Ethical Issues In The Juvenile Justice System

The group of individuals classified as “juveniles” are in a stage of rapid brain and physical development, causing them to sometimes act irrationally. However, there are certain cases which would be considered as an exception to this. In countries throughout the world, juvenile justice systems have a hard time choosing whether a minor should be charged with the same punishment as an adult. Here in the United States, this has been an ongoing battle between the federal law system and those who must make the ultimate decision; should juveniles accused of violent crimes be charged with life in prison. For some, the answer to this question just pertains to exactly what the crime was, however for others it is more of an ethical issue. The idea of

It was ruled that about 1100 inmates across 3 different states had rulings that were not retroactive and deserved to have a second look. In order to make these decisions, the Supreme Court had decided to create a 6-3 rule, stating that the majority would decide the outcome of the case. One man in particular, Justice Kennedy, states that he believes prisoners “...must be given the opportunity to show their crime did not reflect irreparable corruption; and, if it did not, their hope for some years of life outside prison walls must be restored.”, showing signs of potential freedom for those who have been able to prove that they would be able to function in the real world as a normal human being. One other source containing clarifying facts about this dilemma titled Facts and Infographics about Life Without Parole for Children, mentions how significant the child’s upbringing is in this situation. Any child who is sentenced to life in prison is considered to be extremely vulnerable and susceptible to a very rough upbringing at home; studies showing that nearly 80% of them witnessed some form of violence at home. Another scary fact states that about 25% of children who are sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole were not even the primary offenders. This means that under specific state laws, a juvenile may be charged with felony murder just for having been at the scene of the crime, in some cases not even having been at the crime scene at all. The juvenile justice system needs to take it upon themselves to make the punishments more specific in order to rule out the possibility of an unfair ruling, and to all the kids who were wrongly convicted to have their cases