Editorial

New York state must raise the age

Posted

We don’t need brain studies to tell us that teenagers, particularly 16- to 18-year-olds, often act impulsively, with seeming disregard for the consequences of their actions. Studies help explain such behavior, though.

Researcher Deborah Yurgelun-Todd, of McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., recently asked teens and adults to describe the expressions on people’s faces in photographs. Fear was painted so clearly on one woman’s face that you would assume both groups would have had no trouble identifying her emotion.

Without exception, the adults could. But nearly none of the teens could.

Teenagers, it turns out, rely on a different section of the brain than adults do to make decisions. Specifically, they depend on the amygdala, which governs emotion, and they often make snap decisions, without thinking things through. Adults rely on the frontal cortex, which governs reason.

By their size, teenagers might look like adults, but they aren’t. We often hear that they’re old enough to understand the difference between right and wrong. And, yes, to a great extent that’s true. They make mistakes, however –– lots of mistakes, especially when it comes to ethical decision-making. It is part and parcel of the maturation process.

That’s why 48 of 50 states recognize that teenagers should, generally speaking, be treated as juveniles under the law, and not as adults –– at least the non-violent offenders. Under New York law, however, even non-violent 16- and 17-year-olds are considered adults, and often end up in prison side by side with hardened criminals who are significantly older –– and significantly more schooled in breaking the law.

New York and North Carolina are the only two states that treat teen offenders as adults. That has to change. It is high time that both states raise the age of adult criminal responsibility to 18.

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