With the recent release of election polls, I find myself becoming more interested in politics. While skimming through blog posts, I stumbled upon Ranch’s blog post “Too Young for Jail, Just Right for Literally Everything Else.” I agree with Ranch’s point of views that if those in the age between 18 to 24 can “vote, smoke, drink, have sex, drive, and go to war,” then they should also be responsible for their own actions and go to jail when they are in trouble. It is true that the adolescent’s brain does not fully mature until the age of 25. However, part of the adolescent’s growth also depends on their experience. Each new memory they make would serve as a new experience that would change the shape of their brain.
Apparently, the legal system is much more lenient to the people under the age of 25. The law gives young people many more opportunities and chances to change for the better more than the people over the age of 25. This system is unfair to the older people because the legal system has basically given up hope that older people can have a chance to reform themselves. They are simply thrown in jail. Meanwhile, those under 25 would be placed in help institutions. I agree, this is unfair.
However, if those between the age of 18 and 24 would be deemed legal to be placed in jail, then a lot of these people’s futures would be ruined compared to older people. This is because the younger people have a lot of years ahead of them compared to the older. They still need to experience college or higher education and work. Therefore, a lot of people deem the younger generation as the future of society. This is why they are given a more biased treatment.
I would like to highlight that the portion of your brain in charge of decision making is the frontal lobe. The neurons of the brain would not be fully myelinated in the front lobe section until the age of 25 or above. When a neuron is myelinated, the brain can connect new and old information faster to allow for higher level of thinking or cognitive skills.
Even so, the maturation of a person’s brain may be different from person to person. Certain people may have developed a mature brain at an earlier age than some others. This is why setting an age barrier of 25 to sentence these people to go to jail is unfair. What if these people still have brains that are not matured? Would they still face charges for their actions in jail if that is the case? The term brain maturity is very broad and can vary from person to person.
The idea of jail time itself is not very attractive. I understand that putting people in jail would restrain them from committing other atrocities and harm to innocent people. However, I would prefer if the person gets placed in a reform institution that teaches these people how to be civil and not hurt others. The only reason why we would place a person in jail is because we have given up on reforming the prisoner. Responsibility is important in maintaining a civil life, and everybody should be given an equal opportunity to take responsibility for the harm they inflect on other people.
by Naive Health Lady Lu March 7, 2020
Naive Healthy Lady Lu 