Kenneth Young Thesis

Touchstone #3: Kenneth Young In the United States, there are approximately 2,500 criminals serving life without parole for crimes committed as juveniles. Among these child offenders is Kenneth Young, who was tried as an adult at 15. In the Summer of 2000, Young was coerced to participate in a series of armed robberies by his mothers drug dealer at the time, 24 year old Jacque Bethea. Young was charged with 3 armed robberies and 1 attempted robbery, and received 4 consecutive life sentences without parole. Because of his actions at 14, Young is still serving life today. The sentencing that has been dealt to Kenneth Young is certainly not fit for his crimes. The U.S. is the only country that sentences juveniles life without

At just 14, Young’s brain was certainly not fully developed. Teen brains lack proper decision making skills. The brain is far more irrational, reckless, emotional, and easily influenced than the adult brain. The article “Beautiful Brains”, further expands on this topic, going into depth about what it is exactly that causes juveniles to act this way. The article explains, “The brain undergoes extensive remodeling, resembling a network and a wiring upgrade.” This remodeling causes a series of unusual behaviors in teens. Young was most definitely easily influenced by his partner Bethea, who threatened to harm him or his family if he didn’t “settle his mothers debts.” Young, being an emotionally unstable and easily influenced child, heard this and agreed to take part in the crimes. If Young knew then what he did now, he would not have participated in these

The article talks about the adaptive-adolescent story. The article says,” A few researchers began to view recent brain and genetic findings into a brighter, more flattering light, one distinctly colored by evolutionary theory. The resulting account of the adolescent brain–call it the adaptive-adolescent story-casts the teen less as a rough draft than as an exquisitely sensitive, highly adaptable creature wired almost perfectly for the job of moving from the safety of home into the complicated world outside.” This means that Young had a great chance at rehabilitation at such a young age. His brain had room to mature and reshape the way he thinks. In fact, in prison, he took it into his own hands to rehabilitate himself. He focused on studying and getting an education even though there weren’t many opportunities granted to him to do this in prison. Young acknowledges his mistakes and deeply regrets them. Young said, “I take full responsibility for my actions, and I am truly sorry for all of the harm that I have caused.” This really shows how much Young has grown and rehabilitated himself as he was given time to