Young Minds and Crime
Prompt
Answer/respond to one of the following (based on the readings) then as usual, respond the posts of at least 3 classmates.
1. Since the 15 year old brain is not fully matured, treating a 15 year old accused of a crime as an adult, is unfair.
2. The American Dream is nothing more than a myth, it may have been viable 50 years ago but this no longer is true.
3. What is the point of Elie Wiesel’s essay “How Can We Understand Their Hatred,” aren’t all fanatics dangerous, can you make a case for the opposing point of view.
Response
The brain of 15 year olds is not fully matured; therefore, convicting a 15 year old accused of a crime as an adult is unconstitutional.
In today’s society, 15 year olds commit crimes so terrible that they would be
punishable by death if committed by an adult. For example, in 1985 a 15 year
old girl, Paula Cooper, brutally murdered an elderly woman in Indiana. Paula
Cooper was sentenced to death; however, the elderly woman’s grandson, Bill
Pelke, whom initially agreed with the sentence, later became “convinced that
[his] grandmother wanted [him] to have compassion for that girl and for that
girl’s family.” Bill Pelke later advocated for her removal from death row.
Paula committed a crime so heinous that a jury of a dozen capable adults
deemed the death of a 15 year old necessary. She was given a constitutionally fair trial; all evidence and facts were made clear. However, the trial did not take into account the fact that Paula’s 15 year old brain was not as fully mature as the brain of an adult.
Recent studies have shown that in the brains of adolescent rats, low levels
of the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin make them more impulsive
than adult rats. Studies have also shown that adolescents, especially those who are younger, lack proper self-regulation. Self-regulation is controlled by neural networks in the brain that do not mature until the early twenties. These neural networks control risky behavior, thinking before acting and choosing different among various courses of action.
A new study done by psychologist William E. Copeland of Duke University Medical Center states that “youngsters who exhibited emotional ailments,
such as depression and anxiety disorders, along with substance abuse or other behavior problems had the greatest chance of getting arrested for serious and violent crimes.” Therefore, it is unfair to treat children that commit crimes as adults because they biologically lack the control and self-regulation that adults do. Instead of convicting these children, the children should be provided with support services to ensure that they become functional members of society and don’t progress into repeat criminal offenders.
References
[1] PhD Ann E. Kelley. Adolescent brain development: Vulnerabilities and
opportunities.
http://www.nyas.org/ebriefreps/main.asp?intSubsectionID=320
[2] Abe Bonowitz. Press release, 28 april 2004.
http://www.fadp.org/pressrel105.html
[3] Bruce Bower. Crime growth: Early mental ills fuel young-adult offending.
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/9124/title/Crime_
Growth_Early_mental_ills_fuel_young-adult_offending
