Locking Up 12 Year Olds

A few years ago a 14 year old kid in Florida was sentenced to life in prison for a murder that he committed when he was 12. Does this make any sense?

Proponents for this type of sentencing for juveniles repeat the mantra that “if you do an adult crime, you should receive an adult sentence.” Apparently, these people would also view the situation the same even if the murderer was seven.

People against this form of sentencing, including me, believe that the requisite level of intent which is necessary for a murder conviction is simply lacking in the vast majority of juveniles. One must comprehend one’s act and I don’t believe a 12 year old is capable of that, and surely not a seven year old. Of course, there is that rare ten year old that may have the ability to formulate intent just like an adult would, but should we have an ironclad rule just because one in a thousand might fit it?

This entire debate reminds me of the real crux of the pro-choice, pro-life issue: When is the embryo a human being and afforded protection of the laws? Pro-choice people say that happens at birth or shortly before birth, and pro-life people say it happens at conception or shortly after conception. This debate will never be solved even 3,000 years from now because it revolves around subjective definitions of what is a human being. You can argue birth, and you can also argue conception it seems to me, and the debate cannot be resolved by empirical data alone. It’s the subjective interpretation of that data fraught with spiritual and moral issues that is the genesis of the debate.

Can seven year olds intend their actions? No, you say. What about ten year olds? O.K., what about 12 year olds? 18 year olds? Sure, no problem there. So if we do have a universal rule for cognitive intent we know that the age is somewhere between seven and 18. I pick 16. Why? No special reason other than that I think we should always error in our rules in the light most favorable to juveniles. Should we try as adults the occasional 12 year old who the team of doctors says was capable of intent? I think not. The doctors’ opinion is also subjective and subject to debate. You will find another team of doctors who reach the opposite conclusion. Thus, let’s come up with an age and stick to it regardless of the heinous nature of the crime; which is of course, the real reason why we think we should suddenly deviate from common sense and send a 12 year old to life in prison.