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Issues in Criminal Justice (JF)
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Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on Juvenile Life without Parole |
Justices to decide if sentencing youthful offenders to life violates Eighth Amendment of Constitution.
Arguments in two cases, Sullivan v. Florida and Graham v. Florida, in which the offenders were 13 years old and 16 years old, respectively, will begin Monday, Nov. 9.
Justice Fellowship believes that children must be taught right from wrong. Behavior is a reflection of childhood training and whether a child commits a criminal act depends on the development of conscience in the early years. But moral training is exactly what most juvenile offenders do not receive.
These children come largely from broken families—often because a parent is in prison—and have demonstrated anti-social behavior from an early age.
They are, quite honestly, morally illiterate.
Studies show that children are different from adults and therefore should not be treated the same as adult offenders. These same studies show that the overwhelming majority of them grow out of criminal activity and are amendable to rehabilitation.
That’s why the answer to youthful crime isn’t locking kids up, especially in adult prisons, where they face unimaginable violence and violation, for the rest of their lives. Instead, we should attack the moral roots of the crime problem as we respond to juvenile offenders in ways that reflect the values of forgiveness, rehabilitation and redemption.
For more information on juvenile justice, click here. |
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