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Mackenzie Marshall

Ms. Sanchez

Period 4, ERWC

7 March 2017

A Mistake of a Lifetime

Imagine making one horrible decision as an immature teenager, and now, for the rest of

your life, your freedom is gone forever. America has already set laws and determined that a

person under 18 years old is a minor and cannot make decisions for themselves. Also, in almost

all circumstances a minor is not held liable for their actions, rather their parents are. This is why I

believe juveniles should have the chance to grow up and better themselves while serving their

time in prison, but then eventually once proven be released with parole.

Children are not born wanting to kill someone, I believe ones childhood and how they

were raised will have a major impact on whether there in the court system or not. An extremely

negative home environment can rob a child of hope and belief that life can get better (Garinger

2). Unfortunately, this could make an inherently good child commit heinous act to get attention

or to escape their current situation. GED programs and education arent given to kids that have

a life sentence (Pequeneza, 15 to Life: Kenneths Story). At the age of ten kids are basically told

there is no hope for them and they will rot in prison for the rest of their life. Minors instinctively

look up to older children and their peers for acceptance. Adults often look at teens to be less

mature, more vulnerable to peer pressure, cannot escape from dangerous environments, and their

characters are still in formation(Garinger 2). Teens often do things just because there friends

are, and some do not even know the consequences for the actions, due to lack of experience. In

America, ignorance of the law, is not an accepted defense for committing a crime. However, this
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should only apply to adults since many children how not received the education or been exposed

to all laws and their consequences (Pequeneza, 15 to Life: Kenneths Story). Children should be

given a chance to grow and better themselves in prison.

Each minor has a different background, and situation, so when going to court each case is

going to differ, To protect society against an inherently evil juvenile, the district attorney can

always transfer a juvenile to the adult justice system in extreme cases (Harris 47). A judge is not

going to let out a reckless juvenile that hasnt grown or changed at all through prison. Many

African American kids are not affordd the typical two educated parent upbringing and thus, are

unfairly sentenced ten more time to a life sentence than their peers (Pequeneza, 15 to Life:

Kenneths Story). African American kids feel that the court system is biased toward them and that

if they were involved in a crime they would be automatically sentenced. In support of my

argument, the Supreme Court has ruled that juvenile life sentences are illegal (Pequeneza, 15 to

Life: Kenneths Story). Supreme court believes life without parole for minors violate the 8th

amendment. Law enforcement agencies have the discretion to refer juveniles to the probation

department, or can offer the appropriate counsel and release them instead of becoming a product

of the adult criminal justice system (Harris 10). Minors still have consequences for their action,

and the murdering of someone will never be forgotten.

Many people argue that no matter age everyone should be treated equal in court system.

Instead of just acting at the spur of the moment, convicted juvenile murder, Greg Ousley, would

always think about killing his parents when he became upset. (Anderson 96). However, just

about every person has thought about committing a crime without ever acting upon it. Teenagers

go through rebellious phases and the ones that follow out the crime should be punished. The

crime committed by this teenage boy is so heinous that it must be a biological disorder rather
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than a moral lapse in judgement (Anderson 96). Someone with a disorder wanting to kill people

should still in jail for the protection of our society. Author Jennifer Jenkins states if brain

development were the reason, then teens would kill at roughly the same rated all over the world

(Jenkins 49). Her statement proves that brain development can not be a factor because the

majority of teens do not kill people when they are upset. If teens did not know the consequences

of killing someone because of brain development there would most likely be more cases like this

today. When a child is repeatedly told that no one cares about them and that will always be a bad

person, they will eventually start to believe it (Garinger). Someone that has been living with

criminals for most of there life would not know how to act in society after being raised in prison.

Minors are obligated to attend school, have curfew laws, and are required to obey their

parents, Since a minor has limited choices they can make on their own, they have also been

limited in suffering the consequence for their own action. It it my opinions that a juvenile has not

been afforded the necessary freedoms to make enough choices and experience the related

consequences to be held responsible for the rest of their lives for making one horrible mistake. I

believe that would be cruel and unusual punishment.

Works Cited:

Anderson, Scott. Greg Ousley Is Sorry for Killing His Parents. Is That Enough? (2012): Web.

Garinger, Gail. "Juveniles Don't Deserve Life Sentences." (2012): n. pag. Web.
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Harris, Kamala D. "Juvenile Justice in California." California Department of Justice, 2015.

Accessed 28 Feb. 2017.

Jenkins, Jennifer. On Punishment and Teen Killer. (2011): n. pag. Web.

Pequeneza, Nadine, Director. 15 to Life: Kenneth's Story. Produced by Nadine Pequeneza,

Hitplay Productions, 2014. Accessed 28 Feb. 2017.