Thursday, April 21, 2022

Thiel College-Death Penalty

Death Penalty Comment No. 6

The neuropsychology issue raised in juvenile death penalty cases before the U.S. Supreme Court has jumped to non-death penalty cases like juvenile life without parole. Do you think brain development cases will further seep into juvenile criminal jurisprudence?  Explain your position in detail.


18 comments:

Unknown said...

Student #13

Personally, I do not feel that brain development will further seep into juvenile criminal jurisprudence. Although I feel it necessary that it do, I do not believe that in the current judicial and political climate, progression will be allowed. I feel this way because Neuropsychology, although a widely respected field, is not taken as seriously as it should be by the general public. Whether that be due to lack of education, personal bias, or prior experiences with the law, I am unsure. However, the topic of responsibility comes into play when these issues are being discussed. Specifically, how much responsibility can be taken if a behavior, criminal or not, is being excused by a lack of brain development; and to what extent do we excuse that? The lack of clarity and definition surrounding the issue is intimidating to not only the general public, but also to politicians and the judiciary; leading to an inability or hesitancy to take a definitive stance on the issue. Therefore, I feel that Neuropsychology will not further infiltrate juvenile criminal jurisprudence unless the extent to which behavior is excusable is clearly defined, and widely accepted.

Student 9 said...

I think the issue regarding the brain development of juveniles will seep into further court decisions but I am unsure to what the affect will be, especially in cases of harsh sentences that are given to juveniles. I think that as science continues to find that brain development may play a larger role in the reckless or illegal behavior of some juveniles, brain development will have to be addressed in determining the length of sentences. I however, do not think that such prohibitions on lengthy sentences for juveniles will be adopted due to public disproval of more lenient punishments for certain offenses. I think that as more is found in the fields of neuroscience and psychology that there will be gradual changes to how juveniles are sentenced but I do not think these changes will happen in the very near future.

#8 said...

Student #8

The concept of more brain development cases being used in juvenile cases will most likely rise due to the increase of technology and research into the psychology of underdeveloped brains. Although the use of this may result in more methods in rehabilitation. If someone was to commit a more horrible crime and plead for underdevelopment could be exploited so there should be strong regulations in place to not be abused in cases. If there are several studies showing underdevelopment and the criminals not being able to comprehend the right and wrong of the crime then the use of brain development in cases could be both beneficial as well as detrimental depending on how it is used.

Anonymous said...

Student #7

Neuropsychology, a rather new area of research, has recently reached into the severe cases of the juvenile justice system. I believe, though, that this is only the beginning and it will be used for less severe cases. Psychology has become a more prominent field and applied to more sections of society. Child development is a huge part of this and lots of research has been compiled for the effects of crime and arrest on their development. On top of this, I believe brain development will be used to explain decisions (or lack of decisions) made; I am worried this will be used an excuse or cop out for culpability however it is one of those things discretion plays too large a role in. I think brain development cases will become a rather common occurrence for juvenile cases and eventually adult cases. I think that standards are evolving and this may be the new frontier of the justice system.

anonymous said...

Student #6

The neuropsychology issue when it comes to juveniles is that they are not fully developed enough to understand the consequences of their actions, or they are not developed enough to know whether their action was right or wrong. This has been especially an issue when it comes to juveniles committing capital murder and being sentenced to death. Since this issue has come up during capital murder cases, it has also jumped to cases where the penalty is life without parole. I believe that the idea of juvenile brain development has already seeped into other juvenile offenses. Juveniles are often given less of a punishment rather than an adult because it factors in the fact that one’s brain not fully developed. Do I believe this idea will seep even further into juvenile criminal law? No, I do not, and I do not believe it needs to. Many juveniles do know that their actions are right and wrong, and are perfectly aware of the punishment, they just hold out hope they will not be caught. A probation officer and a judge should be able to determine this by judgement. My opinion may be bias because the juvenile justice system has failed me.

Anonymous said...

Student #18

I think that when it comes to juvenile cases that they don't look at it much now because they see that they are juvenile cases, but I do think that they will start looking within the brain development of certain cases. I think for them to start looking into the brain development of certain cases is when the criminal is not knowing the right from the wrong in the crime that they have committed I think the brain development would be a good factor of the said crime.

Anonymous said...

Student #17

I believe that brain development will further seep into the juvenile justice system. This being an excuse for juveniles to commit certain crimes and get less sentencing. The only issue with letting brain development be an excuse is it will allow juveniles to start abusing it and using it as a crutch to fall back on. Neuropsychology still does not understand everything about the human brain in a fully grown adult, so we can see they are still learning about the development of brains in juveniles. There is an understanding of how your brain should function but not a certain answer to why people do certain things. Juveniles are not done learning about the world or what is right for wrong while their brain is developing. Also, a lot of people make mistakes which is a part of life. How can you hold someone responsible for something they did at a younger age because they were not fully aware of the punishment or that it was illegal to do?

Anonymous said...

#16
The criminal court case for juveniles should be more lenient. More often than not children who commit violent crimes before the age of 18 have a troubled home life. Th juvenile courts should be much more focused on rehabilitation to ensure that the child can still have a shot at a semi successful life. Also, the parents or guardians should be held accountable. That child is there responsibility and so are their actions. Above all else, the Childs safety should be in consideration. Meaning making sure they are safe at home, at school, they have after school care, are healthy, are not being abused at home. Once a child enters "the system" it is hard for them to get out of it. If a child is going to be persecuted by the law they should be rehabilitated so that their recidivism rate isn't so high.

Anonymous said...

I think that development cases will further seep into juvenile criminal jurisprudence because juveniles may know right from wrong at the time depending on the age however, they may not be able to think fully on the consequences of their actions or understand that they will get caught. When put into the system with other kids who may be older and some younger that have been in the system longer. This may cause the knew juveniles to think that it is ok to carry out crime or make friends that will not help learn but continue to be bad when they get to leave the facility. I think that rehabilitation would be better for juveniles so they can learn how to change for the better and hopefully lead to less recidivism rates amongst juveniles.

Anonymous said...

#1
I think that development cases will further seep into juvenile criminal jurisprudence because juveniles may know right from wrong at the time depending on the age however, they may not be able to think fully on the consequences of their actions or understand that they will get caught. When put into the system with other kids who may be older and some younger that have been in the system longer. This may cause the knew juveniles to think that it is ok to carry out crime or make friends that will not help learn but continue to be bad when they get to leave the facility. I think that rehabilitation would be better for juveniles so they can learn how to change for the better and hopefully lead to less recidivism rates amongst juveniles.

Anonymous said...

Student #15 said...

I believe that brain development cases SHOULD further seep into juvenile criminal jurisprudence. Neuropsychology is becoming a more recognized and accepted field in the criminal justice system -- especially in juvenile justice -- and with that comes further accepted research highlighting the brain's development, specifically when it is fully developed (i.e., when the frontal lobe, home to impulsivity, judgments, and decision-making, is fully developed) and how this development effects criminals and their decision to commit capital offenses. With this being said, I believe that brain development cases will not further seep into juvenile criminal jurisprudence, at least not with immediate results. Especially with some of the public still holding the "get tough on crime" outlook, they may have hang-ups of having capital offenders "get off easy" due to their lack of brain development. While the brain development cases may help limit the sentencing of younger people/juveniles to death, I do not think it will -- at least immediately -- have an effect on the sentencing of younger people/juveniles to life without the possibility of parole.

#12 said...

The idea of brain development is very important and should be taken into account when looking at the over arching choice when it comes to the sentencing phase of a crimes. however, i believe that there could be more aspects of brain development in jurisdictions. there are many different views and ideas on brain development that can affect the clearness of laws and mitigating factors that can come into account when looking at juveniles. my opinion is that it will not seep into the system any more then it already has since there is not real place else to go with the idea of brain development.

Student #4 said...

I think the neuropsychological issue raised in juvenile death penalty cases will attempt to seep down into to other juvenile cases. Juveniles are the most susceptible to peer pressure and outside influence than they will ever be in their entire life. This is because their brains are not fully developed. At the same time, being that the criminal justice system already considered this factor for the death penalty and juvenile life without parole, I'm not sure how much farther it will go. I feel like these are the two biggest issues and I'm not sure where they would try to apply it next. Wherever they choose, I don't think they will be very successful. This is because regardless of brain development and peer pressure, most of us are taught right from wrong. Even with these factors considered, we still make the choice to do things on our own. We have the final say essentially. I think the juvenile court system will begin to view brain development as a scapegoat if recklessly applied. Not only that, but it makes it so that these juveniles are not being held that accountable for their actions. Yes young people make mistakes. But the majority of the youth are not criminals so that means we are able to think and reason enough to not commit crimes. Therefore, I don't think this argument will successfully be applied any further.

anonymous said...

Student #5

I believe that the brain development issue will seep into further cases. It is already a tough issue to execute juveniles, so I believe that life in prison is a better option. These juveniles can then receive neurological help while incarcerated and possibly reach a point where parole is in option. To kill a juvenile while their brain is still developing is still a thing that would require a pretty heinous crime, so would it not be a better ask to be able and see if this individual can further develop and change in a prison setting instead of killing them?

Anonymous said...

Student 21,

Anonymous said...

student 21,
I think that Brain Development will seep further into cases. I believe this because technology is better now than it was, but it would not surprise me if the took this the same way they take mental illness it might now be serious or have very lose laws like mental illness. I think that Life with out Parole could be just as efficient for people with less brain development than others.

Anonymous said...

Student #10
I think brain development will will seep further into jurisprudence. Brains are not fully developed until ones early twenties. Since technology is better there are more ways to prove that brains are not fully developed. There are also factors such as mental illness, and setbacks kids face such as ADHD, ADD, OCD that factor into behavioral issues for adolescents that would equate to them getting life without parole as opposed to the death penalty.

Anonymous said...

#2

I do think brain development cases will further seep into juvenile criminal jurisprudence. As neuropsychology gets more advanced and more popular, I believe that the theories that go along with that train of thought will be more common. When looking at why people commit crimes more research will be done on how their brain makes decisions and if those who commit crimes are truly responsible for those crimes. Juveniles already get lesser sentences due to their age and their brain not being able to fully comprehend decisions, so I believe a trend will appear both in juvenile and adult court cases in which brain development will be a hot topic. It will be used in cases going further to either prove if someone truly is responsible for any crimes committed.

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