If the judge sustains the petition filed by Yook for Isaiah to become a ward of the court, the judge will consider what to do with the boy.
“It’s like sentencing,” Rummell said. “There is not a punishment component. It’s what is in the best interest of the juvenile – what is most likely to allow the juvenile to rehabilitate.”
Rummell said the science involving the development of juveniles is a fascinating field.
“If you have kids, you know this. Teenagers’ and juveniles’ frontal lobe haven’t developed until their early 20s. The frontal lobe controls impetuous behavior, impulsive behavior, the ability to evaluate risks and to truly appreciate the consequences of actions. Many times, juveniles do things without really fully understanding the extent of their actions or resulting consequences. I would argue, this makes them less culpable for the crimes they commit.”
Such thinking was justified in Supreme Court decisions in 2005, 2010 and last year, Rummell said.
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Another common misconception centers on juveniles’ attitudes while in the courtroom.
“There is a fundamental failure to comprehend their action, what death means, how final it is,” Rummell said. “A lot of times juveniles have a very flat persona. That is often interpreted as a lack of remorse, empathy for the crime they’ve committed. In fact, it’s often an inability to comprehend what’s going on. They shut down as a coping mechanism. Those types of reactions are typical of juveniles.”
