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Murder is something serious and I would be open to giving someone a second chance after they've proved themselves but not from the outside world from behind bars. You can not just expect to murder someone and see freedom but it does/has happened. Individuals are really lucky that they are in a country where you get locked up instead of burned alive or something worse for killing a person. Do you take murder lightly as if it were not such a big thing? Just asking. I find it hard for me if I had to kill someone and I wouldn't be sure if I could. People who can take a weapon and kill someone with no problem have something more behind them; that's scary. I can see if I were fighting in a war though but I'd be traumatized.

Do I take murder lightly...? Um, no. I wasn't advocating for any side in this issue, just presenting a current case that is being decided in the Supreme Court. I can actually see both sides of this issue. On one hand, a juvenile that commits a brutal murder should serve some serious time. On the other hand, does a 14 year old, who's brain has not reached biological maturity, fully understand the implications and long term consequences of their actions? If they did, there would be fewer teen pregnancies, high school drop outs, etc. I'm interested to see what the Court decides.

This is a tough one for me. At 14 years old, one should know the difference between right and wrong. By that age you know there is no coming back from that for the victim. You can't just apologize to the person and make everything alright. We speak of paying a debt to society, but taking someone's life is a debt that can never be repaid.

Showing remorse speaks volumes, but how many murderers have pretended to be remorseful, or were truly remorseful and got released only to kill again?

I don't think a 14 year old should get life in prison. I think they should get at least 10 years, tons of psychiatric treatment, and be made to pass a thorough evaluation before being released. They should also be made to pay restitution to the family of the victim. If it happens again after that, I think they should get life or where applicable, the death penalty.

Being in prison can also make that person hardhearted, so they may not even feel anything by the time their sentence is up.

Forgot to add: I don't like the way the public and the courts throw around the phrase "cruel & unusual" punishment.

Brutally murdering someone is cruel and unusual. I don't get how we give a lethal injection to someone who massacres whole families or rapes, tortures, and murders little children.

I agree with Minimalist in that brutally murdering someone is cruel and unusual. Why would they not get a matching crime? Why do we have to be soft and let them live out the rest of their lives on the government's dime? I'm all for life in prison and the death penalty for children who are deemed competent. I think if you understood what you are doing then you should be treated as an adult.
I disagree with JenniferC about 14 year old's brains not being able to understand the implications of their actions. I'm pretty sure that a 14 yr old knows that bludgeoning someone with an axe multiple times will lead to their death. They will also understand that what they did was wrong. Your brain must be matured to some degree in order to orchestrate a murder. If they are able to do that, then they deserve life wihout parole.
I woud have ZERO sympathy for someone who commits a brutal crime at any age. You make a bad choice, you have to live with it.

I think they should be given a second chance, and here's why I think that:

The human brain isn't fully developed until age 25. A 14 year old might have a small ailment (let's take ADD for example) and can't control himself and his temper gets out of control so he kills someone. I think that if they show no remorse or regret and they really are glad they killed this person, then they deserve life in prison without parole.

However, under your circumstances that they do display remorse and good behavior, they should definitely not have to face life in prison without parole. Their whole life is over at that point, even though they are so young and could have learned from their [however huge] mistake and could have done good for their community and had a good life with positive influences on other people. They would have a life of hell when inside they are actually a good person who now wants to do good.

I just think that young kids can overreact to their emotions and if they truly regret murdering someone, they should be given a second chance.

Of course, I could change my mind completely given a certain situation or other circumstances; it all depends on how/why it happened and the details, so that's just my general opinion that is actually pretty flexible.

I was recently watching a special on young people who have committed crimes and the things that these young people are capable of were baffling. As a student currently enrolled in a criminal law class i have learn that from the ages 8-14 the determination of how a juveniles is tried is based on the m'naghten rule which is pretty much a test of knowing the difference between right and wrong. I believe that at the age of 14 you know the difference between right and wrong, but you dont fully understand the consequences of your actions. At 14 to be told that you will be locked away for the rest of your life is a tough reality to face. I honestly believe that this is a battle on a case to case bases. Its not really fair to group all juveniles into one law because you mentally state and ability to full understand the crime and its punishments varies depending on a childs age. Life without parole is a harsh sentence for someone so young. Lets make a program where we send them to jail but put a team of people together to try and rehabilitate these young people rather than locking them away and throwing away the key.

@Criminal thank you, there we go! My version is so jumbled and rambly, my examples and ideas are basically trying to say what you said. I completely agree with your response.

I wish they would test it differently, because although a 14 year old does know the difference between right and wrong, I'm sure they don't understand the enormity of the consequences.
I'm so sure of this because I am 18, with 4 more years of life experience, and I still do things I know are wrong and am shocked and upset when I'm hit with the consequences, because I just don't think about them well enough. This is the epitome of an average teenager, we all act without thought of consequence every once in a while, it's just human nature. I know the circumstances are a little different because I'm not going around murdering people, but the concept is similar, I think.

Great forum, sparks lots of thought.

Shinny, I didn't say that they were unable to understand, but questioned whether they were FULLY able to understand. There is a difference. Along the same lines of loveashlynne comment, young teens act impulsively without thought of consequences. Does this mean they should not be held accountable? Absolutely not! They should definitely receive a hard sentence. BUT, if after serving a decade or two and displaying true remorse and a genuine attempt to reform, I think that they should get the chance to receive parole.

I guess I disagree with most of you guys.

I believe they should be put in prison, forced to do hard labor in order to earn their right to a meal and a free jail bed, and not allowed bullshit luxury crap that people get in jail.

Cement cell, 3 meals a day (if earned) and that's it. If someone commits a crime, society shouldn't pay for their free rent in jail... an example needs to be made of them and everyone who considers doing anything stupid.

"does a 14 year old, who's brain has not reached biological maturity, fully understand the implications and long term consequences of their actions" I actually don't give a shit if they are mature or understand the consequences of their actions. When I was 14 I was not going around killing people, and having bastard children, I was doing my homework and figuring out how I was to get into college.

Just my two cents on the American prison system, not many people may share my views... but I don't believe in leniency for stupidity.

I do know that the brain isn't fully developed until 25, but I don't believe that the brain is completely in control of thought processes. A child knows or can learn very easily the difference between right and wrong.

Like Minimalist said, the buzzword of "cruel and unusual" thrown about in courts is a joke. As he probably knows, we still have the death penalty here in California, but it is on hold due to the practice being "cruel and unusual" and the health risk. One of the recent stays on the enforcement of the death penalty was due to the risk of condemned prisoners getting an infection due to the injection. Think about that for a second. They're worried about the risk of infection. In the few remaining minutes of their life. Of someone they are TRYING to kill. It practically seems they're worried the prisoner will die faster due to infection.

I also believe that life in prison or the death penalty is not to be taken lightly. It should be dealt out with the severity of the crime. If someone's death is accidental, or described as a "crime of passion", something done in the heat of the moment, I believe that someone has the ability to change and feel true remorse for their crime. I believe these people are redeemable. If someone commits premeditated murder, or kills multiple people, I do not believe these people are deserving of a second chance, as they took the conscious decision that they were going to go out and kill another human being. These people already made the conscious decision to commit one of the ultimate crimes.

That said, I have no problem having juveniles get life in prison, provided the punishment is fitting for the crime.

On a side note, as Shanna touched on earlier, I believe that our prison systems need to actually reflect a punishment. As it stands right now, our prison systems sometimes represent better living conditions than these criminals come from. What message does it send when your punishment is seemingly an improvement over your current situation?