AMERICAN JUSTICE SYSTEM UNFAIR TO JUVENILES

INTRODUCTION

Now and again I come across an American TV program about a minor who had been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole and think to myself, "How can one justify a sentence like that when with a bit of coaching these young folk can become law abiding citizens?"  

Why juveniles are getting a raw deal with the American justice system

America sentences more juveniles to life without parole than any other country on earth. Is this right?

Experts all agree that the human brain does not fully mature until the age of 25 so what happens before then?

Juveniles, I think we can all agree, are prone to acts of stupidity, their judgement is not as rational as that of adults. They are prone to risky behaviour which gets them into trouble.

There is no doubt whatsoever that juveniles have had limited life experience which makes them vulnerable to predators who are ready to take advantage of them. 

This is not necessarily sexual, but rather other criminal behaviour such as drug trafficking and other crime.

The question has to be asked, "Who should shoulder most of the responsibility in crimes where a minor is involved with an older 18?

American law does not seem to be taking this into account.

Isn't it better for society that these people come out after serving a sentence of say no more than 20 years at the maximum?

They will at least have had time to reflect on their misdeeds and with the proper education and mentoring would be good citizens in whatever is their niche in life.

Society will be better off with many of these inmates contributing to their communities.

In June 2012 the U.S Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole are against the constitution and judges must be allowed to take a juvenile's age in account (and other relevant circumstances) when sentencing.

What circumstances are there to consider?

Here are a couple for a start.

1. Were there adults involved in the crime and what influence did they have over the youngest one in the crime.

2. Were they taken advantage of by others?

Is it right for America to sentence teenagers to life without the possibility of parole?

If it is right to sentence teenagers to life without the possibility of parole then countries which have a release date for teenagers must be in the wrong.(and America is right)

History has taught us that governments do have poor laws which disadvantage its citizens. Issues such as slavery and racial segregation were once considered normal and right by governments until a long campaign by those who fought to change these injustices finally succeeded.

Just because it is legal, does not make it right.

America needs to invest in programs which help juveniles prepare for a crime-free life instead of just locking them up and throwing the key away. 

I think if sentences were cut short and the money saved was spent on measures to prevent youth offending it would save lives in the long term.

WHY TEENS ARE GETTING INTO TROUBLE

Teens of today face issues that their predecessors did not with social media and the internet being at the heart of it all. Today youngsters have access to the mindset of all kinds of people with all kinds of agendas. Certain terrorist groups have been able to tap into the minds of juveniles for recruitment purposes.

The easy availability of firearms has been the other major factor. Politicians in the US have been unwilling to tighten gun laws despite the number of mass shootings there.

It is not just gun laws that need tightening, social media outlets need to take more responsibility for the content on their platforms. Facebook and Twitter have taken steps to remove content which they deem to be damaging or not factual. 

WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN?

America should abolish life without parole sentences for juveniles and set a maximum penalty of imprisonment with the money saved being used to fund programs for youth. Doesn't it make better sense to invest in prevention measures rather than deal with unruly juvenile behaviour?

ABOUT THIS ARTICLE

Robert Stewart has been campaigning for American woman Jennifer Mee; you can read his thoughts about Jennifer's case at www.freejennifer.blogspot.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FINDING A SCAPEGOAT

Finding a Scapegoat You have heard the expression, "blaming the butler," well what this means is that when something has gone wrong there has always got to be a scapegoat. It lets other people off the hook and it is basically saying that "such and such wve happened if you had not done this or that or said such and such." In 2007, 16-year-old   Erin Caffey was found guilty of the murder of her mother and two younger sibling brothers. she actually did not kill them. Her then boyfriend of the time who was aged 18 and his associate did the killing while Erin and the girlfriend of the associate waiting in the car. It was all Erin's idea because her parents kept splitting up her relationships. Erin's Dad survived the massacre with I believe 11 gunshot wounds and he was able to identify the perpetrators. Unknown to him was that his own daughter Erin was behind the attack. The four were being questioned individually and the three older ones all
Read more

US PLEA BARGAINING

  The majority of serious crimes in the United States involve a plea bargain where the accused is offered a more lenient sentence in return for pleading guilty. Is this right? I think that all depends on whether someone is guilty or innocent. In some cases it all depends on one's interpretation of the law. U.S. plea bargain leads to life sentence Is plea bargaining just an incentive for the accused to plead guilty? I cannot answer that question and am certainly not in a position to; I can only speculate but judging by one case of a young lady who rejected a plea bargain and unsuccessfully defended her case, it appears that those who lose their cases after rejecting a plea bargain that was offered seem to be penalised. The young lady in question is Jennifer Mee from Florida. As a nineteen year old she arranged a date with a young man with the intention of robbing him; her two male friends carried out the robbery which ended fatally.  Under Florida law, all participants in a fatal ro
Read more

MEANING OF ACCOUNTABLITY

Meaning of Accountability Accountability seems to be a word used by families of victims of various tragedies. In late 2010, the families of the victims of the Pike River Mine explosion near Greymouth NZ have been campaigning for someone to be held accountable for the deaths of the 29 men. No one has ever been charged with the disaster, not even for negligence. Just three months after the Pike River disaster, the Christchurch Earthquake occurred with the death of 182 people, 110 of them in the CTV building which collapsed. As with the Pike River disaster, victim's families have been fighting for accountability but no one has ever been charged. Police claim that they do not have any evidence to lay charges. So what is the meaning of accountability? The Collin's School dictionary states "If you are accountable for something, you are responsible for it and have to explain your actions." It really makes me wonder whether the word "accountability&quo
Read more