Yet when the person being sentenced is still very young, the idea of permanence becomes more complicated. Adolescence is a time when judgment, empathy, and foresight are still developing. A sentence that stretches across almost an entire lifetime can mean the system has decided, in advance, that growth will never matter. The hardest challenge is not choosing between victims and offenders, but designing justice that honors suffering, protects the public, and still leaves space for a young person to become someone different from the worst thing they once did.
Why an 86-Year Sentence for a Teenager Has Raised Difficult Questions About Justice
