How Should Justice Policy Treat Young Offenders?
MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Law and Neuroscience, February 2017
Vanderbilt Law Research Paper No. 17-9
5 Pages Posted: 28 Feb 2017 Last revised: 26 Apr 2017
BJ Casey
Yale University - Department of Psychology
Richard J. Bonnie
University of Virginia School of Law
Andre Davis
US Court of Appeals - Fourth Circuit
David L. Faigman
UC Law, San Francisco
Morris B. Hoffman
Second Judicial District Court Judge, State of Colorado
Owen D. Jones
Vanderbilt University - Law School & Dept. of Biological Sciences
Read Montague
Virginia Tech - Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute
Stephen Morse
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
Marcus E. Raichle
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Neurology; Washington University in St. Louis - Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology; Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Biomedical Engineering; Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Neuroscience
Jennifer Richeson
Yale University - Department of Psychology
Elizabeth S. Scott
Columbia University - Law School
Laurence Steinberg
Temple University - Department of Psychology
Kim A. Taylor-Thompson
New York University School of Law
Anthony D. Wagner
Stanford University - Department of Psychology
Date Written: February 1, 2017
Abstract
The justice system in the United States has long recognized that juvenile offenders are not the same as adults, and has tried to incorporate those differences into law and policy. But only in recent decades have behavioral scientists and neuroscientists, along with policymakers, looked rigorously at developmental differences, seeking answers to two overarching questions: Are young offenders, purely by virtue of their immaturity, different from older individuals who commit crimes? And, if they are, how should justice policy take this into account?
A growing body of research on adolescent development now confirms that teenagers are indeed inherently different from adults, not only in their behaviors, but also (and of course relatedly) in the ways their brains function. These findings have influenced a series of Supreme Court decisions relating to the treatment of adolescents, and have led legislators and other policymakers across the country to adopt a range of developmentally informed justice policies.
New research is showing distinct changes in the brains of young adults, ages 18 to 21, suggesting that they too may be immature in ways that are relevant to justice policy. This knowledge brief from the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Law and Neuroscience considers the implications of this new research.
Keywords: Juvenile justice, adolescent, children, minors, brain, brain imaging, neuroscience, law and neuroscience, neurolaw, neuroimaging, cognitive neuroscience, cognitive psychology, maturity, functional magnetic resonance imaging, fMRI, responsibility, culpability, mens rea, punishment, crime
JEL Classification: K14, K40, K42
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
BJ Casey
Yale University - Department of Psychology ( email )
P.O. Box 208205
New Haven, CT 06520-8205
United States
HOME PAGE: http://psychology.yale.edu/people/bj-casey
Richard J. Bonnie

University of Virginia School of Law ( email )
580 Massie Road
Charlottesville, VA 22903
United States
Andre Davis
US Court of Appeals - Fourth Circuit ( email )
United States
Morris B. Hoffman
Second Judicial District Court Judge, State of Colorado ( email )
Denver, CO
United States
Owen D. Jones (Contact Author)

Vanderbilt University - Law School & Dept. of Biological Sciences ( email )
131 21st Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37203-1181
United States
HOME PAGE: http://law.vanderbilt.edu/bio/owen-jones
Read Montague
Virginia Tech - Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute ( email )
2 Riverside Circle
Roanoke, VA 24016
United States
540-526-2000 (Phone)
HOME PAGE: http://research.vtc.vt.edu/employees/read-montague/
Stephen J. Morse

University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School ( email )
3501 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
United States
Marcus E. Raichle
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Neurology ( email )
St. Louis, MO
United States
Washington University in St. Louis - Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology ( email )
St. Louis, MO
United States
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Biomedical Engineering ( email )
One Brookings Drive
Campus Box 1208
Saint Louis, MO 63130-4899
United States
Washington University in St. Louis - Department of Neuroscience ( email )
One Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO 63130
United States
Jennifer Richeson
Yale University - Department of Psychology ( email )
P.O. Box 208205
New Haven, CT 06520-8205
United States
HOME PAGE: http://psychology.yale.edu/people/jennifer-richeson
Elizabeth S. Scott

Columbia University - Law School ( email )
435 West 116th Street
New York, NY 10025
United States
(212) 854-9758 (Phone)
(212) 854-7946 (Fax)
Laurence Steinberg
Temple University - Department of Psychology ( email )
Weiss Hall
1701 N. 13th St.
Philadelphia, PA 19122
United States
Kim A. Taylor-Thompson

New York University School of Law ( email )
245 Sullivan Street, 627
New York, NY 10012-1099
United States
(212) 998-6396 (Phone)
(212) 995-4031 (Fax)
HOME PAGE: https://its.law.nyu.edu/facultyprofiles/profile.cfm?personID=20328
Anthony D. Wagner
Stanford University - Department of Psychology ( email )
Stanford, CA 94305
United States
(650) 723-4048 (Phone)
(650) 725-5699 (Fax)
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