ipl-logo

Argumentative Essay On Prop 21

1514 Words7 Pages

California Proposition 21- Victim Rights and Justice Trumps Criminals’ Author Name Student Number Abstract 15 years ago, California passed a law lowering the bars to prosecute serious juvenile offenders as adults. It increased the circumstances where juveniles would be charged as adults, as well as designated more offenses as serious, violent and dangerous. Since that day, debates and protests against Proposition 21 never stopped. This paper introduces Proposition 21 as well as analyzing different arguments for and against it, and finally drawing to the conclusion that justice for victims is more crucial than mercy for criminals. Introduction California Proposition 21, also known as Prop 21, was passed on the March 7, 2000 ballot with a …show more content…

They say law enforcement must have more power to prosecute and convict juvenile offenders for serious crimes and to deal with gang members. Con: Opponents say Department of Justice statistics show that serious juvenile crime has steadily declined in recent years and California already has tough laws against gangs and youth crime. They argue that the measure carries a high price tag; more jails and prisons will need to be built, taking money away from other government services and current efforts to prevent violence. Case Examples One of the most discussed cases was that of Alonza Thomas, Opponents of Prop 21 are furious with his case; they state that, not only did Alonza hurt no one, he also suffered permanent harm from the prison. They believe that he would have been better off without Prop 21, and he would have turned into a much better person. “He was punished, he was taken off the streets at- during the time period when he was most likely to commit another crime.” Ed Jagels commented. “You can’t afford to spend an inordinate amount of time feeling sorry for people, no matter how young, who are willing to commit

Show More
Related
590 Words | 3 Pages

In the discussion of the 8th amendment, this paper will examine: the history of the 8th amendment, the interpretations made by courts regarding 8th, and how the 8th affects us today. The Amendment first was ratified in 1791 along with the nine other amendments to form the bill of rights. The bill of rights is used to “lists specific prohibitions on governmental power.” (“Bill of Rights”). By doing this, the government has less power to not make the citizens feel like that even the government has to follow some sort of procedure and would stabilize the power the government has from having either too much or too little.

Read More
899 Words | 4 Pages

At the age of 16 years old Alonza Thomas, a typical teenage boy, was given a 13 year sentence for second degree armed robbery. It all started when he ran away from home; his mother was upset with him so he left to avoid dealing with the problem. He met someone while trying to find a place to stay and he offered him a place to sleep and some hot food. When Alonza had finally decided it was time for him to go home and face his mother, they demanded that he repay them somehow. They held him at gun point, making it apparent that they weren’t going to back down if he went against what they wanted.

Read More
269 Words | 2 Pages

They Did It ! Recently a decision was made that will change America forever. On August 18th Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the 19th amendment, therefore granting women the right to vote in all states. This decision with certainly be met with both support and opposition from many.

Read More
2267 Words | 10 Pages

The book provide examples of authorities, such as the Governor Edwin Edwards, who acknowledge that the criminal system is flawed and demands reform. Yet, because of political reasons, they prefer to ignore facts and not be the one responsible for contradicting the system and risking their job. Prejean proves that by choosing to let injustice to happen, even if it is not in their power to change, those authorities are being as immoral as the penal system itself. I find that the most valuable message the author is trying to provide us is how important personal responsibility is in order to fight for justice. By the end of the book, the reader understands that we are responsible not only for our own actions, but also for the fact that we are aware of injustice and, yet, chooses to do nothing about it.

Read More
1292 Words | 6 Pages

The federal government’s “War on Crime” by the Johnson administration in the 60s made way for tougher law enforcement and surveillance (Hinton, 2015). However, with this came the separation of children and adults in the criminal justice system; then the separation of juvenile delinquents from status offenders. As mentioned, status offenders are different from juvenile delinquents because they had broken rules which apply to only children. Meanwhile, juvenile delinquents are youths under the age of 18, who committed offenses that would be punishable to adults as well. By the late 1960s, there became a growing concern that juveniles involved in the court-based status-offense system, were not getting their best interests met (Shubik & Kendall, 2007).

Read More
881 Words | 4 Pages

Within that statistic, most of the imprisoned are non-violent offenders. The problem starts with Arizona’s mandatory imprisonment laws. Research highlights that, “under Arizona's mandatory sentencing system, non-violent offenders make up the majority of state prisoners” (Greene). However, the mandatory sentencing does not just affect Arizona’s population. All across America, mandatory sentencing laws are forcing people to be put into prisons without a second thought.

Read More
928 Words | 4 Pages

Angela Davis Once said “Well for one, The 13th Amendment to the constitution of the U.S. which abolished slavery, did not abolish slavery for those convicted of a crime.” Although the amendment was desperately needed it made more problems for the U.S.The thirteenth amendment was about abolishing slavery. Many people had different opinions about this amendment. The amendment affected our nation dramatically. The 13th amendment to the United States Constitution says that, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Read More
1528 Words | 7 Pages

Crimes are happening around us whether we pay attention to them or not. Those crimes as dangerous as murder are committed by all ages but should younger criminal in their juvenile age received the same punishment as older criminals. On June 25, 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that juveniles committed murder could not be sentenced to life in prison because it violates the Eighth Amendment.(On-Demand Writing Assignment Juvenile Justice) Advocates on the concurring side believes that mandatory life in prison is wrong and should be abolish. However, the dissenting side believe that keeping the there should be a life in prison punishment for juvenile who commit heinous crime regardless of their age.

Read More
1449 Words | 6 Pages

Another perspective surrounding the American criminal justice system is that people only criticize the system because the results they wanted did not occur. Some people go as far as to say, “THE criminal justice system doesn 't work” (Haberman). But why do people have these strong feelings against the American criminal justice system? Haberman’s interesting viewpoint answers that question when he says, “It seems to be a popular pastime: trashing the system when it does not produce the results you want.” From this quotation one can consider that some people disparage the system so heavily because they disagree with the rulings, not because the judgements are wrong, but simply because they do not like them.

Read More
521 Words | 3 Pages

The 26th amendment states “The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.” My opinion on the 26 amendment is that the voting age should be lowered to 16 instead of 18. I also believe the 2nd amendment should be change which also expresses “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Changing the 26th amendment could gradually increase society being safer. I feel the 26th amendment should be change because people of teenage years seem to know just as much about politics as much as older people.

Read More
506 Words | 3 Pages

We have seen today in society of how crime rates have been rampant and how statistics show that most of the crimes were being made by minors. I believe that when most of them look at the bottom of these young offenders come disproportionately from impoverished single-parent homes that are located in the neighbourhoods desinvertido and have high rates of learning disabilities, mental health, and substance abuse and problems with the help of the system of juvenile justice that can make a great return on a successful transition to adulthood. Their ages ranged from 20 and under, most are under fifteen years of age. Juveniles tried as adults must assume the same consequences as any other criminal and are subject to state prisons with inmates much higher and that have probably committed crimes much more tortuous then you could ever have. These minors between the ages of nine to twenty according to the offence committed or of the number of times that are prosecuted and believe that it is immutable.

Read More
1392 Words | 6 Pages

Similarly, trying teens as adults will hold them accountable for their actions which will reduce the crime

Read More
731 Words | 3 Pages

Today we are going to be talking about the Youth Criminal Justice Act aka (YCJA) and all of its pros and cons. In social we are deciding about the YCJA and if it is fair and equitable. Pros of the YCJA are that it brings a line to the criminal justice system and it helps youth not get a criminal record. Cons of the YCJA is that it's ineffective and doesn't really stop youth from committing the crime and it makes youth think that they have a free pass or a slap on the wrist. What I think about the YCJA, that it’s a waste of money on taxpayers, government and that it is ineffective because youth still commit the same crimes over and over again.

Read More
1979 Words | 8 Pages

In today’s world there are countless crimes committed every single day. “In 2015, there were 1.42 million total arrests, at a rate of 3,641 arrests per 100,000 residents” (State of California, Department of Justice). Grown adults are not the only people being arrested every year, there are also juveniles, children, being arrested every day. One topic of controversy today is whether or not juveniles who commit these crimes should be tried as adults in criminal court. There are many differences between the justice system for adults and the justice system for juveniles.

Read More
1043 Words | 5 Pages

Annotated bibliography Childress, S. (2016, June 2). More States Consider Raising the Age for Juvenile Crime. Retrieved from PBS: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/more-states-consider-raising-the-age-for-juvenile-crime/ More states are considering to raising the age for juvenile crimes before being tried as adult because young offender's mental capacity. The idea is to cut the cost of incarcerate young offender in adult prison and ensure offenders to receive proper education and specialized care to change their behavior. Putting children in adult prison does not deter crime.

Read More

More about Argumentative Essay On Prop 21

Related Topics

Open Document