Pros And Cons For Juveniles

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Juvenile crime has been an increasing point of debate in recent years. Many people argued whether they should be sentenced as adults or not when convicted of a serious crime, such as murder. Some argue that juveniles deserve to be treated as such despite the crime they have committed, while others believe they are to be treated as adults. This resulted in many juveniles being sentenced to life in prison without parole. Some juveniles commit crimes without a thought of the risks, while others carefully plan out their crimes and get a serious thrill out of it. However, juveniles are still young and naive and may not realize the consequences of their actions. While many argue that juveniles should face the consequences of their actions, juveniles…show more content…
An article that follows the journey of change of a juvenile who committed a crime is “Greg Ousley Is Sorry for Killing His Parents. Is That Enough?” by Scott Anderson. In the article, Anderson informs readers of Greg Ousley’s crime of murdering both his parents. Anderson visits Ousley in prison and documents the conversations with him about his life in prison and the change that he has undergone. Ousley is shown to exhibit regret for his actions as a juvenile now at the age of 33 and tries to fix his life and the lives of others despite being sentenced for life in prison without parole. Because of the life of Greg Ousley, Anderson states “criminologists believe that an abused juvenile who killed a parent is likely to be at low risk of future criminality if he gets treatment and has a strong social support system when he is released” (Anderson par. 99). In this quote, Anderson states that juveniles who commit a heinous crime such as murdering a parent are at “low risk of future criminality” if they are able to get treatment and a “strong social support system.” Anderson uses the story of Greg Ousley to help readers understand what juveniles are going through during their life sentences. In doing so, he argues that juveniles don’t deserve the life sentences in prison but need treatment and support from others. By providing the treatment and support, the juveniles are allowed to change for the better resulting in lowering the criminal rate than if they were to be subjected to life in prison without parole. Juveniles should not have their lives taken from them when they commit a crime during the time where they are the most underdeveloped. If subjected to a life in prison without parole, the juvenile will need to grow up in a prison system filled with other criminals resulting in them continuing to commit crimes. Thus, juveniles should not receive life
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