‘Children Do Not Have the Same Capacity as Adults to Control Their Reactions.’

“Children do not have the same capacity as adults to control their reactions.”

“As a former juvenile court judge and a parent of three young adult children, I have seen firsthand what adolescent brain research has confirmed: children do not have the same capacity as adults to control their reactions, think through the long-term consequences of their behaviors or avoid pressure from peers and adults. We know that most children grow out of any propensity for illegality by the time they reach their late 20s. Accordingly, we do not need lengthy sentences such as life (with or without parole) to protect public safety.”

— Gail Garinger, Child Advocate for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in response to What’s Justice for Kids Who Kill?

“Prisons do bad things to all people who occupy them.”

“Dana Goldstein’s assessment of the literature on prison guards neglected to consider some recent research that links prison guards’ perceptions about the people under their care and their jobs in the context of a broader socio-political landscape…In an evaluation of prisons in England, for example, researchers from the University of Cambridge found that staff perceptions of safety — or the lack of it — were related less to actual levels of violence than to staff members’ trust in senior management and their confidence in their job…Prisons do bad things to all people who occupy them.”

— Alexandra Cox, sociology professor at SUNY New Paltz, in response toWhat Are Corrections Officers So Afraid Of?

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By Jasmine Lee 7/24/2015