My problem is the age range. The gap between 14 and 18 is simply huge. I agree that mandatory life sentences are not appropriate for 14 year olds, but cannot extend that to someone on the cusp of 18.
Sorry there are some very sick individuals out there, people so broken or warped that they can never safely be allowed out in society. A blanket ban on life sentences for all youthful( how you can apply such a happy appellation to some of these animals is beyond me) offenders is just wrong!
“I agree that mandatory life sentences are not appropriate for 14 year olds”
It depends...I know that when I was 14, I had NO PROBLEM understanding what it meant to kill a person. I doubt these kids have a problem with that concept either. The question is whether the worst of them can be reformed. I don’t think it’s possible, I think they’re no different than a bear that’s tasted human flesh - you must kill it (or keep it in jail, in this case).
We’re not talking about a lot of kids...or a simple mistake, we’re talking brutal murderers.
My problem is the age range. The gap between 14 and 18 is simply huge. I agree that mandatory life sentences are not appropriate for 14 year olds, but cannot extend that to someone on the cusp of 18.
________________________________________
Sociopathic killers are ‘just getting warmed up’ for a lifetime of destroying the lives of others for pleasure if jailed for murder in their youth. The problem for me is that both ‘normal’ kids and sociopaths are lumped in together and banning life in prison means that jail hardened sociopaths ‘get’ to revenge themselves on society when they get out if life sentences are banned.