Life In Prison For Juveniles

What do you think about incarcerating a juvenile in prison with a life without parole possibility sentence? The Supreme Court here is now studying and preparing a ruling as to whether states can keep a juvenile in prison for the rest of his or her life. In my state of Louisiana we have 17 of the total 109 juveniles (17 years of age and and under) in prison under those terms. Two of those offenders, one 13 at the time he raped a 72-year-old woman and the other 17 when he staged a home invasion robbery, have appealed their sentences of life without parole all the way to the Supreme Court. My guess is the court will rule that it is a matter for each individual state to decide.

It could declare life in prison for kids to be unconstitutionally cruel and unusual, as it did before in banning the death penalty for any reason for anyone under the age 17. Proponents of letting them go after being rehabilitated say that even though many are violent, remorseless predators (many sexually abuse smaller children). Some of them might never be anything but dangerous psychopaths that society needs to be protected from. Others, proponents claim, might be able to change their behavior as they age and life productive lives in society. Because young brains haven't matured fully teenage impulses and risk assessment are underdeveloped. So proponents claim the kids just need a chance to grow into a normal moral state. Too, they claim unequal application of life in prison, in which juvenile judges often give unfair life sentences to some of the offenders and not others who commit the same type of crime. Too adult criminals who commit they same offense as the juvenile often receive lighter sentences than the teen.

Most of the kids in prison for life have committed violent acts, beginning long before teenage years. There is some doubt that some of them could ever be changed enough to release them into society. As it stands now, the teens in those prisons were convicted after being tried as an adult for heinous crimes. Many states allow this kind of trial because society would be endangered if kids were tried as juveniles and released as required by law before or at age 21.

Those in favor of keeping the worst juvenile offenders in jail for life say that the whole point in sentencing any person to life in prison is to protect society. As long as they are locked in prison, no one else can be victimized out side of it can be another of their victims. Further, they claim that rehabilitation for people capable of such offenses as armed robbery, rape or murder has been demonstrated to be a waste of time.

Therefore, they rationalize, these youth do not deserve to be given any additional opportunity to harm the public. Once they have made it clear that they lack any respect for human life they should to be kept in prison.Your turn...what do you think about life in prison for juvenile offenders?