Less Guilty by Reason of Adolescence

Less Guilty by Reason of Adolescence
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Less Guilty by Reason of Adolescence
Criminal punishment of youthful offenders such as adolescents is a subject of heated debate. Some believe that adolescents should receive similar punishment to adults who commit comparable crimes, while others oppose it. I think that adolescent development must be taken into consideration in the juvenile justice system. This process helps determine adolescent’s level of culpability in various crimes.
Knowledge of adolescent development helps the juvenile justice system to consider the degree of maturity. I believe this is vital in understanding adolescents' cognitive and psychosocial capacities, which influence the choices they make. Adolescents have lower capabilities than adults, making them vulnerable to making poor choices such as committing crimes. This insight also helps in recognizing their limited reasoning ability compared to adults. I believe this reduced reasoning skills impairs their judgment and affects their decision-making capacity. As a result, they are more susceptible to peer pressure which may cause them to engage in criminal acts (Steinberg & Scott, 2003). It also means they are likely to engage in risky behavior without considering the long-term consequences.
The juvenile justice system can benefit from development research when solving adolescent crimes. Studies of adult and adolescent brains show marked differences in development. I find this knowledge important to the juvenile justice system, which can appreciate the immaturity of an adolescent brain. Psychological and neurobiological evidence shows that adolescents' brain regions such as the prefrontal cortex and limbic system involved in impulse control, judgment, decision-making, and planning are less developed. This reduces their capacity to control their impulses or behavior. It also makes them vulnerable to external pressure and makes them less future-oriented (Steinberg & Scott, 2003). I think this biological information helps the juvenile justice system to recognize their limited decision-making and judgment abilities, making them less culpable in comparable crimes to adults.
To my knowledge, adolescents have less developed characters and identities. Adolescents suffer from identity crises where they don't understand their sense of self. This identity crisis causes them to question their beliefs, values, or relationships. They are not fully aware of their passions, spirituality, purpose, or role in life. As a result, they are likely to engage in illegal or risky behavior in a quest to establish their identity. This insight helps the juvenile justice system consider lenient punishment since their bad act does not reflect...