BCTR associate director Chris Wildeman sits in for Karl Pillemer this episode. Our guest James Garbarino argues that teenage killers are not doomed to a life of violence and most can be reahabilitated by the time they are fully-developed adults. They also talk about sentencing in these cases, how the judicial system deals with young killers, and what could be changed to better serve this youth while keeping the public safe.

James Garbarino holds the Maude Clarke Chair in Psychology and was founding director of the Center for the Human Rights of Children at Loyola University Chicago. His research focuses on issues in the social ecology of child and adolescent development. He has a long-standing interest in a wide range of violence-related issues, including war, child maltreatment, childhood aggression, and juvenile delinquency. Since 1994, he has served as a scientific expert witness in murder cases. Among the books he has authored are: "Miller’s Children: Why Giving Teenage Killers a Second Chance Matters for All of Us" (2018) and "Listening to Killers" (2015).