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Life Without Parole For Juveniles Essay

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In today’s society, juveniles can and do commit violent crimes. As a result, many are tried as adults and, if convicted, are sent to adult prison and sentenced to juvenile life without parole. Life without parole means that a young person is locked up for life without a second chance. Although some may argue that juveniles, who have committed violent crimes, deserve juvenile life without parole sentence, in reality, juvenile offenders should not be sentenced to life without parole because juveniles are mentally and emotionally immature, the victims of their own environment, and can be rehabilitated. Juveniles are not ready for life sentence without parole because of their mental and emotional immaturity. According to Paul Thompson’s research on the teenage brain, the frontal lobes “are vastly immature throughout the teenage years” (7). The immaturity of the brain makes it extremely difficult for juveniles to control their impulses. As a result, juveniles often act out their impulses without weighing the consequences …show more content…

Back to Paul Thompson’s research on the teenage brain, he claims that “the parts of the frontal lobes that inhibit reckless actions restructure themselves with startling speed in the teen years” (10). As their brains develop, juveniles are capable of changing their previously immature behavior. Rehabilitation is an opportunity for juveniles to demonstrate that they can change and become productive people for society. In addition, the former juvenile judge Gail Garinger show her support for rehabilitation by stating that “the same malleability that makes them vulnerable to peer pressure also makes them promising candidates for rehabilitation” (9). In other words, if juveniles are taught to become criminals, then they can also be rehabilitated to become good people. In order to allow such transformation to occur, juveniles should not be given life sentence without

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