Critical Thinking Assignment on Jacob Ind - Essay Example

AJacob Ind is one of the youth the PBS website profiles as serving life without parole. 15-year-old Ind killed his abusive parents on Dec. 17, 1992 after years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse and the judge convicted him of two counts of first-degree murder. Jacob's older brother, Charles testified that they underwent molestation at the hands of their stepfather, Kermode, who created an environment of indescribable sexual abuse. This, coupled with emotional battering from his mother, made him commit the crime.

The judge gave him a mandatory sentence of life without parole because as a child offender, he was not eligible for the death penalty (PBS).BJacob Ind faced several risk factors that might have contributed to their criminal activity. Behavioral and social factors were the major risk factors in his case (Cole, Smith, & DeJong 40). He lived in a poor family structure characterized by home dissonance, child abuse, and inconsiderate parents, which resulted in his delinquency. His father was physically abusive, while his mother perpetrated emotional abuse.

Ind thought about killing his parents for over three years, and finally did it because he saw no way out of the abuse from his parents. Although the punishment for murder is legally proscribed, Ind does not have a blameworthy frame of mind (Cole, Smith, & DeJong 84). His actions resulted from the risk factors his parents exposed him to at home. If he were an adult and of a mature mind, he would have simply walked away from home and lived elsewhere from his abusive parents. CI do not think that a sentence of life without the possibility of parole is a just punishment for Jacob Ind.

There is enough evidence of the motive of the criminal offense, and it was plainly because of the torture from his parents. It is a cruel and unusual punishment for a teenager to undergo a life sentence without parole for an offense done out self-defense, without any ulterior motive. In fact, Ind believed that the marijuana in his bedroom was a more serious offense that the murder of his oppressive parents. The wealth of characteristics and circumstances attendant to the offense is convincing enough for a lesser sentence by the judge.

The PBS website indicates, “Even some of the jurors who convicted him wonder if he deserved life without parole”. The life sentence without parole was an unfortunate sentence for Jacob Ind. DI believe that the death penalty and sentences of life imprisonment are both punitive measures that significantly change the life of a youth offender. It should be unconstitutional for youth to receive sentences of life imprisonment because their cognitive ability in decision-making is not fully developed.

Jacob Ind was only fifteen years old at the time of the murder, and obviously, his cognitive ability in measures to address the physical and emotional abuse from his parents. Judges must consider the age of the defendant, the nature of the crime and the associated motives, before making a decision on a life sentence without any hope of parole. Despite the gravity of Ind’s offence, he deserved a lesser sentence, for example, life with the possibility of parole. In the main, it contravenes the eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishments.

Works CitedCole, George, Smith, Christopher, & DeJong, Christina. Criminal Justice in America (seventh Ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. 2014. PBS. FRONTLINE. Profiles. Wgbh educational foundation. May 8, 2007.