Some debates I get. People can have differing opinions about issues like abortion and both sides can claim the moral high ground; a woman's rights over her own body vs. the sanctity of a life not your own. The argument over healthcare can be made and disputed with each opinion having merit. I cannot, however, understand the debate that will occupy the Supreme Court this week over whether teenagers can be sentenced to life in prison for crimes in which no one was killed.
According to the New York Times (who presumably does not have a dog in the fight) there are 107 people in the United States serving life sentences who were convicted and sentenced as juveniles. As you can imagine, no other western society has any. Shocker! Of these prisoners, 77 are in Florida and it is a Florida case that the Supremes will hear. The Sunshine State is also a leader in executions. All those old people are cranky!
Florida got serious about incarcerating children, and just about everyone else, back in the 1990's when violent crime among juveniles was at an all-time high. All that mayhem was not only scaring the pensioners, it was causing all those German vacationers to consider going somewhere more sedate, like Beirut. In 2005 the High Court ruined everyone's good time by forbidding the execution of anyone under the age of 18. Clearly those bleeding hearts in Washington don't understand the need to set a good example for all that Eurotrash. Anyway, just because the good citizens of Florida can't fry high school sophomore doesn't mean that they can't lock 'em up and throw away the key.
The particular cases to be argued involve two tykes who were working on their rap sheet merit badges from an early age. Neither is a person you want living in the house next door. Terrence Graham committed a violent armed robbery while out on parole for another felony. Joe Sullivan raped a 72 year old woman. No one is suggesting that these two slimeballs be sent to bed without their supper. However, life without parole, or LWOP, can't be the only option.
Naturally, adherents to the hang-'em-high school point to a drop in juvenile crime in the last several years but, considering that we're only talking about 77 inmates it appears unlikely that those criminals would have accounted for all that crime. Anyone who asserts that these stiff sentences are a deterrent is just playing to a frightened constituency. Crime stats go up and down for all sorts of reasons.
This is a decision that needs to be made from 10,000 feet. It's not about one horrific crime that cries out for harsh justice. It's about who we are and what we're becoming. We already condone state-sponsored killings in all but twelve states. We have more people in prison per capita than any other country. District attorneys who run on get-tough platforms are never around to discuss the cost of housing all those offenders. We have to be smart enough to devise a punishment system that includes a little compassion and a little hope. Why does it take a Supreme Court ruling to tell the country what we should already know? When no deaths are involved, a lengthy prison sentence can be imposed but there should be a limit on years. Forever is a long time, especially when you're 16 or 17. Immaturity and stupidity aren't always forever. Neither should the punishments they demand.
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