Documentary Analysis: When Kids Get Life

In the Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls analyzed her mother’s emotional breakdowns. In one instance, she notices “... the positive thoughts would give way to negative thoughts, and the negative thoughts seemed to swoop into her mind the way a big flock of black crows takes over the landscape, sitting thick in the trees and on the fence rails and lawns, staring at you in ominous silence” (Walls 418). Negative thoughts can consume one’s mind, whereas the positive thoughts are nugatory. The negative thoughts keep a person agonizing and stressing over it. This quote emphasizes how a negative mindset can make a person depressed or ill to be around.

Everything changed when she meet Nathan Price, a young preacher who soon would be the cause of her downfall. What Orleanna thought was love wasn’t because Nathan’s purpose for courting was to save her soul. In the novel Nathan became the antagonist of the story because he turned into the poison turing the Bible into his instrument of death. Nathan’s culture was to preach the word of God so upon meeting Orleanna he felt the desire to inbred in her the Bible by reading books from the Bible on everyday date they went. Thus causing Orleanna to follow his Aguilar 3 practices to please him because at first she rejected him.

The history of “the United States recognizes Curtis Fairchild Jones as the youngest criminal to have been convicted of murder” (Jet, 199). Together with his elder sister, Curtis Fairchild Jones planned the murder of their father’s 29-year-old girlfriend, Sonya Nicole Speights, for what the police described as jealousy and completion for the love of their father. Curtis Fairchild Jones and his 13-year-old sister were very close and one another’s confidante. After their case, Curtis Fairchild Jones and his sister pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and were sentenced to 18 years imprisonment in addition to lifetime probation. Their convicts were taken to juvenile correction centers to serve their respective jail terms.

There persists a heated and controversial debate nationwide as to whether, under any circumstances, a juvenile should be tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison without parole. While recent efforts to ease the punishment have reduced the ultimate sentence for juveniles to forty years in some areas, the problem remains unaddressed at its root. Juveniles should not be sentenced as adults to life without parole because they lack in cognitive development, have rehabilitative capacity, and cost more annually to be held in prison than to be put through programs that address the root of the problem. First and most importantly, Juveniles should not be tried and sentenced as adults for life because the adolescent brain is in a period of cognitive

Could you imagine your 17 year old daughter, who is at her first year in college, being sentenced to life in prison without parole? Yvette Louisell didn’t know that that’s where her life was headed but soon she would find out. She is one out of 37 current Iowa inmates that have been given a life sentence for a crime committed as a juvenile. Louisell lived in Kalamazoo, Michigan but was eagerly hoping to find a way out. Her family life was not very stable.

The Supreme Court of the United States of America in 2012 ruled that juveniles couldn’t be tried as juveniles and be sentenced to life without the possibility of bail, no matter how harsh the nature of the crime committed. Justice Elena Kagan argues that juveniles who commit crimes typically have a rough upbringing or unfortunate circumstances which cannot be controlled by the juvenile. She argues that if they are serving a life in prison without a chance of parole, it causes damage to them psychologically due to the lack of experiences. They will miss the most important moments in life that define who they are as an individual.

However, both Nathan and Perry were profoundly impacted by the trauma they experienced and were heavily affected in their adult life by their previous

Most of these offenders are now adults and have spent most of their life in the same place. These people could have went to college and become something, like a doctor, chef, and so much more, but instead they were left sitting in a cell. These children are in the midst of still growing and learning. They need to learn from their mistakes not just sit on them their whole life. The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth states that more than eighty percent of juveniles serving life have had a past that reflected their choices.

Juveniles in prison face increased violence and sexual abuse, and are at much higher risks of committing suicide than juveniles in juvenile prisons. In addition, the number of released prisoners that turn back to crime is much higher for those that were juveniles in adult prisons. Juveniles will face the consequences of their actions in juvenile prisons, but will also be given a second chance to change their lives through rehabilitation. It is time to stop failing this nation’s juveniles and build a system that benefits not only these children, but society as a whole through the end of a vicious criminal

The article “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences” argues that children in prison need to be given a chance to mature and be rehabilitated (Garinger 9). Because these killers likely committed these crimes on impulse, they would often realize after the fact that they were wrong to do such an action. Therefore, when they are released, they will be more careful and think about their actions before committing. If they are given a life sentence, they will never be given this chance to fix their life. Older people who commit murders are less likely to learn from their mistakes since they put more thought into the killing than adolescents

The unfaltering dissension about sentencing juveniles to life in prison without parole has yielded opposition in the criminal justice system and dysfunction towards the young lives facing unsettled, extreme punishment for their mitigating crimes. While this particular topic can branch to very detailed discussions in divergent aspects such as: socially, politically, scientifically, and morally, it should be eliminated to only two characteristics: is it fair and is it right? Although it seems painless and facile to act on impulse when punishing juvenile criminals severely, the consequences are ineffective and adverse to the needs of the victims, the development of adolescent offenders, and the primary function of the criminal justice system.

For example, we meet Erik Jenson. Erik had been friends with Nathan for some time when he had noticed odd behavior. Nathan had an odd relationship with his mother, that turned out to be sexual abuse. After time passes and help going unnoticed, Nathan snapped. On June 5th, 1998, Erik dropped Nathan off at his home.

There are more than 2,000 child offenders serving life without parole sentences in United States prisons for crimes committed before the age of 18 and Lolita Barthel is one of them. The United States is one of only a few countries in the world that permits children who commit crimes to be sentenced to prison forever, without any possibility of release. Only eight states in this country Alaska, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, New Mexico, New York, and West Virginia and the District of Columbia prohibit life without parole for youthful offenders. Unfortunately, adolescents, like adults, commit horrible crimes and make terrible mistakes. And, like adults, they should be held accountable but in accordance with their age, stage of development, and greater capacity for rehabilitation.

Youthful, innocent, weak, and dead are four characteristics which seem so drastic in difference, but may not be known

Juveniles Justice Juveniles who are criminals being sentenced to life without parole can be shocking to some people. I believe if a juvenile is able to commit a crime, then they are able to do the time. The article “Startling finds on Teenage Brains” talks about how the brain can be different from the time you are teens to the time you are an adult. After, considering both sides on juvenile justice it is clear that juveniles should face life without parole because they did the crime so they can do the time. Also I believe the juvenile’s age should not influence the sentence and the punishment give.