The image of a young person behind bars is one that unsettles the conscience of any society. When children are locked away with the same sentences as hardened adult criminals, questions naturally arise: What does justice mean when applied to a child? Can a young teenager truly understand the lifelong consequences of their actions? Should redemption and rehabilitation be permanently denied to those who have not even reached adulthood?
Across the United States today, at least 79 youths under the age of 14 are serving life sentences without parole. These are not isolated cases of teenagers nearing adulthood; these are children barely into adolescence. For them, the cell door does not open to rehabilitation or second chances — it represents a lifetime of confinement.