People have been unable to come up with a solution to this problem because its not as simple as a yes or no answer and it is not a black and white issue. There is much grey area that needs to be determined by the Supreme Court. One of the basic democratic ideals is life. This ideal states that peoples lives should be valued at all times unless it puts others or there own lives in danger. By putting a young child (juvenile) in jail for life are we taking away there right to life? They still have 80+ years of life experience ahead of them. This question may seem simple but its not we don't know the right answer because we are also told that equality should be applied to all. But is what is equal always fair? Convicting a grown adult, who was legitimately aware of the consequences of his action, to life in prison without parole is not the same as convicting a child,who does not yet have the brain development to be aware of his consequences, to life in prison for the same illegal action. Sure this is equal, as they did commit the same crime, but is it fair? The constitution states that we have a right to justice which translates to: people should be treated fairly in the distribution of the benefits and burdens of society, the correction of wrongs and injustices, and in the gathering of information and making decisions. This directly contradicts with the following ideal of equality. Because once again is what is equal always fair? We can only have both in an idealistic perfect society. We do not live in such a society and therefore are constantly debating topics such as these.
(All from trial search packet page 12)
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