In the Jennifer Jenkins's article, "On Punishment and Teen Killers", she argues that brain development is not the reason why teens commit violent crimes. She is also against advocates that are against juvenile life without parole or JLWOP. I completely disagree with Jenkins's stance on the JLWOP issue. Her experiences with her sister's murder have led her to write a biased article against juvenile offenders. I believe that she did not even think about the families and juveniles that are affected with JLWOP. While reading the article, I developed few questions for the author: What would you feel if your child committed murder? Would you have a different point of view towards JLWOP? I believe that juveniles should not be tried as an adult and given life sentences. Teens who commit such crimes should instead be sentenced to a few years in juvenile detention centers to allow them to think about what they have done and to possibly learn from their mistakes. This way, they can have a second chance in life, instead of wasting their lives behind four walls.
I do not think it was right for Jenkins to disprove scientific research about the connection of brain development and juvenile crimes. I believe that underdeveloped brains is the leading cause of juvenile delinquency. They are unable to make decisions efficiently causing them to make wrong decisions. Teens should not be penalized harshly just because they made the wrong decision when they were 13 or 14 years old. Teens this young still have plenty to learn about life and whats wrong or right. They should be given a second chance in life.
Jenkins made it seem that teens will never learn from their mistakes and will commit similar crimes in the future. That is not always the case.For example, Gail Garanger, a former juvenile court judge, stated that young offenders grow out of crime. Many teens and even young children learn from their mistakes. Once they know what is wrong and right, they would most likely not commit the same mistake again.
I would have a hard time if my child committed murder and was going to get life in prison without parole, but think if you are the other parent which child was murdered, would you want that juvenile to only get sentenced to a few years in a juvenile detention center which is just a slap on the wrist. I do not agree with sentencing juveniles with life without parole, but a detention center is not a place for murderers. The punishment should fit the crime, so if that was the punishment for killing someone then it makes it that much easier for young people to kill because they know that it's only a slap on the wrist. Also I think that it was right for Jenkins to disprove scientific research about the connection of brain development and juvenile crimes because science is a theory which can be proven wrong. 13 and 14 years of age is not a long life lived, but it is long enough to determine right from wrong, and if we make excuses for the juveniles that commit these murders then it does not solve the problem of teen killers but only makes an excuse for it, and from my own experience I know that killing someone is not right and that I can face life in prison without parole so if I made that decision to kill someone then I would have to live with that. I know that a second chance would be extremely helpful to these juveniles but we have to draw the line somewhere.
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