Don't execute juvenile offenders

By DAVID FASSLER
KNIGHT RIDDER/TRIBUNE
When I started medical school, over 20 years ago, the dean met with us on the first day and told us, "Half of what we're going to teach you is wrong ... the problem is, we don't know which half."
It turns out that the nature of brain development was one of those areas where our existing assumptions and knowledge were less than fully accurate.
At that time, it was widely assumed and taught that brain development was essentially complete by the age of 3.
Today, we realize this is far from the case.
Recent research has demonstrated that the brain continues to change and mature throughout childhood and well into adolescence.
Teenage years
We now understand that the teenage years, in particular, are a very active time of growth and development at the physical level of the brain.
We have also learned that the primitive, or instinctual part of the brain develops first, followed by the parts of the brain that control reasoning and help us think before we act.
Scientific research using functional magnetic resonance imaging has also demonstrated that adolescents actually use their brains differently than adults when solving problems.
For example, they tend to rely more on instinctual structures, like the amygdala, and less on the more advanced areas, like the frontal lobes, which are associated with more goal-oriented and rational thinking.
They also have a greater tendency to misunderstand social cues and overreact to stressful or uncertain situations.
These findings suggest that from a biological perspective, an anxious adolescent with a gun in a gas station or a convenience store is significantly more likely to pull the trigger than an adult would be under the exact same circumstances.
Based on the stage of their brain development, teenagers are more likely to act on impulse, and less likely to think twice, change their mind, or pause to consider the consequences and the finality of their actions.
I am not suggesting that these issues in any way excuse violent criminal activities, but I do think the information is relevant and helpful as we try to understand the impact of biology and brain development on adolescent behavior and culpability. I also believe that adolescents who commit crimes, even serious crimes, require a different response than adults who commit comparable offenses.
Wednesday the Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments in Roper v. Simmons to determine the constitutionality of the juvenile death penalty.
Amicus brief
The biology of adolescence is the primary reason why the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Society for Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Academy of Psychiatry of the Law have filed an amicus brief in this case, in which they state their opposition to the execution of juvenile offenders.
As a physician, it is my hope that the discussion of this case will be informed by a careful review of the recent research findings as well as our contemporary understanding of adolescent brain development and behavior.
If it is, I believe the court will decide that it's time to end the practice of executing juvenile offenders.
X The writer is a practicing child and adolescent psychiatrist and a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Vermont. He is also a Trustee at Large of the American Psychiatric Association. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.