We’ve all messed up. There is no denying it. None of us can claim perfection. And in that lies a certain solace because we all know someday, somehow the perfect neighbor next door will screw up and we will be there to point it out to him.

Yet, we still seek that unattainable perfection. And when a person fails to achieve it, as a society, we punish them. But at what point does punishment become too much? Aren’t we all entitled to a second chance? If you don’t think so then I KNOW you’re full of shit. Who says, “You know what? If I mess up, no matter what the circumstances, I deserve whatever comes to me?” None of us would agree to that. But that is exactly what is happening in our prison systems, whether we realize it or not.

I recently read an alarming piece of news that, frankly, scared and pissed me the hell off. Apparently, young children are being sentenced to life in prison without the possibility for parole for crimes they committed as minors. Now before everyone gets up in arms about whether their crimes justified such a sentence, there is a much larger issue. These KIDS will never be out of jail, nor will the ever have the CHANCE to. That is my problem.

I’m not arguing that they are kids and therefore don’t deserve punishment. We all agree that regardless of age, if you take another life you should be behind bars. What we shouldn’t be in accordance with is the denial of even the possibility of parole. In these wonderful United States, 45 states have chosen to allow life sentences without the possibility of parole to minors. But don’t worry, if you get in on it early and decide to screw up big time before the age of 14, only 19 of those states can still make you a lifer.

Please tell me how that is fair or makes any sense at all. I understand accountability, but at the same time we are talking about KIDS. If you were held responsible for every mistake you made as a child and irrevocably condemned for them where would you be today? This is what upsets me, and hopefully you too. How are we okay with condemning kids at such a young age without ever giving them a chance to change? Hopefully we aren’t, because if we give up on the belief that people can change, then we have no business claiming we deserve a second chance.

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