Children...Are They Throwaways?

Artwork of a Juvenile Offender

London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down
London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady.
Take the key and lock him up, lock him up, lock him up
Take the key and lock him up, my fair lady.
--words from a well-known nursery rhyme.

One legend surrounding this nursery rhyme is that when the bridges of Europe were built, they used to bury a live child in the foundation as a sacrifice for the greater good. Is that what we think we are doing when youth offenders convicted of murder (and not all pulled the actual trigger) are sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole?

In Supreme Court arguments Tuesday, March 20, Justice Anton Scalia said, "I thought modern penalogy has abandoned rehabilitation as a goal and now focuses on punishment. Should I just consult my own preference instead of what seems to be the concensus of the American people?", noting that 39 states have laws that make life without parole (LWOP) the punishment for murder.

However, by striking down the possibility of the death penalty for juvenile offenders in 2010, it made LWOP the automatic sentence for murder. This currently affects 79 people convicted before the age of 14 and more than 2500 convicted before the age of 18.

According to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, children convicted in those states where the most severe penalties are automatically imposed, even when there was no intent to commit murder, become "throwaway children."
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Personally, I find it hard to wrap my head around the idea that a jury cannot even choose to impose a lighter sentence. It becomes an all-or-nothing endeavor--like the child buried at London Bridge.

 If this ruling is declared unconstitutional (a decision is expected by summer) it wouldn't mean that all youth offenders would get parole. It would open the discussion for some who have shown growth in maturity to have a chance to see a light between the prison window bars and believe that someday they could actually experience it.

An interesting survey by an organization called Sentencing Project, which advocates for research and advocacy for reform of LWOP for juveniles, was sent to all prisoners sentenced to life in prison for crimes committed before the age of 18. It reveals some interesting, if not shocking, statistics about these people. They typically are from low socio-economic backgrounds, have little or no parental support, and have witnessed or experienced violence in their own homes or in their neighborhoods. They often took part in their crimes in an attempt to be accepted by peers with little thought or judgment about the consequences.

The respondents didn't say they are innocent. However, they understand that one very bad decision and court systems that often provided little guidance have led them to a place where they cease to exist outside the bars. Is this the message we want to send these kids, the country and the world: We are the land of opportunity, but never second chances?

drawing by Billy Dee