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Arguments Against Proposition 21

1310 Words6 Pages

Should Juveniles get a second chance at life when they murder an innocent person? I believe they should not be given a second chance because a person who murders someone else with intent is clearly unfit to be a part of our society. The lives of the victim and their family will never be the same. These juveniles clearly understand that raping or killing is wrong. That is why Proposition 21 was passed in California back in 2000. This proposition made various changes to California's laws related to the treatment of juvenile offenders. It is a good law because it holds young men and women accountable for their actions. According to the BALLOTPEDIA website, The California Attorney General prepared the Proposition 21 ballot measure with the intent to increase punishment for gang-related felonies; death penalty for gang-related murder; indeterminate life sentences for home-invasion robbery, carjacking, witness intimidation and drive-by shootings; and creates crime of recruiting for gang activities; and authorizes wiretapping for gang activities. It requires adult trial for juveniles fourteen or older charged with murder or specified sex offenses. It eliminates informal probation for juveniles …show more content…

By the age of fourteen a person understands that raping or killing someone is absolutely wrong. How would you feel if a good friend of yours was shot and killed by a fourteen year old kid who only got ten years in prison? I would be very upset knowing that they could possibly be out of prison within ten years and be living a normal life. Yet my friend wouldn't be able to be with his friends and family anymore. The juvenile criminals are not fit to be a part of society the moment they decide to kill or severely hurt someone. They have no regard for human life and therefore, they should be locked up or given the death penalty depending on the severity of their

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955 Words | 4 Pages

The exact definition of a juvenile is a “young person” who has yet to reach their 18th birthday. The average life expectancy of someone living in the U.S. is about 79 years old. Proposition 21 requires juveniles to be viewed and tried as adults, including receiving adult punishment such as a life sentence. If a juvenile receives a life sentence before they reach adulthood, more than three-fourths of their life is gone (“California Proposition 21”). Juveniles don’t even have a fully developed brain and as a result, can’t fully understand the circumstances that they find themselves in.

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1015 Words | 5 Pages

But in my opinion they should be treated as adults according to the way juveniles think, act and they make decisions by themselves. Juveniles act knowing the things they are doing, but they don’t realize the consequence in a future. In the book “Angels of Death True Crime book, Chapter 2 from Derek and Alex king” On November 26, 2001 in Florida Derek, with 13 year old and Alex King, 12 year old they killed their father. Derek kills his dad with a baseball bat when he was sleeping because his dad make them feel uncomfortable also they was mentally abused, after that they burned the house to eliminate all evidence and them they run away.

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693 Words | 3 Pages

People argue that some juveniles are “too young and they don’t understand” but either way, they still broke the law and should be fairly punished. A fact stating “There are approximately 6,000 juveniles in adult jails and prisons in the United States” shows that people who have broken the law with felonies have been confined by law, no matter the age. People need to learn before they act in a similar manner, again. A similar case is a boy named Craig Price from Rhode Island who had committed multiple felonies, such as four murders and was charged as a minor, meaning he was arrested around age 16 and would get out and have his criminal record sealed at age 21. Because of this, a law was changed so that juveniles could be tried as adults with serious crimes.

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128 Words | 1 Pages

For the past years there has been a debate on whether juveniles should be tried as life without parole or life with parole. In my opinion juveniles who commit first or second degree murder should not receive a mandatory sentence to life without parole. Although the juveniles are underage they are well informed of what’s right and what’s wrong, but some of them have difficulty understanding of what they are doing at the moment of the crime because they are angry and act before thinking clearly. I agree with the majority of supreme court justices who believe that mandatory life sentences are unconstitutional, unfair and inhumane because juveniles are immature, their brain is not completely developed, and they are unaware of long term impact

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1248 Words | 5 Pages

Have you ever thought if a young teen going to adult prison for committing a crime, like murder or homicidal thoughts. The Supreme Court ruled that juveniles who committed murder could not be sentenced to life in prison because it violates the Eighth Amendment’s. On the other, hand four justices strongly disagreed, arguing that mandatory sentences reflected the will of American society. Two years ago I saw on t.v how young and wicked these young kids are in a documentary. A teenager probably the age of 14 killed a girl the same age with a shovel, banging her on the head repeatedly out in their garden.

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842 Words | 4 Pages

There are certain instances of juveniles being tried as adults and sometimes ending up getting a life sentence without a chance of parole. I find that pretty harsh because there have been some cases where the juvenile meant no harm, they were either confused or brought along by gang members and they end up being charged along with the gang members for just being with them when a crime goes down. I believe that juveniles do not deserve to be given a life sentence because for one they are still maturing, they can learn from their mistakes and make amends, we still have to combat crimes like intended murder committed by a juvenile with extreme punishments especially if they are well over the age of 16. In the article published by the New York Times on March 14, 2012 “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences”, Garinger discusses that juveniles deserve a second chance since their brains are still developing.

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743 Words | 3 Pages

Imagine that you are 17 and assaulted or killed a person by accident. They have found you guilty and decided to put you in an adult institution with level 4 maximum security, which is very violent. How would you feel? This has happened to juveniles before, they were tried as adults and some sent to life in prison. Juveniles should be rehabilitated and given a second chance instead of being tried as an adult and placed in jail or sentenced to death because a kid’s brain has not yet fully developed and it could help make them a better person.

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533 Words | 3 Pages

Juveniles should not receive the death penalty. The frontal lobe is not completely developed until the early twenties. The eighth amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. There is plenty of time for rehabilitation. Therefore, minors should not be given the death penalty

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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.

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1392 Words | 6 Pages

When people commit crimes, there should be disciplined no matter what. Juveniles need to learn that their behaviors have consequences. Why should kids be given any less of a punishment for committing the same crime? According to one author, “Taking a life is murder regardless of the age of the offender, and the penalties to be imposed must not discriminate. After all, the victim’s life will never be returned, and the family will permanently lose their loved one” (“7 Top Pros and Cons of Juveniles Being Tried As Adults”).

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1300 Words | 6 Pages

But there are rare cases when older teens demonstrate heinousness and culpability and carry out truly Horrific crimes. For those few a couple years of detention and programs are not enough. These individuals can be appropriately tried as adults. They need to grow older before release. They need long term evaluation to see if they will ever be able to rejoin society.

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993 Words | 4 Pages

Jennifer Jenkins the author of “On Punishment and Killers” personally dealt with the issue of her sister being killed by a tennager. She says that this young man was not in any way mentally ill, he in fact was quite intelligent. You see this young man committed the crime he did simply for fun. Like Jenkins says “we in America have to own this particular problem, with weapons so easily available to our youth, and the violence-loving culture in which we raise them”(On Punishment and Teen Killers, paragraph 5), it is a problem we have to fix and putting juveniles in prison for committing such crimes to show others the little tolerance that we as a society have. The families of the victims deserve peace and to know that the person in charge of hurting their loved one will most likely end their life behind

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431 Words | 2 Pages

Juveniles should be convicted as adults for violent crimes because it is not fair for juveniles to commit big crimes and get away with it so easily. If they want to act like adults, they should be treated. Some teens commit crimes and don't have a really good excuse on why they do it. In the article “On Punishment and Teen Killers” by Jennifer Jenkins she explains how the teenager that killed her sister, husband and her unborn child excuse of killing them was that he just wanted to “see what it would feel like to shoot someone”, which is no good excuse for what he did to this family. Another example from Jennifer's Jenkins article she states how “undeveloped brain” has nothing to do with teens committing these crimes.

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569 Words | 3 Pages

If this is the realization of teen killers then why should they be getting the same punishment as an adult if they have different

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729 Words | 3 Pages

Juveniles Justice Juveniles who are criminals being sentenced to life without parole can be shocking to some people. I believe if a juvenile is able to commit a crime, then they are able to do the time. The article “Startling finds on Teenage Brains” talks about how the brain can be different from the time you are teens to the time you are an adult. After, considering both sides on juvenile justice it is clear that juveniles should face life without parole because they did the crime so they can do the time. Also I believe the juvenile’s age should not influence the sentence and the punishment give.

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