Sentenced young: The story of life without parole for juvenile offenders

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Opponents of juvenile life without parole point out that the same limitations that make children less culpable for their criminal actions also apply to their experience in the courtroom. “Many young adolescents … are not developmentally and intellectually mature enough to be legally ‘competent’ to stand trial,” Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International wrote in their joint 2005 report. The report points out children’s unique vulnerability to making false confessions, not recognizing bad advice from their defense attorneys and not understanding what is at stake during their trials. Full Article

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This is insane. I’m noticing that the juvenile increase in crime pretty much coincides with the big push to remove the tried and true moral compass ( God )from schools. I’ve always wondered why nobody seems to have recognized this. Kind of makes me wonder when I hear people saying they want to protect children and then they throw them in with a hardened criminal element. I think it’s obvious that these kids need help, not to have their lives destroyed as many of our lives have been. The article says many of these kids were abused, I’m sure the abuse continued once they got to prison. What a terrible life. I think this and things like what we and our families experience strongly indicates the government/courts should not be the arbiter of morality.

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