Pro:
Many people believe that when a person is a threat to society and has no potential to change that status then they should be sentenced to life in prison, no matter how old they are, what their race is, or their gender. In simpler words they believe in equal punishment for all. Then there is a view on this issue that is still pro lifetime imprisonment for juveniles but they are more on the line, or in other words swaying toward the con side of this issue. They believe in some (rare) situations life imprisonment may be necessary. For example if a juvenile committed a brutal homicidal crime, when a juvenile is a treat to society, when there is no hope in rehabilitation, and when the juvenile cannot follow court orders properly. The law's goal is to protect the general public from threats such as criminals if the punishment they a assign to a juvenile achieves that goal then that is a the correct punishment, any more than that violates the 8th amendment. The population in which are pro take in to consideration the safety of society and also the family and friends in which the juvenile hurt. Imagine if a family member was brutally murdered by a 16 year old, would you want that 16 year old let out of prison 25 years later as a 41 year old with still half his life to live?
Con:
Those who don't believe in life time sentences given to juveniles wonder if fair treatment is the same as equal treatment? Should a 15 year old shoplifter be given the same punishment as a 30 year old shoplifter? The part of the population who are on the con side of this issue tend to be more forgiving of juveniles because they take the juveniles living situation and their childhood into consideration. Almost always the juvenile criminals have very troubled childhoods living in dangerous and unstable homes. Then there are those who are often neuroscience specialists that believe the development of the adolescent brain is the culprit to their impulsive decisions. Believing that juveniles shouldn't be put in jail for the rest of their lives doesn't mean that you don't believe in any punishment for juveniles who have broken the law they just see lifetime sentencing for juveniles as cruel and unusual punishment which means it violates the 8th amendment. Con believers think that taking in all aspects of the juveniles life and creating effective rehabilitation plans are an extremely important factors in the juvenile justice system. This issue has vast amounts of gray area where no one really has authority to draw the line at a certain age because all cases are different, all have exceptions or different details that sway you either way just for the specific case. Many people go back and forth of this issue including me its hard to take a side when each case is so unique, I understand why this issue is so controversial seeing how after many hours researching the topic I still can't decide which side I am on. A picture visually showing Brain development from adolescents to adults
Patchin, Justin. "Juvenile Justice: Outlook." Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society.
Patchin, Justin. "Juvenile Justice: Overview." Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society.
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