Juvenile Justice

Young adults can be categorized as kids, since they are not mature, in their judgement and problem solving. According to a recent research, adulthood depends on the development of the brain, thus adolescents fall under the group of children, since their minds are not fully developed and thus their decision may be immature (Ethan, 2012). The mind of human being fully develops at the age of 25 years, thus making a person to be able to reason clearly. Due to the cognitive skills that the youths possess, they lack the competency to be able to focus on the consequences of the mistakes that they make. When they are sentenced as adults, it disrupts their education, thus when they try re-entering into school after their sentence, it becomes very hard. When juveniles are incarcerated in the same facilities as adults, it makes them to suffer both physical and emotional abuse, thus making them to grow up as very different people, who can be able to lead peaceful lives in future.

According to my point of view, banning mandatory life sentences without parole for juvenile offenders of convicted murder is not good at all. This is so because, juveniles do not get the required rehabilitation while serving their sentence, and this makes them very vulnerable to acquiring bad behaviours from their peers in prison (Ethan, 2012).  Moreover, when they are released, they may not be able to relate very well to other people in the society. This may therefore make them to commit other problems hence making it hard for them to survive in the society. In addition, they might be discriminated by their peers, a thing which might affect them in their lives.

Reference

Ethan Bronner. (2012). Juvenile Killers and Life Terms: a Case in Point. Retrieved from: www.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/us/juvenile-killers-and-life-terms-a-case-in-point.html?_r=0