The factors behind cognitive development raise many philosophical questions. But the most important are arguably those related to how we punish criminals, especially young men, whose brains develop an average of two years later than women.
“The preponderance of young men engaging in these deadly, evil, and stupid acts of violence may be a result of brains that have yet to fully developed,” Howard Forman, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, told Business Insider.
So, does that mean young criminals — say, 19- to 25-year-olds — should be receive the same punishment as a 35-year-old who commits the same crime? Both criminals would still be guilty, but each might not necessarily deserve the same punishment, as Laurence Steinberg, a professor of psychology at Temple University, told Newsweek.
“It’s not about guilt or innocence… The question is, ‘How culpable are they, and how do we punish them?’”
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