Brain Research Raises Questions on Treatment of Young Defendants
Science on brain development is intensifying the debate over whether minors should be tried as adults for serious crimes.
Recent research shows the brain’s prefrontal cortex governing reasoning develops more slowly than the limbic system governing emotions, the Washington Post reports. The two parts of the brain don’t begin working together until a youth reaches maturity.
As a result, youths are more impulsive and less likely to anticipate the consequences of their actions, researchers have concluded. The differences between youthful and adult brains can be seen in brain scan imagery.
Lawyers defending youths accused of crimes are citing the evidence in court and looking for experts to help them. Psychology professor Laurence Steinberg of Temple University, an expert in adolescent development, says he gets many calls from defense lawyers who want him to act as a consultant.
“There is a whole set of abilities that are still maturing after age 16,” Steinberg told the Post. The research “has changed my mind about where the boundary should be drawn between adolescence and adulthood. Even at 21 or 22, kids are still developing competencies.”
Baruch Fischhoff, a professor of social and decision sciences at Carnegie Mellon University, cautions that brain science offers an incomplete picture of adolescent development. He also wonders if the research will be applied to underage youths in other settings, to justify a ban on the morning-after pill or a ban on abortions without parental consent.
Prosecutors could also use the science, arguing a longer sentence is justified for youths who are apt to err a second time because of their immature brains.
