IntroductionShortly after three in the morning on March 6, 2010, a fourteen-year-old boy named Dakotah Eliason, held a gun next to his sleeping grandfather and pulled the trigger, killing him. These actions began with an internal debate about suicide or murder. When Dakotah decided to kill, her thoughts turned to the best murder course: gagging her grandfather, using a steak knife, or using the gun in her hand. Dakotah chooses the gun. (Aviv, 2012, pg.2) After his arrest, Dakota was filmed singing in the back of a police car, talking to a police officer about his father, and ultimately showing no memory of his actions. All of these actions, accompanied by the emotional detachment shown during the interrogation, led the Michigan prosecutors to decide that Dakotah would be tried as an adult for first-degree murder. In Michigan, a first-degree murder charge carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole (Aviv, 2012, p. 1,2). If this situation were a normal circumstance, people would think that life in prison is a fair punishment. However, this case is not the normal case, the perpetrator was a fourteen year old boy, who perhaps could one day be rehabilitated, and who did not have the mental capacity to show remorse as adults would. Sentencing juveniles to life in prison without the possibility of parole seems unfair and cruel. Over the years history has changed public opinion on punishment, more research has been discovered proving the wrongfulness of the action, all of which indicates that there had been an option for a more appropriate sentence to be passed. History of Juveniles and Life in PrisonIn In the past the United States was known for being one of the few nations that imposed life sentences without parole hear......middle of paper......me of the trial. Giving Dakohta a more moderate sentence would not have prevented him from escaping punishment but, instead, would have given him the opportunity and will to be rehabilitated. Furthermore, life without parole for all juveniles is unconstitutional and when you sentence a child to die in prison without even attempting to determine whether they truly cannot be rehabilitated, the fact that life without parole violates the International Covenant Party on civil and political rights and the fact that the United States' violation of the Eighth Amendment makes the practice of sending juveniles to life in prison without parole is very troubling. Furthermore, with the lack of evidence that life sentences in prison have no deterrent effect on young people, this proves my point and that of others that this type of sentence should no longer exist..