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Capital punishment and Life without Parole for Juvenile Offenders

Currently, there are more than two thousand underage children serving sentence in the Juvenile centers across the country. It is not prudent to take away a life of a child and ruin it forever instead of giving an individual an opportunity to rejoin the civil society. Therefore, capital punishment and life without parole for juvenile offenders should be abolished as a matter of urgent since the act has not solved the problem of crimes and it violates the eighth amendment. The proponent of the act argues that it removes the fear of safety and security since people would not be afraid of certain rogue kids. However, the life without parole for juvenile offenders should be abolished since it violates the constitution and the right to life for all citizens, to deviate the purpose, the act without established juvenile centers in the United States and it would give children opportunity to rebuild their lives and become part of the civil society.

Though more thirty eight states have allowed capital punishment and life without parole for juvenile offenders the act is illegal and should be abolished. Everyone has the right to live in the society and the act of life without parole violates the fifth amendment of the United States constitution and therefore, no child should be put in life in prison without parole (Tiffany 15). Several Supreme Courts have ruled against the act and therefore, it would be unfair for the United States’ Supreme Court to support the act. In cases State v. Andrews, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that Andrew is a child and with all reason he cannot be jailed for life in prison. The court further states that all punishment available for juvenile who committed first degree is prison unless there is prove that the crime was committed as adult.

The life without parole for juvenile offenders should also be abolished since children who commit crimes do not act in the same degree as adults. Research has established that most children who commit crimes are influence by social factors and which sometimes they do not have control over (Jonathan 25). Therefore, subjecting a child to several years in jail or murder for a crime a child committed when fourteen years cannot be fair and it is unjust. Abolishing life without parole does not mean offenders are going to be realized. It means giving juvenile offenders an opportunity to be rehabilitated so an individual can have another life. Studies indicate that several juvenile have been rehabilitated until they become better people in the society and they are making a different in their lives (Sarah 23). It is better to provide an opportunity for a child to build his or her live or take it away and ruin it forever. This is a million questions that the Supreme Court of the United States should consider as they discuss whether to introduce capital punishment and life without parole for juvenile offenders.

The sentence of juvenile to life in prison without parole is a judgment that translates that the offender will never rejoin the civil society. According to Laurence and Scott (5), it is a harsh punishment that befits only adults who have committed terrible crimes. It is not affair punishment for a juvenile whose character is still unconfirmed and the involvement on crime is a reflection of immaturity and also influenced by the adolescent stage. In the previous ruling, the Supreme Court judge, Judge Kennedy stated that minors even at the age of seventeen years have behavioral issues which affect their actions and this does not reflect a true character of a child (Laurence and  Scott 15). Research has indicated that children who have been through juvenile center end up have a good life and become a law abiding citizens. The judgment illustrated that juvenile recklessness; impulsivity and susceptibility are as a result of peer pressure which makes them to act irresponsible. And if juvenile are given chance they can change their lives in the future. It is argued that juvenile personalities and characters traits are less fixed and transitory than adults. It is then not affair to introduce life without parole for juvenile offenders inside juvenile should be rehabilitated to become a better people. Rehabilitation has worked before and it is appropriate to continue rehabilitating juvenile to readmit them in the civil society.

Juvenile should not be sentenced to death or life in jail without parole. Issuing harsh punishment to immature adolescent children only reprieve them the opportunity to excel in life and become a better person. Research has also established that kids’ behaviors are always influenced by outside pressure. Again, children are still have capacity for reform and therefore, the can still change their life and therefore, the death penalty or life without parole can be so cruel and very unusual in the civil society. Several rulings have been made before to abolish life without parole, for instance, the cases Roper V. Simmons, 543. U. 551 (2005), where the Supreme Court dismissed the case and ruled that Simmons is a juvenile and crime committed as juvenile should not be executed similar away to adult case and therefore, the first degree charges invalidated (Gale, Cengage Learning 15). However, the Supreme Court judges should look at the wisdom of the bench which made this brilliant ruling decades ago and safe juveniles from being locked up forever.

The proponent of capital punishment and life without parole for juvenile argue that everybody should be treated equal and crimes committed by a juvenile is equal and should be addressed on the same measure. Most of them believe that a crime committed by a child is worth a harsh punishment to set an example for the rest. Proponent also argue that giving parole to juvenile might increase the crime rate in the future and therefore, they should be punished to remove the fear so that we can have a safe and secure civil society. However, the arguments of proponent fail to consider two facts, that juvenile are growing and as children grow the adapt change and transform as well and therefore, the possibility of a child turning to be a good citizen is high. The eighth amendment and other jurisprudences which judges had used to dismiss previous cases like Roper V. Simmons should be given maximum thought before making any harsh decision regarding life without parole and capital punishment for juvenile offenders.

There is no any doubt that teenagers who commit a serious crime should be punished and the society should be protected from teenagers who are violent and dangerous. It is upon the authority to act fast and do what it takes to protect innocent citizens from dangerous criminals whether young, old or juvenile. But several studies have indicated that many juvenile have been rehabilitated and became good law abiding citizens. It is illustrated that many juvenile have worked out of the center and rejoined the civil society to become good citizen. Research has shown that almost 55% of juvenile have been readmitted to the society and now doing well and respect the law.

Therefore, the notions that juvenile cannot be rehabilitated is a perception which does not have any facts in science, research and does not have any psychological backing. It is not possible to be sure that a juvenile convicted of a crime will grow up to become a career criminal. It is not in our ability to make such decision on juvenile life and forget about the larger picture, the future. Juveniles can change and have proved to change with time to become a better adult and therefore, the decision of the Supreme Court regarding the capital punishment and life without parole for juvenile offenders should be consider various factors to life.

In conclusion, everyone wants peaceful, safe and secure environment to live and putting juvenile offenders in a confinement for years is not the best way to achieve that peace and security. Therefore, the capital punishment and life without parole for juvenile offenders should be abolished forever. Research establishes that juvenile commit criminal acts when under the influence and therefore, most of them do not know what they are doing. It is appropriate to give such children time to rebuild their future and become a better person in the society rather than ruining it forever. Again, it is obvious children can change to become better people after rehabilitation and therefore, juvenile offenders should be rehabilitated instead of subjecting them to long term suffering in jail. It is the best method to build the future generation which can take care of their needs therefore, the Supreme Court judges sitting in Washing D.C. should not consider capital punishment and life without parole for juvenile offenders.

Works Cited

Gale, Cengage Learning. “Introduction to Should Juveniles Be Given Life Without Parole?: At

Issue.” Should Juvenile be Given Life Without Parole (2011): 2-45.

Jonathan, Levy. “The case of the missing argument: the mysterious disappearance of

international law from juvenile sentencing in Miller v. Alabama.” Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. 36.12 (2013): 2-35.

Laurence,  Steinberg and Elizabeth  Scott. “Should Juvenile Offenders Ever Be Sentenced to Life

without the Possibility of Parole?” Human Development (2012): 2-34.

Sarah, Archibald. “Capital Punishment in the U.S. States : Executing Social Inequality.”

Criminal Justice: Recent Scholarship (2015): 2-45.

Tiffany, Shutte. “Cruel and Unusual:The Effect of Miller v. Alabama on the Indefinite Civil

Confinement of Juvenile Sex Offenders.” (2015): 2-34.

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