Picture this you are sitting in the courtroom waiting for the judge to deliver the final say on a murder trial where a 13-year-old killed his girlfriend over a heated argument.

The judge comes back from recess and says that because the suspect is a minor, he will not be given a life sentence but instead given 5 years in juvenile detention.

This is an example of the many cases where a juvenile offender has gotten away with a serious crime without being given a life sentence just because of their age.

The topic of giving a teenager a life sentence is extremely sensitive especially because many may argue that their brains are not fully developed and the chances of them having a normal life is close to zero.

As a 16-year-old I believe that life sentences should be given to any juvenile that commits any type of serious felony, especially murder.
Some may say that age would play a big part in the decision of whether a teen should receive a life sentence, but I believe that no matter the age if a person is old enough to commit a crime, they are old enough to receive the consequences.

Giving a teen who has committed a felony a minor sentence instead of a life sentence would be an injustice for the community as the teen would be most likely to commit another offence in the future.

Not giving a proper sentence to a juvenile would prove to the community that the justice system cares more about the future of a criminal than the safety of its own people.

Life is about decision making, everyone learns right from wrong at an early age. If a teenager decides that they are old enough to commit a crime then they are more than old enough to receive the consequences that follow.