The United States government lags behind the rest of the world’s relaxed punishments for junior offenders. The United Nations is championing a movement towards relaxed justice towards these minor and has gotten all members, except for Somalia and the United States, to sign a treaty forbidding the lifelong imprisonment of delinquents under the age of 18.

The United States is hard pressed to adopt such standards but is careful to consider all complications and implications of creating these laws. Due to the controversial nature of these laws, the Supreme Court has begun the process of judicial review and is deliberating whether or not the law violates the eighth amendment’s restriction on cruel and unusual punishment.

A handful of states have already established laws prohibiting life without parole for minors setting a precedent that the Supreme Court will hopefully adopt. The United State’s confused stance on this issue is surprising, as children, especially as young as thirteen, are at the pinnacle of their adolescence development. According to Erik Erikson, a well-known psychologist, children start questioning their identity and their role in the world as early as thirteen years old.

This continues until an individual begins to mature at nineteen years old. Individuals in this age range experiment with their identities often looking for elders as role models. During such a formidable time in a youth’s life, influences in adult jails will further corrupt these individuals when they could have been reformed.

In the cases, Sullivan vs. Florida and Graham vs. Florida, the Supreme Court ruling was especially important, as both defendants are the victims of the harsh youth sentencing laws. Joe Sullivan was sentenced when he was thirteen years old with a history of crime culminating in a questionable sexual assault charge. His judge concluded that he was beyond reform and should live the rest of his life beyond bars.

A New York Times Editorial passionately stated such sentences “should trouble Americans deeply, as should all of the barbaric sentencing policies for children that this country embraces but that most of the world has abandoned.” Despite the mounting psychological research and public outcry, Florida has sentenced 2,200 juveniles to life without parole.

Supporters of these harsh laws argue that criminals, regardless of age, should face the full penalty for their actions. That rationale is rash, and ignores the fragile, confused world that minors live in from day to day.