Reducing Juvenile Life Sentence – A Step To The Right Direction?

When it comes to the juvenile individuals, emotions often take over and these teenagers are capable of performing terrible things – things that they may well regret in the future. A number of juvenile inmates get a life sentence for the crimes that they committed. In most cases, we are talking about murder. The court gives a promise to the victim’s loved ones that the criminal will never leave prison. While this may be a necessary measure, should our society be so harsh to the young minds? With that said, juvenile brain functions in a very different way when compared to the brain of an adult individual. It is true that teenagers mostly act in line with their emotions, without thinking, based on their first impulses. Sure, it is no excuse for committing murder, but not giving a second chance to a person, who may be very sorry for what he or she have done, is also not as fair as it may seem in the beginning.

It does not mean that the courts will need to let those criminals get away with murder. Yet, a more suitable as well as more balanced system needs to be developed for this kind of cases. California Governor Jerry Brown took the first step towards taking control over the situation. He recently signed a new law that is referred to as the SB9. This legislation states that a juvenile criminal, who was sentenced to life in prison, will have the right to petition a judge to reconsider his sentence. Sure enough, there are certain conditions here. First of all, the inmate, who committed a severe crime, will need to serve 15 years in jail before getting this right. In case the judge will find that the inmate is really demonstrating sincere remorse and signs of rehabilitation, he may change the sentence to 25 to life.

Of course, this law is quite contradictory one. On one hand, this way, people, who truly regret committing their crimes and are actually ready to get back into society, will get a chance to start a new life. Not all the juvenile criminals are monsters. In fact, some people may well be victims of the justice system. It does not mean that every single one of them deserves this chance, but some juvenile criminals should have this solution in order to be reintegrated properly into the society. On the other hand, it is not very difficult to imagine all the feelings and emotions of the victim’s loved ones, who were given a promise that the killer will remain behind bars forever. These people will be shocked with such a decision. Nevertheless, this option may very well be the best one to date.

The Governor took the very first step to improving the justice system and he began with a very acute issue that raises many questions and controversy. Needless to say, the SB9 law will not be received well by everyone, but it may well be a necessary measure that will help a lot of people and their families. Sure enough, if one of your family members is now eligible to benefit from the SB9 law, it is very important to hire a professional attorney, who will be able to make things right and will ensure that the judge will get the full comprehensive picture. Indeed, only a truly qualified as well as experienced Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer will be able to deal with such cases and only then will your loved one have an actual chance to leave the prison at a certain point of his life. If you hope that the SB9 law will allow you to finally reunite with your loved ones, do not hesitate to get in touch with a professional attorney and he will definitely be more than happy to provide you with all the legal advice possible. Take this chance and who knows – maybe your family member really deserves to return to a normal life once again.