Adults And Juveniles: Article Analysis

Most people tend to critique adults and Juveniles differently and similar depending on the subject that is being discussed. What happens when they commit a crime should they be treated equally or should one be given a break because they are less experienced. In a case on June 25, 2012 the subject, whether a juvenile should receive a life sentence arose in the Supreme court. This Conflict leads me to believe that Juveniles should receive the life sentence they truly deserve not based on their age or their status of their mentality, but it should be based on the damage that they caused.

Some people give sympathy to the juveniles who were raised in tough neighborhoods and argue that some teenagers grew up with crime around them, that they

In the Article “Kids are kids-until they commit crimes” Published in the Sacramento Bee on March 1, 2001 Marie Lundstorm discusses how kids who are charged as adults, deserve to be sent to a juvenile court because after all they are still kids. Lundstorm argues that, “the bigger the crime, the more eager we are to call them adults.”(5) I agree with Lundstorm, some teenagers who committed an insignificant crime are seen as adults when they should be looked as the teenager that they are. On the other hand, some teenagers never “grow up.” Not everyone is the same, so it is not fair to say that all teenagers have the same mental capability at a certain age because we all mature at different ages. In the Article “Greg Ousley is sorry for killing his parents. Is that good enough.” published on July 19,2012 Scott Anderson explores the story of 19 year old Greg Ousley, who killed his parents and is now reminiscing on the events and is now telling his side of the story. Scott Anderson mentions that, “ his is or was a teenage boy who planned and carried out a crime so unthinkable that to most people it is not just a moral transgression, but almost a biological one.” (14) This comes to show that some teenager already have the capability to bring out a horrendous crime and should therefore be punished with the sentence they

Not necessarily, in the Article “Startling finds on teenage brains”, published in Sacramento Bee, May 5 2001 Paul Thompson takes a look at how teenagers actually lose brain cells during their teenage years and therefore should not be charged as adults. Thompson reports that, “brain cells and corrections are only being lost in the areas controlling impulses, risk taking, and self-control.” This proves that juveniles do not use their brains when making choices. On the other hand, they are their choices and should therefore be sentenced to the punishment that they deserve. In the Article, “On punishment and teen killers” published by the juveniles justice information exchange August 2,2011 Jennifer Jenkins focuses on that juveniles should get the sentence they served no matter what age they have. Jenkins points out that, “if Brain development were the reason, then teens would kill at roughly the same rates all over the world.” I agree with this because the United States has the most crimes committed by juveniles. It is strange that juveniles here in the united states seem to be more involved with committing crimes. Using the excuse that the teenagers brain development is not there seems to be more of an excuse because if that were the case then we would have high percentages of juvenile