Juveniles in Alabama Prisons
sentenced to Life Without
Parole
In
Alabama, there are juveniles currently serving life without parole
sentences, for crimes committed when they were as young as 14 years
old. Recent studies reveal that the human brain is not fully
developed until at least the age of 21 to 25 years.
The legal system does not appreciate that the teenage brain is
not yet fully developed, yet research demonstrates that young people
do not have the foresight of consequences that make adults morally
culpable.
Neuroscientist, Bruce McEwen of Rockefeller University in New
York City, states "There's enough known about brain development to
call for serious discussions between scientists and the legal
community."
Researchers
further argue that the developmental immaturity of adolescence
mitigates culpability and justifies more lenient punishment ... That
is, a juvenile offender, owing to his or her developmental
immaturity should be viewed as less culpable than a
comparable adult offender (Less Guilty by Reason of Adolescence,
L. Steinberg, Temple University).
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Humans Rights Instuments
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United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for
the Administration of Juvenile Justice ("The Beijing
Rules"), G.A. res. 40/33, annex, 40 U.N. GAOR Supp.
(No. 53) at 207, U.N. Doc. A/40/53 (1985). |
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United Nations Guidelines for the
Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (The Riyadh
Guidelines), G.A. res. 45/112, annex, 45 U.N. GAOR
Supp. (No. 49A) at 201, U.N. Doc. A/45/49 (1990).
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United Nations Commission on Human Rights,
Rights of the Child, Resolution 2003/86 UN
Doc.E/CN.4/ Res/2003/86
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