Brain Age Case Study Essay

573 Words3 Pages

Case Study of Brain Age
Jeremiah Hausauer
Rasmusen College

There is much debate regarding criminal charges for underage children. The debate stems from a child’s ability to be able to understand the consequences of their actions, and whether they are capable of determining right from wrong. There is study that shows that the brain of a child is physically different from an adults brain. Being able to determine this difference in physiology could be both a blessing and a curse for criminal proceedings.

There is a theory in the case study that a child brain, while able to tell the difference between right and wrong may not be able to fully understand the long term consequences of their criminal actions. This means that while the child may make the conscious choice to be deviant and break the rules, the child may not fully understand what will happen to them if and when the child gets caught. The full development of the brains ability to establish a link between right and wrong and the consequences of ones actions doesn't fully develop until around the age of twenty, according to the case study …show more content…

The ability to prove that the juvenile offender knew what they were doing and that they knew what would happen if they got caught would make an better argument as to why a juvenile should be tried as an adult. There is a constant struggle to prove that a child’s crime should be treated as if an adult committed it, and using technology to assist in proving their brain function could go a long way towards being able to charge juveniles