Editorial Advisory Board: A grace period for juveniles

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The Supreme Court recently heard argument in the cases of two Florida inmates who are serving life sentences without parole for crimes committed when they were teenagers. Harris Sullivan was convicted of two counts of sexual battery committed when he was 13. He is now 34. Terrance Graham, 22, received a life sentence for an armed robbery conviction at the age of 17. Attorneys for Graham and Sullivan argued that sentencing teenagers to life sentences for non-homicidal crimes amounts to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment.

The crux of the argument for the defenders of Florida’s law is that the heinous nature of some crimes justifies the extreme sanction, regardless of the age of the offender. On their justice scale, the more shocking the crime, the more points a child accumulates towards adulthood until “poof,” before our eyes, the 13-year-old magically becomes little big man with the intellect, emotional maturity and judgment of an adult.

This legal fiction is promoted despite scientific evidence to the contrary: that more than chronological age, there are major developmental differences between children and adults which, in good conscience, cannot be ignored in addressing delinquent behavior. We acknowledge these differences in our rational system of laws that deem minors under a certain age too immature and lacking in judgment to enjoy privileges reserved for adults like voting, using alcohol and tobacco, serving in the military, driving, or even dropping out of high school. Yet, we conveniently ignore these truths in order to rid ourselves of clearly troubled youth, who too often are disproportionately poor and minority.

We should cringe when our children commit horrific crimes, but exiling them before they have had a chance to grow up is a cop-out. We have long understood the corrupting influences of the adult world on our children. Yet, we do little to insulate them. Glorified images of violence, sex, greed and drugs abound in pop culture; still, we act surprised that a child, lacking an adult’s ability for discernment, imitates what he or she sees. We bear witness to the carnage caused when children, impetuous by nature, use weapons to settle the most trivial disputes; but, there is a deafening hue and cry from many adults, including parents, when lawmakers cite youth violence as a reason supporting gun control. For some, cuts in youth after-school, summer school and summer job programs, which keep children engaged in society and lessen the risk of violence, are acceptable trade-offs for lower taxes or higher salaries.

Instead of treating children like adults, we should own up to our collective responsibilities to guide, educate, nurture and protect. We should demand a more holistic approach to deterrence, punishment and rehabilitation: one that assumes that youth can be saved through the natural healer of time with a healthy dose of targeted interventions. Perhaps ideas should be considered, like extending the time when the most dangerous youthful offenders can remain under rehabilitative supervision and detention, even after transitioning into adulthood, thus addressing concerns that for delinquents brought into the juvenile system, the age of majority is a non-discriminating get out of jail free card.

It would be naïve to think that every delinquent can be saved. Moreover, we should not trivialize the impact of dangerous conduct or the legitimate desire to feel safe and secure in our homes and communities. However, one must ask if we are giving up on our children too easily and punishing whole generations for their inability to rise above their circumstances at a rate of speed acceptable to us. We must guard against becoming so jaded that we are only comfortable closing the door on those who fall from grace, rather than cracking it to leave open the possibility for re-entry. Society loses when past mistakes swallow the potential of a young person, who if given a chance, would make good on the opportunity.

To paraphrase the quote made famous by the late Senator Robert Kennedy, when it comes to our youth, our challenge is to not dwell on their past mistakes, always asking “why?” Rather we should consider their potential, and ask “why not?”