Earlier last week, Obama gave a speech about solitary confinement for juveniles. He began with a story about young adult Kalief Browder, who spent over two years in solitary confinement while awaiting trial for stealing a backpack. He ended up never standing trial and was released, suffering for years with mental problems before finally committing suicide in 2013 at age 22.

Let me back up for a second. A teenager, who had not even been convicted of any crime (mind you, this was also a simple theft) had to spent two years, 24 months, 730 days, completely alone, without any contact with the outside world, much less anyone else.

This cannot happen in America.

It’s not even just the nature of his crime or the fact that Browder had not been convicted. It’s that he, a teenager, was left completely alone in a room for an extremely extended period. Just as Obama argued on Monday, there is a fundamental problem with this and juveniles should not be kept in solitude.

Teenagers’ brains continue to develop well past their early years. As they grow older and interact with the world, they begin to develop reasoning and judgment skills that most grown adults have. Therefore, some of the actions committed by teens may be reflective of this period of development; meaning they have not completely matured.

This does not mean juveniles are not responsible for their actions. It simply means that the mistakes they make should be presented as a learning opportunity instead of an action that must be harshly punished.

Juveniles learn nothing from being in solitary confinement. Many of these young adults come from broken homes and have experienced a systematic lack of love throughout their lives. Though the mistakes or actions they make warrant punishment, they should also come with support and therapy to move on from this dark time in their lives.

Solitary confinement is known to produce lasting psychological issues. Those in solitary confinement are more likely to develop mental illnesses or commit suicide. For those at the beginning of their lives, solitary confinement disrupts the necessary brain development that is occurring.

Juveniles commit heinous crimes. They also commit low-level crimes. Neither should be put in solitary confinement. For many of these juveniles, they have the chance to go back out into the world. By counseling them and encouraging them to grow and learn from their mistakes, these juveniles would be able to lead a normal life, free of mental illness.

All teenagers make mistakes. Some go to juvenile prison for these mistakes. However, they deserve a second chance, not to be thrown into a tiny cell to spend the rest of their time alone. As Obama said, “the punishment must fit the crime.” No crime committed by someone in a juvenile detention center deserves solitary confinement.