What I Know

I know very little about my topic right now. There are many different views on whether juveniles should be allowed to be sentenced to a life in prison. The 8th amendment prohibits "the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines or cruel and unusual punishments". Many are arguing whether or not a life in prison is considered cruel and unusual punishment. Nothing is specified as to what the line is and that is the heart of the argument. There have been multiple cases of juveniles being sentenced to life in prison without bail on a minor felony. More people believe that if juveniles are sentenced to jail because of murder it is more acceptable than something minor. There were two recent cases where juveniles were sent to jail for life without bail. Both were young African Americans. In one case the sentence was based off poor eye witness evidence only. There was DNA evidence but it was chosen not to be used. The line between cruel and unusual punishment and acceptable punishment is currently being debated. 

I have very little questions. I would like to just learn more general information about the topic. I also want to know how many cases there are like the one stated above. If there are many cases with poor evidence then there is a problem other then the fact that the punishments are extreme. I also want to know what crimes sentence adults to life in jail without parole. I could then easily compare the situations. I also want to learn more about the adolescent brain and its development. We were given one article about how the adolescent brain is not 100% developed and that this directly effects their decision making abilities. I found this interesting and would like to learn more.