Overview of The Juvenile Sentencing in The United States

“More than 4,000 youth are incarcerated in adult prisons and jails”- The Sentencing Project. Juvenile sentencing has been an issue in the United States, mainly because there are a variety of sentence options that can be determined by a judge such as the death penalty and life without parole, which is considered to be unconstitutional when crimes are committed under the age of 18. The Juvenile System has its history starting way back in 1899 when the first Juvenile court was created in Chicago, Illinois. The main concept of this Juvenile court was to have rehabilitation instead of punishment; however, that has changed in today’s society. Sentencing juveniles to life without parole, death row, or placing them in adult facilities is wrong and they should only be placed in Juvenile detention centers. Sentencing juveniles in adult facilities can cause adolescents to develop trauma/mental illnesses, it exposes them to danger in adult jails, and it is overall a harsh punishment because they aren’t even adults yet.

Foremost, Juveniles being sentenced to life without parole is a very harsh punishment and it can cause the development of mental illnesses or trauma for many reasons. In the book“Just Mercy”, Ian Manuel was sentenced to life in prison at age thirteen for an armed robbery and attempted homicide towards a couple who were having dinner. There were also two older boys who were accomplices. Ian was placed in an adult prison and to prevent any sexual assault he was placed in solitary confinement. “In solitary, Ian became a self -described “cutter” he would take anything sharp on his food tray to cut his wrists and arms just to watch himself bleed. His mental health unraveled, and he attempted suicide several times. Each time he hurt himself or acted out, his time in isolation was extended” (Stevenson 152-153). This quote from the book shows how Ian’s mental health is affected due to his cruel sentence to life without parole plus being in solitary confinement. Just like Ian, there are many juveniles who have developed depression, anxiety, and isolation at a young age because they are facing adult-like charges when they are just children. According to The Sentencing Project, “Research on adolescent brain development confirms the commonsense understanding that children are different from adults in ways that are critical to identifying age-appropriate criminal sentences” (Rovner 3). Clearly, Juveniles are different from adults so they should only be placed in Juvenile detention centers and they should be excluded from life without parole sentences.

Secondly, the placement of juveniles on death row is indeed a cruel and inhumane punishment towards these adolescents. In “Just Mercy”, George Stinney was executed at age fourteen for the murder of two girls even though he was innocent. “Small even for his age, the five foot two, ninety-two-pound Stinney walked up to the chair with a Bible in his hand. He had to sit on the book when prison staff couldn’t fit the electrodes to his small frame” (Stevenson 158). This quote from the book proves how horrific and sad the execution process is on George and many juveniles, this sentence is obviously meant for adults and it fails to obey what is written on the eighth amendment of the Constitution which is banning “cruel and unusual punishment”. For this reason, juveniles deserve lighter sentences that are appropriate for their age and placing them in juvenile detention centers will do that. Death row will only harm these adolescents but if they receive rehabilitation in juvenile facilities they will learn from their mistakes and grow into a better person. As stated by Gale in Context, “Since then, the standards of decency have indeed changed. A moral consensus is emerging that holds out room for the eventual rehabilitation of teenage criminals, even those convicted of particularly brutal murders, or at the very least one that judges the actions of immature teenagers by a slightly different moral calculator than that used for mature adults'' (Abramsky 6). Although there are many people who agree with juveniles being sentenced to death for committing adult crimes and deserve adult-like charges, there needs to be an acknowledgment that juveniles differ from adults since they don’t have the same mentality as an adult because they are still developing and there is so much evidence that has scientifically proven it. Therefore, juveniles should not be sentenced to capital punishment and they should only receive sentences that correspond to their age in juvenile detention centers.

In addition, Juveniles charged as adults and placing them in adult facilities exposes them to many dangers, unlike juvenile detention centers. In “Just Mercy”, Trina Garnett, Joe Sullivan, and Charlie are all juveniles who were all placed in adult prisons at a young age. Charlie shared his horrific experience in the adult prison with Bryan Stevenson. “There were three men who hurt me on the first night. They touched me and made me do things” (Stevenson 123). This quote from the book proves that juveniles are exposed to the risk of being taken advantage of by adult inmates in these adult prisons. Charlie, Trina, and Joe were all raped during their time spent in the adult facility. This could have been easily prevented if they were just placed in a juvenile detention centers and not tried as an adult. In juvenile detention centers, they would be surrounded by other juveniles who are of the same age range and they will be safer and less likely to be sexually assaulted. As mentioned by Major Acts of Congress, “Juvenile courts had failed to divert enough children away from adult court (where they did not belong), failed to pay enough attention to the needs of the children referred to the courts, and employed an arbitrary set of procedures to determine what should be done with children who had passed through the system” (Miller 9). The juvenile justice system has failed these children. Due to this reason, the placement of juveniles in juvenile detention centers is much safer than adult prisons.

Sentencing juveniles to life without parole, death row, or placing them in adult facilities is wrong and they should only be placed in Juvenile detention centers. As stated before, death row, adult charges, and life without parole on juveniles are wrong and it is an important issue because many adolescents every year are facing these severe adult punishments which in some states they have limited or banned certain sentences and it needs to have more attention. To conclude, juveniles should only be placed in juvenile detention centers despite the crimes they have committed, they are still people too and their crimes do not define them as a person. The juvenile justice system needs to sympathize and not treat them like adults with these harsh sentences but instead “treat juveniles as children instead of criminals” (Ford 16).

Works Cited

1. Abramsky, Sasha. 'The Death Penalty Should Not Apply to Juveniles.' Problems with Death, edited by David A. Becker, Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010160243/GPS?u=mnkapplevhs&sid=GPS&xid=531f3c09. Accessed 17 Feb. 2020. Originally published as 'Taking Juveniles Off Death Row,' American Prospect, vol. 15, July 2004, pp. A16-A18.
2. Ford, Caroline. “'Children Are Different:' Sentencing Juveniles as Adults.” Pulitzer Center, 30 Aug. 2019, pulitzercenter.org/blog/children-are-different-sentencing-juveniles-adults..
3. Miller, Eric J. 'Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974.' Major Acts of Congress, edited by Brian K. Landsberg, vol. 2, Macmillan Reference USA, 2004, pp. 222-225. Gale In Context: U.S. History, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3407400174/GPS?u=mnkapplevhs&sid=GPS&xid=b9d5e7b8. Accessed 17 Feb. 2020.
4. Rovner, Josh. “Juvenile Life Without Parole: An Overview.” The Sentencing Project, 23 July 2019, www.sentencingproject.org/publications/juvenile-life-without-parole/.
5. Stevenson, Bryan. Just Mercy: a Story of Justice and Redemption. Scribe, 2014.