Juveniles are highly incapable of making reasoning and lifelong decisions. Teens are not allowed to drink, drive, nor can they sign their own parental consent; therefore, they are not capable of fully being responsible adults. Teens are not mature until they reach nearly the age 20. They lack reasoning and judgment because their cerebellum hasn't fully grown. Most troubled teens are a product of their environment in which they were raised upon. Some were abused, and therefore are acting out the only way they know how. There a lot of things that teens aren't allowed to do and if they are doing them they are still considered minors. For instance, if a teenager who is 14 have a baby, she is still under the state law considered a minor. However if a teenager tries to commit murder we charge them as an adult. The punishment shall fit the crime however, it should also fit the circumstance in which the crime was committed. Sentencing teens to the death penalty is cruel and unreasonable; therefore, juveniles should not be sentenced to the death penalty.
Many people don't understand why some teens act out in an impulsive, irrational, or a dangerous way. Teens are different from adults in the way they behave, solve problems, and make decisions. There is a biological explanation for this difference. Studies have shown that brains continue to mature and develop throughout childhood and up until early adulthood. Amygdala which is a region of the brain, is responsible for instinctual reactions including fear and aggressive behavior. This part of the region develops early. However, the frontal cortex, the area of the brain that controls reasoning and helps us think before we act, develops later. Scientists found that the prefrontal cortex is immature in teenagers compared to adults (anonymous 1). This part of the brain is still changing and maturing well into adulthood. Teens are incapable of making reasoning and lifelong decisions.
