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Adjusting The Bright-Line Age Of Accountability Within The Criminal Justice System: Raising The Age Of Majority To Age 21 Based On The Conclusions Of Scientific Studies Regarding Neurological Development And Culpability Of Young-Adult Offenders, Carly Loomis-Gustafson
Duquesne Law Review
The criminal justice system determines a criminal actor's liability based primarily on the age of the actor at the time of the offense, adhering to a rule instituted by arbitrary designation of adulthood at the age of eighteen. Solely, this line determines the degree of treatment a criminal defendant will receive within the system, with more punitive measures being reserved for adult offenders and greater rehabilitative efforts made for juvenile offenders. Despite the many concessions made within the criminal system, this rule is concrete and rarely questioned.
However, studies of neurological development show that the part of the brain directly …