Although a child under 14 cannot be sentenced to the death penalty, 12 year old Jordan Brown from Pennsylvania is facing life in prison without parole if he is convicted of a double homicide. More information is in this article.
If he is innocent, he will be cleared of charges, but if he is deemed guilty, should he be sentenced to life in prison? As Americans, how willing are we to accept reconciliation? To what degree should children be held accountable for their actions?
If Jordan is guilty, would it be acceptable for him to spend some time in prison and then have parole once he has reconciled for his actions? From my own personal standpoint, I think that people can redeem themselves after they have made mistakes, but it's hard to say what exactly qualifies as redemption. If Jordan did commit the murder, someone's life was ended because of him; how can someone make up for that, and who has the power to say whether or not he has reconciled for his actions? If the family of the deceased or a jail warden gets to determine whether the guilty feels bad enough about it, I think the pardons will depend more on the pardoners than the person committing the crime. I think that Americans like the idea of reconciliation, but when it comes to real life situations, we become hesitant. What if Jordan is sorry for what he did and then he spends his whole life in prison when he could have been a productive citizen? What if we only think he's sorry, and then he murders someone else?
And there's a whole other issue; he's 12 years old. Is he fully accountable for his actions? Should he be punished as an adult? People aren't numerical sets of data or statistics; some children could probably be held accountable for most of their actions, and others not at all. Similarly, does age make a difference? How much more accountable would he be if he was 13? 11? 6? I think that children do get gradually more mature as they age, but because everyone is different, I don't think it's possible to make one rule that applies to all kids. However, if there isn't a rule, similar situations might be viewed differently in court.
It's complicated, and I'm not sure what I think Jordan's verdict should be; what do you think?
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Well I think that if Jordan is in fact guilty, then he should definitely go to prison. However I do not think a life sentence should be given to him and especially at such a young age. He's only twelve and people change so much even in their teen years. So I think there is a big chance that he will change as a person. I think a lot of jail time might be necessary; I really don't know a whole lot about the case, but double homicide is pretty major. But I think that a life sentence is almost too cruel. And like you said children under 14 cannot receive life sentences.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Zoe, if guilty Jordan should go to prison, but life without parole is a little harsh. He is only twelve, and who knows what could have prompted him to kill. I think the sentence should be at least made into life with parole, as if he is guilty he can probably change during the many many years of prison he will face if convicted.
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