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On Trial: System That Locks Children up for Life Without Hope of Freedom
Protesters say teenagers must be given a chance of redemption - even if their crimes are horrific
NEW YORK - Of all the issues being considered by the Supreme Court this winter, none is more emotionally charged than life sentences for teenagers. The justices must decide whether sending minors to prison without any possibility of parole is a "cruel and unusual punishment" prohibited by the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. It is a narrow point of law, but the purpose of America's penal system is in the dock.
Youths walk in a line at the Texas Youth Commission facility (Photograph: Duane A Laverty/AP)
No
other country locks up its children like the United States does. An
Amnesty International report found just seven prisoners in Israel, four
in South Africa and one in Tanzania serving life terms for crimes they
committed before they were legally considered to be adults. There are
2225 such inmates in American jails - each one a stark reminder that
in the desire to be tough on crime, faith in rehabilitation has been
lost.
Defenders of the status quo argue that some rapists, murderers and violent criminals commit acts so heinous they deserve to be imprisoned for the rest of their lives, no matter how young they are.
The organisations challenging this include the National Association of Social Workers, Mothers Against Murders, the Correctional Chaplains Association, the Juvenile Law Centre and a list of religious groups who believe that however grave the offence, it is inhuman to offer a child no hope of redemption.
The Supreme Court abolished the death penalty for minors with its decision in Roper v. Simmons four years ago. In his majority opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that teenagers are less capable of making mature decisions, more likely to act impulsively and more susceptible to peer pressure than adults. He also observed that because their characters are not fully formed, they have more potential to become productive members of society.
The petitioners in Graham v. Florida argue that this reasoning should apply beyond capital crimes, especially where no death was involved. Terrance Graham robbed a woman at gunpoint in her home, a few weeks after completing a previous prison stint for armed burglary and assault. He was 17 years old. The judge sentenced him to life without parole.
The other case being considered by the Supreme Court, Sullivan v. Florida, concerns a mentally impaired 13-year-old who raped an elderly woman. As things stand, Joe Sullivan is one of at least 73 prisoners destined to remain behind bars until they die, for crimes that were committed before they turned 15.
The American Psychiatric Association's legal brief in his favour notes that neuroscience has shown that during puberty, areas of the brain associated with impulse control and risk evaluation are undeveloped. It concludes that "condemning an immature, vulnerable, and not-yet-fully-formed adolescent to die in prison is a constitutionally disproportionate punishment."
Quantel Lotts was 14 when he stabbed his step-brother Michael Barton to death, in what began as a play fight. The dead boy's mother has forgiven him, but the state of Missouri allows no such leniency, having sentenced him to life without parole on a charge of premeditated murder. In several states, there is no minimum age limit at which children can be tried as adults.
Because Sara Kruzan's father was in jail, she was raised by her drug-addicted mother. By her early teens, she had been coerced into working as a prostitute. The abuse continued for three years, until she killed her pimp. She too was sentenced to life in prison with no hope of being set free.
At the Supreme Court hearings, Shannon Goessling spoke for the National Organisation of Victims of Juvenile Lifers. "This system is not set up for rehabilitation," she told the judges. "It is set up for retribution and consequences." Jennifer Jenkins, whose sister was murdered by a teenager, said "there are some people who are so fundamentally dangerous that they can't walk among us."
Former Republican Senator Alan Simpson, part of a group of former offenders petitioning for Graham and Sullivan, gave an impassioned response. As a young man, he started fires, destroyed property, recklessly fired his gun and hit a policeman. "For God's sake, give the guy a chance," he said. "Sort them out case by case. You don't just salt them away for life."
Chief Justice John Roberts has suggested that because "death is different" the Roper ruling has no bearing on custodial sentences for minors. In all likelihood, the decision will again come down to Justice Kennedy.
At one point in the hearing, Mr Kennedy wondered: "What is the state's interest in keeping the defendant in custody for the rest of his life if he has been rehabilitated and is no longer a real danger?" US prisons currently hold 2.3 million people. The larger question is whether a country that incarcerates six times as many of its citizens as the average developed nation has any interest in rehabilitation at all?
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12 Comments so far
Show AllWhat if it were YOUR son or daughter that the system was mauling?
I'll bet every one of those kids in prison for life are poor.
This country's attitude is that there are so many of us that a few dying in prison at age 18 don't matter.
Pain and injustice cannot be measured by how many or how few are suffering. One is to many. It touches all of us.
More and more, this country makes me think of France in 1789. We treat our cattle better than we do our poor.
Marie Antoinette reportedly ignited the spark with her "Let them eat cake" remark. Our rich clearly despise the rest of us as much as she did her countrymen. Our rich own our government and laws will be passed and enforced as they choose. One thing can be predicted with certainty with the way the high rollers are behaving. There will be another bailout at our expense, whether it's the high risk investments the private equity firms are taking, or the imminent cap and trade bubble. It doesn't matter. The pillaging and bailouts will continue until the public says "Enough" in whatever form that will take.
Obama has done a great job of protecting the rich while telling the rest of us to expect a long jobless recovery. That's like saying we cured the patient, although he died in the process.
When the people fear their government there is tyranny,
when the government fears the people there is liberty.
~ Thomas Jefferson
How about this:
They get released and some organization takes them under custody, like teach them new work skills, help them find work and shelter. One person in that organization will be the ex cons "sponsor". If the ex con reoffends, the sponsor and the organization will be partially liable.
If these are good kids there should be no shortage of sponsors.
We critisize other countries for doing exactly what we are now doing, from crooked elections , torture, illegal invasions, and sending children to prison for life. Our country really started going down hill in the past 8 years, and crime is worse than ever, to the point we are not even safe in our own homes.
I believe anyone under the age of twenty one when the crime was committed should have his sentence reviewed every ten years. I suspect that qualified doctors and others can make a reasonable determination whether the person will repeat the crime. If not they should be prepared for release (taught a job, taught manners, etc.) and released. My experience with some of my children is that they do truly dumb things in their teens and early twenties that they would not even consider doing ten years later. Others may be criminals for life - can't we tell the difference?
Chuck:
I couldn't agree with you more. I'm going thru that right now with a teenager who (due to years of abuse, neglect and lies), started to go down that path faster than a speeding bullet. I've had him for only a week and he is already a different kid. With me, he has to own up to his actions, he has rules and there are consequences. He is told what is right and wrong before he has a chance to do it but, most of all, he is treated with love, respect and kidness and it's unbelievable to see how he's turned around in such a short time. The root of the problems with all these kids is the same and I firmly believe that they're all want the same and can be brought back just like mine has. Truly tragic!
Why are the contracters responsible for the Murder of 17 Iraqis walking free and why were charges against them dropped?
Why are President Bush and Kissinger free men?
Why is it ok for a GROWN man to order the murder of 120 some odd people sheltering in huts and for the person to launch such an attack be it by DRONE or F16 to be called HEROES for doing so while at the same time that SAME society lables a Child that commits acts of violence as "BeyonD salvaging"?
Why must Children be tried as adults for acts of murder and violence when at the same time MEDALS are pinned on the chests of ADULTS that commit murder and violence?
If one of these children happened to grow to adulthood and become a Blackwater Mercenary , they would be allowed to commit murders , rapes and beatings and be PAID for it by the same Government that seeks to give them life sentences for the same actions they might commit today.
One of many places you can see Sara Kruzan's powerful video:
http://councilofdaughters.ning.com/video/the-case-of-sara-kruzan
don't miss it.
"it is inhuman to offer a child no hope of redemption." Let's face it. We live in an inhuman society. We are surrounded by the evidence of that. Obama himself wants to put to death anyone who rapes a child - does that include children who rape a child? When we have inhumanity at the top, what happens at the bottom? And these people call themselves Christians. What would Christ call them?
When the people fear their government there is tyranny,
when the government fears the people there is liberty.
~ Thomas Jefferson
The reasons for not imposing life sentences far outweigh the value of assuaging the understandable grief and anger of victims.
The article states that while the U.S. has 2225 people serving life sentences for crimes committed before they were legally considered adults, there were seven in Israel, four in South Africa, and one in Tanzania. If these are representative figures, nothing else is needed to establish that the sentence as imposed in the U.S. is unusual.
Whether it's cruel is another matter. Our society considers crimes against children especially cruel. We have harsher punishments for adults who commit crimes against children. Subjecting children to adult punishment seems cruel for the same reason. Life in prison for a child, moreover, is longer than life in prison for an adult, since children have longer lives ahead of them. This seems to violate equal protection principles.
One of the purposes of criminal punishment is rehabilitation, which makes the person less likely to commit a crime upon release than he/she was at the time of the violation. Life in prison without possibility of parole is about as close as one can come to totally abandoning rehabilitation as a goal, other than by execution.
Deterrence is another purpose of criminal punishment. With juveniles, there are two circumstances making deterrence problematic when considering life in prison. First, children are less likely than adults to learn, while children, about other children being punished with life in prison. Second, adults are deterred by long sentences meted out to other adults; ending life sentences for children wouldn't be a signal to adults that adults are free to commit serious crimes.
Add to these things the fact that even children who commit horrible crimes can be shown to be less likely to re-offend if provided proper rehabilitative treatment.
the whole system, the prison industrial complex, mandatory sentencing is a real monster. But Juvenile Injustice is the worst. They try them as adults so they can give these brutal sentences. i read about a judge telling a 13 year old kid he was irredeemable- he had a choice, he made the wrong decision, so now he's got life without parole which is like taking away the kid's life.
The outcome of this debacle will be decided by one simple factor: profit - and how much of it the private prison system stands to make out of it.