1. Juvenile Justice http://video.pbs.org/video/1500636711 http://video.pbs.org/video/1500636711  Is it right for us, as a society, to try juveniles as adults and sentence them accordingly?  Should it depend on the maturity level of the criminal or the nature of their crime?  Are there other unfair practices and biases at work in our justice system?

2. Justice for Joe  “Life? My mama gave me life...why'd they want to take that from me?” - Joe Sullivan  Joe was sentenced to life in prison for burglary/assault - has served 21 years at the time of interview. Slight mental disability, suffers from MS, and is confined to a wheelchair.  Court heard his case (though many inconsistencies and unlawful practices plagued his trial) at age 13, and sentenced him to life without parole.  Voice recognition was used to identify Joe, after prosecutor's coached the witness on correctly identifying him.  Victim never saw her attacker, though another witness described seeing “a colored boy, a dark- colored boy” at the home. http://www.eji.org/childrenprison/deathinprison/sullivan.graham http://www.eji.org/childrenprison/deathinprison/sullivan.graham

3. Interview - Joe Sullivan  What do you notice about Joe's maturity level? What does he say he wants to do when/if he gets out?  Do you think that if Joe were to be released, he would participate in another burglary/assault?  Is it possible that race might have factored into Joe's trial and incarceration?

4. Alyssa Bustamante Admitted to viciously killing her 9yo neighbor, Elizabeth. Dug the grave, stabbed/strangled her victim, and hid the body; later bragged about doing so in her diary. Noted that “killing people” was a hobby on her youtube profile. After committing homicide at age 15, Alyssa was sentenced to life in prison with the chance of parole.

5. Interview - Dr. Lawrence Steinberg “Compared to adults, adolescents still have a relatively immature system to control their impulses and to think ahead. It's premature to make a conclusion about someone based on what he did when he was thirteen years old; I doubt if there are very many people around who, as adults, would want to be judged on the basis of things they did when they were thirteen.” - Professor Lawrence Steinberg, developmental psychologist, expert on adolescent behavior and brain biology.

6. What would the doctor say…  What, in your opinion, would Dr. Steinberg say about Alyssa Bustamante’s crime?  Do you feel that Alyssa was aware of what she was doing/consequences that could result?  Do you feel that society should give Alyssa another chance?  Do you feel that society should give Joe another chance?  Does it seem odd that Joe didn’t kill anyone, but was sentenced to life in prison, while Alyssa did and may one day get out?