhumane and cruel fate to serve someone who is incapable of making rational lifelong decisions, and should not be allowed in the juvenile justice system.
“I used to believe are our future but now I realize that this, sadly isn’t the reality. Through laws that treat kids like adults, the government is throwing away the future of children in this country.” (D. Lee) An estimated 200,000 juveniles are tried as adults. The term juvenile refers to any young person under the age of 18. For most states in the United States, the age of majority is 18. While there are many things that juveniles are unable to do until they reach the age of 18, being charged as an adult for a crime is not amongst those things in some states. Juveniles are not allowed to vote, drink alcohol, or sign a legal contract, yet they can be charged and treated like adults when it comes to them being