Sarah Kruzan is one such person.
Question: This woman seems to have changed, so why shouldn't she be allowed another chance at life?
I first became aware of this issue after watching the Frontline episode "When Kids Get Life." It aired in 2007. It is 2009, and our system still has yet to correct this, despite the outcry to do so.
However, this may soon be changing. NPR reports that two cases are about to stir things up. Graham v. Florida and Sullivan v. Florida will be heard by the Supreme Court in November. The lawyers for Graham and Sullivan will be arguing that LWOP sentences given to juveniles violate the 8th Amendment, as they are not in conjunction with the CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENTS CLAUSE. The U.S. Supreme Court has "ruled that criminal sentences that are inhuman, outrageous, or shocking to the social conscience are cruel and unusual."
I do not believe that juveniles should be punished as adults. Studies have shown that the brain is not fully developed during adolescence. In fact, the human brain undergoes intense growth during the teenage years. In a series of MRI studies on 145 adolescents, Dr. Judith Rapoport discovered "a second wave of overproduction of gray matter, the thinking part of the brain—neurons and their branch-like extensions—just prior to puberty...the gray matter growth spurt just prior to puberty predominates in the frontal lobe, the seat of "executive functions"—planning, impulse control and reasoning." The growth of gray matter also continues into the teenage years; "the teen's gray matter waxes and wanes in different functional brain areas at different times in development."
Harvard Magazine reports: "Research during the past 10 years, powered by technology such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, has revealed that young brains have both fast-growing synapses and sections that remain unconnected. This leaves teens easily influenced by their environment and more prone to impulsive behavior, even without the impact of souped-up hormones and any genetic or family predispositions."
So, I ask, "With the information scientists have gathered, how can our judicial system continue to prosecute juveniles as adults?" Ok, ok, I'm sure some of you are thinking, "Well, what about those kids who commit violent crimes? Who commit murder? Shouldn't they be charged as adults? If they're grown enough to fire a gun or wield a knife, then aren't they old enough to be punished for their crimes?" Well, I ask you - yes, YOU - to look back on your teenage years. Do you remember all the stupid and irrational things YOU said and did? Yeah, maybe you didn't get arrested... But then again, maybe you were just lucky enough not to get caught! And yeah, I'm sure you didn't kill anyone, but I'm also sure that you did a few things you would probably take back if you had the chance. The point is, no one is fully matured as a teenager, so why punish teenagers as if they were mature adults? Now, I'm not saying that these kids should just get a slap on the wrist. YES, they should face punishment. YES, they should be incarcerated. BUT for the rest of their lives?! What values and ideals do we hold as a society, if we are so quick to give up on these kids? Can we not help them grow into responsible and mature adults? And when people, like Sarah Kruzan, show that they have changed and matured and reflected on their lives and the decisions that they made, then why shouldn't they be given a second chance at life? (Especially when the people involved were abused mentally and/or physically as children, such as Sarah Kruzan and the various individuals featured in "When Kids Get Life!") And if you watched the video of Sarah Kruzan, can you honestly tell me that she doesn't live with guilt everyday? I can only imagine what it feels like to wake up every morning, knowing that you were responsible for taking another human being's life; knowing that you will spend the rest of your life in prison; knowing that you will die behind bars.
Tell me, how do you feel about this?
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment