Second Chances What would you consider cruel and unusual punishment? In the United States the Supreme Court is arguing on whether a life sentence for juveniles us a violation of the eighth amendment. Many people may think that if the crime is bad enough, then the punishment is acceptable. On the other hand people may believe that no juvenile’s crime is big enough to be punished with a life sentence. I believe that a child’s crime should not go unpunished, but they should not be thrown into prison for the rest of their lives. A person’s brain plays a huge role in their decision making, and it is a known fact that children do not make the best decisions. A child’s brain is very much underdeveloped compared to an adult. Research has recently uncovered that during the teenage years, teenagers lose …show more content…
For example, their school and home environments. If a child sees violence and abuse at home, it is likely that they will react the same as they see at home because they believe that violence is the right way to react to everything. Although school is supposed to be a safe place, it is not for all students. Many students are peer pressured into doing bad things, but they think what they did was cool because of the people that surround them. Putting a child behind bars for what they have seen or endured their whole life does not do them justice. As Gail Garinger said, “ They are less mature, more vulnerable, to peer pressure, cannot escape from danger environments, and their characters are still in formation.”(Garinger, “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences”) Children are very naive as they grow up, there surroundings play a huge role in their decision making as a teenager. Because their characters are still forming, they will not remain the same as they were as a teenage. Juveniles deserve a chance to change, if judges continue to serve life sentences they may never get the opportunity to