Trying minors in the adult court allows the possibility of juveniles having to serve life sentences without parole. Juveniles should not have the fate of the rest of their life determined by how they conducted themselves when they were young. In a country founded on principles such as the right to life, it is understandable that crimes such as murder require harsher sentences, yet the immensity of a life sentence without the opportunity of parole should never be dealt to a minor. The act of murder is immoral due to the respect and consideration we’re supposed to hold for human life, yet in condemning another humanーone who has not had the chance to fully grasp their own mortality and responsibility to othersーand prohibiting them from being a part society again, we are destroying their ability to live out their life and contradicting the principles our country stands for.

There is a vast difference between punishment and reform, yet as of late, both seem to work interchangeably in current law enforcement. Assigning punishment for a crime suggests that giving an individual negative consequences will act as both reparation for a wrong as well as a deterrent from committing similar crimes in the future. The antithesis of this is reform and rehabilitation, which is the righting of a wrong through positive reinforcement that aims to improve the offender rather than penalize. Imprisonment would be considered a punishment as well as a preventative measure, since it prevents those who disrupt societal norms and rules from causing disarray while also taking away their freedom and liberties.

Lengthy prison sentences do have a place in the justice system, but not in that of juvenile justice. There is much development that happens in our early years, so to hold individuals who are completely aware of the consequences of their actions on the same playing field as those who are still learning and lack the experiences and understanding that comes with age is not a system of justice. There are certainly some individuals who prove to be incapable of change and therefore deserving of punishment in the end, but to deem someone as a lost cause before they’ve been given the chance to reach their full potential provides no benefit.

Rehabilitation of juveniles gives our disturbed youth the chance to gain full understanding of their situation and the opportunity to become a productive member of society. After they have been given all the tools they need to make a change, the choice is then up to them if they wish to be responsive or not. If, even after reform efforts, a juvenile shows no change entering into adulthood, they have then made an informed decision to refuse help and can be held to a higher standard of accountability and considered for lengthy imprisonment.

Factors That Indicate Unresponsiveness to Rehabilitation Effort

After a minor went through rehabilitation efforts, proof of remorse would be another indicator of a change of heart. Although something as weighty and irreversible as the taking of a life is definitely not the preferred method of learning, acknowledging that what they did was wrong and showing an emotional response to their actions displays a level of understanding that may not have been present at the time that they committed the crime. There is always much emphasis on the wisdom that comes with learning from one’s mistakes, and to turn a horrendous crime into a learning experience would bring a level of good out of the situation, a benefit that imprisonment could not accomplish.

If the shock a juvenile experiences when truly coming to terms with their personal involvement in a crime brings them to the heart of the atrocity and provokes remorse, it speaks to the fact that there was a level of understanding that they could not grasp at their young age. One cannot fault them for the inability to comprehend a concept that was out of their reach. In the case that rehabilitation and time were unable to stimulate an understanding of the moral principles we are upheld to, it is difficult to believe that any further rehabilitation would be able to significantly alter that individual’s moral compass and would prevent that juvenile from being paroled when they reached adulthood.

The mind of a criminal is not a pleasant one. Not all criminals are mentally unstable; some have full knowledge and understanding of their actions, yet choose to follow through with them anyways. Yet this does not invalidate the fact that in order to commit a crime deserving of a lengthy sentence, one would have to have some disconnect with reality, mortality, or emotional stability. This is an unhealthy mindset that one would not want to keep for the rest of their life.

Juveniles are at an age that is known for being impressionable, and with that comes the ability to adapt. Since these youth haven’t had the time to fully cement habits and mentalities into their lives with permanence, this age is crucial in shaping them into who they will become in their adulthood. Placing a minor in an adult prison, where they are left with only themselfーwith their already broken, twisted mindーand others that are similar to them is to place them in an environment that gives them no hope of redemption. If we are genuinely a country rooted in the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, we would not stand idle and let children regress, knowing full well we could at least attempt to save them from the disconnected reality they live in. With rehabilitation and reform of the law enforcement system, many juveniles could be saved from a life behind bars. Why place a seed among rock and ruin when it could live, bloom, and thrive under proper care?