Tagged: Youth

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in two murder cases testing whether it is unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment to sentence a 14-year-old to life in prison without the possibility of parole. There are currently 79 people serving such life terms for crimes committed when they were 14 or younger.

The American legal system treats minors as both less culpable and less responsible. Fourteen-year-olds, for instance, are not allowed to drink, marry, vote or even drive. And modern science has shown that the brains of minors are literally less developed, meaning juveniles are more impulsive and less able to see the consequences of their actions.

We hear a lot about juvenile offenders when they commit a crime — and again, when they're sentenced to spend the rest of their lives in prison. But not much is known about what happens after the prison gates slam shut.

For the first time, researchers are starting to fill in the blanks — with a survey of nearly 1,600 young people serving life without the possibility of parole. They say the U.S. is the only country that sentences juveniles to life without the chance of release.

Ashley Nellis led the effort for the nonprofit group the Sentencing Project.

Yawa Agbenowossi came to the United States from Togo, in West Africa, as a young child. She discovered the Boys & Girls Club of Manchester when she was in middle school. 

YAWA: Well, before I found the club, I just never took anything into consideration. I was never worried about the future. I found the club by a friend introducing it to me actually. She said that “you can come to the Boys and Girls Club” and soon enough I was coming there every day. They couldn’t keep me away from the club. That’s when I started to change.

The new token of love among teenagers is the sharing of online passwords. An expert warns about the risks associated with this latest token of adolescent affection.

As if foster kids don't have enough to deal with, now, they're increasingly the target of identity thieves.

Here’s a story worth sharing on your smartphone: new research says there is NOT an epidemic of teen sexting.