Do juvenile offenders change, or do they graduate to adult offenders?
The Eighth Amendment regulates the length of sentencing for juveniles. The amendment bans cruel and unusual punishment for juvenile offenders (Russel, 2014). Unlike adults, Juveniles are capable of changing for the better. Russell (2014) argues that when the court denies juvenile offenders parole, it denies the offenders an opportunity for change. The Eighth Amendment requires that an offender gets a meaningful opportunity for release which involves the following; a chance of release at a meaningful point in time, rehabilitated prisoner must have a realistic likelihood for release and parole board must offer an opportunity to hear from the individual ( Russell, 2014). The three components serve as a guideline for ensuring that juvenile offenders do not serve life sentences without parole.
In my opinion, allowing parole after 40 years is a long time. It denies the offender a meaningful opportunity for release, given that they are juveniles. I believe that allowing parole after 15 years is not a short period as it offers adequate time for the offender to undergo rehabilitation. Additionally, release after 15 years is a meaningful point in time in the offender’s life, unlike a release after 40 years.
I would rather receive sentencing from a judge than a computer. Computerized sentencing eliminates judicial discretion in sentencing (Bagaric, 2018). Judge discretions increase judicial fairness as judges can weigh the circumstances and reasons that led to a crime from a human perspective. Computers cannot reason like human beings and may offer unnecessarily harsh penalties.
Also, the type of crime matters since various crimes have different punishments. For instance, punishment for stealing is different from that of a homicide. Therefore, judges consider the type of crime before delivering punishment.