Sentencing the juveniles to life imprisonment in the absence of the possibility of a parole is inherently inhumane and cruel. A majority of the juveniles do not fully understand the level of severity that is associated with their crimes as well as the level of their prosecutions. For instance, a close friend of mine was brought up in a neighborhood where drugs were sold on the streets. He got used to this trend to the extent where he started doing the same even in the absence of neighborhood cover. The only thing that he seemed not to have realized is that drug use is illegal. He allowed drugs to take the better of him and with no time, he was unable to handle himself at all. Unfortunately, he was busted and had to face charges where he was required to respond to charges presented against him in the law courts. Part of his response to the charges is that he had been brought up in a neighborhood where selling and purchasing of drugs was a normal practice. This did not go well with the judge who assumed that ignorance is always punishable in the courts of law. Another example involved a close friend of mine who has never been in court and did not understand the rules that guided court proceedings. In one of the sessions, he stood up and headed right outside without paying the court the required respect. This attracted the attention of the guards and other court officials who were ordered to apprehend him with immediate effect. He argued against that and slapped one of the court officials who ended up dead. The final court order was that he should serve a life sentence which seemed unfair to me. However, my assessment of the law provides me with justifiable proof to justify that the juveniles should be given second chances in life.

People’s brains do not develop fully until when they are at least 25 years old. That means that people who are younger than 25 years old including the juveniles have plastic minds that cannot make rational decisions. If justice is what guides our conducts and different life undertakings, then it is important that we go back to the drawing board and consequently reassess the criteria by which then juveniles are prosecuted. It will be very ruthless of us to subject the juveniles to laws that subject them to punishments that correspond to people who are more than 25 years old. Just like the teenagers, the juveniles are in most cases subjected to a lot of pressures originating from their peers, parents and other important stakeholders that make significant contributions in as far as their growth and development is concerned. Another example involved a teenager who was forced to steal after spending two days without food. The policemen matched his fingerprints with the suspect and charged him with robbery with violence. According to the knowledge that I acquired from my psychology class, people’s minds develop in different phases and stages. Hence, the manner in which they are able to understand the rules and regulations that surround their existence could be way off odd from those of others. With that in mind, it is justifiable to argue that the juveniles should not be subjected to life in prison.

It is unfortunate that most juveniles have been brought up in neighborhoods that makes them think that they are in normal situations or circumstances. For instance, one of my colleagues in high school had a fight with a teacher who fainted and ended up dead after medical assessments thereby subjecting him to life in prison. Another friend engaged in robbery without violence without knowing the potential implications of his actions. Unfortunately, all these charges attracted life sentences thereby leaving the juveniles with no further options to rethink about their lives. With that in mind, it is reasonable to argue that juveniles should not be subjected to life in prison as justified with the above discussed life examples.

To sum up, juveniles should not be subjected to life in prison. First, they do not understand the level of severity of the implications of their wrong doings. Second, their brains are not mature enough. Lastly, some juveniles are brought up in neighborhoods where they think that their actions are normal.