A child who commits a horrible mistake should not have to pay for it and endure the consequences for the rest of his life. Juveniles who have senselessly committed have been punished with a life sentence with no chance of parole and no chance of rehabilitation. The fact that jury’s and judges are giving juveniles life in prison instead of giving them a chance of remorse and recovery is not just and should be changed. There is a huge difference between a child who commits murder mindlessly and a child who is mentally ill and needs serious help. Therefore, there should be a different consequence for each of them. A juvenile 's brain is undeveloped and immature. A juvenile whose mind is so underdeveloped that they literally do not understand what they have done does not deserve a life in prison. A juvenile like that deserves a …show more content…
In “Startling Finds on Teenage Brain,” by Paul Thompson, the author states, “But what really caught our eye was a massive loss of brain tissue that occurs in the teenage years.” This is a very vital point when defending the mass amount of juveniles being sentenced for life. It sounds almost impossible for teenagers to make a decision and be aware of the consequences as they are losing massive amounts of brain tissue. Thompson continues to explain, “Gray matter, which brain researchers believe supports all our thinking and emotions, is purged at a rate of 1 percent to 2 percent a year during this [adolescent] period.” This discovery is helping people understand that while we are young, are brains are doing nothing but developing. This means there is no time in our teenage years where our brains are 100% developed thus explaining why the juveniles commit crimes. The fact that juvenile brains are not developed comes to prove that juveniles should not be given these harsh