https://youtu.be/0gTJgwpcs_Y
The above link is a link to a video about the United States and sentencing 13 and 14 year old youth to die in prison. It gives many case examples where this has occurred in different states and also about court cases to no longer allow states to give children life without parole sentences. Now, states must provide an opportunity for release under the statement from the Montgomery vs. Louisiana supreme court case in 2016, that "children who commit even heinous crimes are capable of change."
It is unfortunate that it took so long for this change to occur. For an issue like this (and others), it is so important to understand the science behind a child's development and that even though by age 15-16 they are intellectually mature (knowing the difference between right and wrong), they are still far behind emotionally and psychologically. They lack so many things at those adolescent ages and sometimes literally don't know why they did something. I think as social workers, we can play a vital role in the education piece behind issues surrounding adolescence.
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