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Summary Of The 57 Bus By Sonia Sotomayor

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On April 22, 2021, it was decided that judges now have the power to sentence youth to life imprisonment without parole. Toward the case of Brett Jones guilty of killing his grandfather at the age of 15, Jones V. Mississippi was overthrown. Succeeding the majority of Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh in a 6-3 ruling, Kavanaugh claimed that judges should be able to sentence youth to life imprisonment without parole as it should be up to the judges’ discretion. Opposing this Justice Sonia Sotomayor believes that children should have the right to parole and strongly believes judges should still have to prove teens cannot be rehabilitated to sentence one to life in prison. Corresponding to Sotomayor, youth should have the right to parole and judges should …show more content…

Richard commits a crime and ends up lighting a person on fire because of their appearance being different. After Richard committed this horrific crime, he showed great remorse and guilt. Initially, he was sentenced to 7 years in prison for this act but was given parole where if he behaved correctly in jail the sentence would shorten to 5 years. The argument in The 57 Bus of why he had a chance of parole was; “The result is that while teenagers can make decisions that are just as mature, reasoned, and rational as adults’ decisions in normal circumstances, their judgment can be fairly awful when they are feeling intense emotions” (173) The brain is still developing especially when in young adulthood. Your prefrontal cortex which is responsible for making decisions isn’t fully developed until the age of 25. Up until the age of 25 humans are still more prone to make impulsive decisions and not think about the following consequences of these …show more content…

Shouldn’t the youth who have a chance to change for the better be given this opportunity? As stated in The article Kanvanuagh believes “it was enough that the sentencing judge exercised discretion rather than automatically imposing a sentence of life without parole.” Kavanaugh strongly believes that the sentencing of a youth should be at the discretion of the judge. As we should have trust in our judges, however, what happens if there are crocked judges? Judges have a type of implicit bias, as every human being has an opinion and is biased. The biased opinion of one judge shouldn’t affect the rest of a childs life. To sentence an adolescent to life imprisonment even if they didn’t deserve it. There are many cases where judges have over-sentenced or had an implicit bias in their cases and wrongfully sentenced someone. In a study about the difference in sentencing compared to white and minorities; “This perspective, also known as bias theory, argues that minority youths are more likely than white youths to suffer harsher consequences at each stage of the juvenile justice decision-making process because the system treats minority youths differently (and more punitively).” This doesn’t only happen to youth but also to adults of color. The sentencing can be more lenient if you are white because of bias and

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In the article it states, “The court said that minors who commit terrible crimes are less responsible than adults: They are less mature, more susceptible to peer pressure, and their personalities are not yet fully formed.” In this quote the author is reasoning against life without parole because they are less mature and not fully developed. Although all crimes deserve proper punishment, juveniles should not receive life without parole because they are still developing and this punishment leaves no room for a second chance

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414 Words | 2 Pages

In July 2014, the United States Supreme Court issued that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for minors (seventeen and younger) convicted of homicide is unconstitutional in a five to four vote (2). The Court struck down statutes in twenty-nine states that provide a mandatory life-without-parole sentences for children (2). The lower courts are now instructed to conduct new sentence hearings where judges will have to take into account the individual characters, circumstances, age, and the events surrounding the crime (2). The court did not ban juvenile life without parole in all circumstances

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1198 Words | 5 Pages

The argument is often supported with scientific evidence claiming that minors’ brains don’t stop developing until the age of 25. It is then reasoned that minors cannot be held responsible for their actions due to the fact that their brains are still developing. This is completely true, but there is just one big flaw in this reasoning. It is claimed that the brain does not stop developing until the age of 25, but the line for responsibility is drawn at 18. Why is it drawn at 18?

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454 Words | 2 Pages

The article “ Juveniles deserve life sentence” by Gail Garinger is more affective than Jennifer Jenkins argument, for the reason that Ms. Garinger is a juvenile court judge who has withness many cases than jenkins. For that reason it make her a credible source to her own argument. Ms. Garinger and Ms. Jenkins do have some of the same features in their arguments. Even though both articles have different perspective of the topic. Garinger article states that “ As a former juvenile court judge , I have seen first hand…..”

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870 Words | 4 Pages

Juvenile Justice On June 25, 2012 the Supreme Court ruled that any minor who commits a crime, even one as horrendous as murder will not be sentenced to life in prison. I do not feel that black and white rule such as this, have any place in sensitive situations such as homicide cases. There are many circumstances where kids who commit a crime should not have to rot away in prison, then other cases where that seems like the most appropriate punishment. Each case should be looked at individually and every factor accounted for and taken into consideration.

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872 Words | 4 Pages

(Roper v. Simmons, 2005) As the justice of the Supreme Court, there needs to be an end to "totality of the circumstances" in some juvenile offender’s cases. If every juvenile offender's attorney claim age as a “reasonable grounds” to have their case overturned this will become a continuous problem throughout the United States. The Court has recognized that juveniles lack maturity in judgment, have an underdeveloped sense of responsibility, are vulnerable to adverse influences than adults, impulsive, reckless, risk-taking, and cannot extricate themselves from detrimental crime producing situations. (Elrod & Ryder, 2014)

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1055 Words | 5 Pages

Roper v. Simmons is considered a landmark case and is one of a handful that shows a new direction in granting some relief from what has been established as harsh “adult” punishments for juveniles (Elrod & Ryder, 2014). In fact, many studies are showing that the differences between adults and juveniles are quite significant (Elrod & Ryder, 2014). The courts are realizing that these differences must be taking into account when dealing with juveniles in the criminal justice system (Elrod & Ryder, 2014). However, that being said, change does not occur overnight, and for the unforeseeable future, juveniles will still continue to be waived into adult courts (Elrod & Ryder, 2014).

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The unfaltering dissension about sentencing juveniles to life in prison without parole has yielded opposition in the criminal justice system and dysfunction towards the young lives facing unsettled, extreme punishment for their mitigating crimes. While this particular topic can branch to very detailed discussions in divergent aspects such as: socially, politically, scientifically, and morally, it should be eliminated to only two characteristics: is it fair and is it right? Although it seems painless and facile to act on impulse when punishing juvenile criminals severely, the consequences are ineffective and adverse to the needs of the victims, the development of adolescent offenders, and the primary function of the criminal justice system.

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128 Words | 1 Pages

For the past years there has been a debate on whether juveniles should be tried as life without parole or life with parole. In my opinion juveniles who commit first or second degree murder should not receive a mandatory sentence to life without parole. Although the juveniles are underage they are well informed of what’s right and what’s wrong, but some of them have difficulty understanding of what they are doing at the moment of the crime because they are angry and act before thinking clearly. I agree with the majority of supreme court justices who believe that mandatory life sentences are unconstitutional, unfair and inhumane because juveniles are immature, their brain is not completely developed, and they are unaware of long term impact

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"Juvenile Life Without Parole." Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, 30 Jan. 2009, www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2009/01/30/january-30-2009-juvenile-life-without-parole/2081/. This reference sheds light on the issue of juvenile life without parole, which is a controversial topic in the criminal justice system. The article discusses Young who was sentenced to life without parole and explores the ethical and moral implications of such a sentence. Farrell, Susan. "

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842 Words | 4 Pages

There are certain instances of juveniles being tried as adults and sometimes ending up getting a life sentence without a chance of parole. I find that pretty harsh because there have been some cases where the juvenile meant no harm, they were either confused or brought along by gang members and they end up being charged along with the gang members for just being with them when a crime goes down. I believe that juveniles do not deserve to be given a life sentence because for one they are still maturing, they can learn from their mistakes and make amends, we still have to combat crimes like intended murder committed by a juvenile with extreme punishments especially if they are well over the age of 16. In the article published by the New York Times on March 14, 2012 “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences”, Garinger discusses that juveniles deserve a second chance since their brains are still developing.

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The article “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences” argues that children in prison need to be given a chance to mature and be rehabilitated (Garinger 9). Because these killers likely committed these crimes on impulse, they would often realize after the fact that they were wrong to do such an action. Therefore, when they are released, they will be more careful and think about their actions before committing. If they are given a life sentence, they will never be given this chance to fix their life. Older people who commit murders are less likely to learn from their mistakes since they put more thought into the killing than adolescents

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952 Words | 4 Pages

The criminal justice system is rife with racial bias, which leads to higher rates of incarceration, harsher sentences, and a lack of access to legal resources for people of color. Studies have shown that police

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729 Words | 3 Pages

Juveniles Justice Juveniles who are criminals being sentenced to life without parole can be shocking to some people. I believe if a juvenile is able to commit a crime, then they are able to do the time. The article “Startling finds on Teenage Brains” talks about how the brain can be different from the time you are teens to the time you are an adult. After, considering both sides on juvenile justice it is clear that juveniles should face life without parole because they did the crime so they can do the time. Also I believe the juvenile’s age should not influence the sentence and the punishment give.

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964 Words | 4 Pages

Juvenile Justice Should juveniles get treated as adults that’s one of the biggest controversy in our nation now days, with many juveniles committing crimes that are inconceivable according to their age. Judges have the last word on how to treat this young people. Many people argue that “the teens that are under eighteen are only kids, they won’t count them as young adults, not until they commit crimes. And the bigger the crime, the more eager this people are to call them adults” (Lundstrom 87). This is why people can’t come to a decision as how these young people should be treated like.

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