Thesis: Although many people believe that children should be treated
the same as adults, I agree with the Supreme Court's decision
because children lack maturity, they are not evolutionarily developed, and their lives would be wasted if they are forced to spend them in prison.
Evidence:
Text from Source The Q,P,S Citation
Counter Argument:
1 But it is impossible at the time of sentencing (Garinger 94)
Paragraphs 9, Lines 1-5 for mental health professionals to predict which youngsters will fall within the majority that grow up to be productive, law-abiding citizens and which will fall into the small minority that continue to commit crimes.
2 While research on brain-tissue loss can help (Thompson 90)
Paragraph 11, Line 1 us to understand teens better, it cannot be used to excuse their violent or homicidal behavior.
Body paragraph 1:
3 Adolescents are less able to understand or (Pequeneza)
Video take into considerations how their actions affect others.
4 Compared to adults, kids are more (Garinger 93)
Paragraph 6, Lines 4-6 vulnerable to peer pressure, are easily influenced, and are less able to escape from their environments, all while their characters are still in formation.
5 A majority of children serving time for crimes (Pequeneza)
Video they committed, committed their crimes along side of an adult.
Body Paragraph 2:
6 Researchers were dumbfounded when they (Thompson 89)
Paragraph 7 discovered a massive loss of Grey Brain matter (which supports our thinking and emotions) that occurs during a brains teenage years of development, in every single brain they studied.
7 Brain imaging studies reveal that the regions (Garinger 93)
Paragraph 5, Lines 4-6 of the adolescent brain responsible for controlling thoughts, actions and emotions are not fully developed.
8 From the ages 12 to 17, there isn't a drastic (Harris 3)
Page 3, Level of difference shown in the types of crimes Offense Chart 1 committed by kids, all ages are committing the level of offenses.
Body Paragraph 3:
9 59.6% of children in Adult court convictions (Harris 52)
Page 52, Convictions are immediately sent to adult prison with no Chart 1 probation.
10 Research suggests that adolescents (Lundstrom 88)
Page 88 Paragraph 22 squeezed through the adult system are more Lines 2-4 likely to come out as violent career criminals than similar kids handed on the juvenile side.
11 With 2,500 inmates sentenced to life as (Pequeneza)
Video children, 128 of them have a chance of release.
12 Few believe that criminal genes are (Garinger 93)
Paragraph 7 Lines 2-4 inherited, except in the sense that parental abuse and negative home lives can leave children with little hope and limited choices.
Peter W. Makarewicz v. Palmer C. Scafati, Superintendent of The Massachusetts Correctionalinstitution at Walpole, Massachusetts, 438 F.2d 474, 1st Cir. (1971)
2010-11-19 Civil Litigation Management Manual, Second Edition (2010) Judicial Conference of The United States, Committee On Court Administration and Case Management S