Essay On Do Children Have A Place In Adult Courts

Vita Orifici

Ms. Yu

Honors English 10, Period 4

28 February, 2023

Do Children Have a Place In Adult Courts? In the U.S. alone, almost 250,000 juveniles are tried, sentenced, or incarcerated as adults every year. Throughout history, juveniles who are convicted of heinous crimes are faced with trials in adult courts. The very first juvenile court was established in 1899, as a way to ensure milder punishments for children. Since the creation of the juvenile court system, many have argued both for and against it, claiming that it was necessary to protect children, or that it was preventing juveniles from getting the punishments they served. Today, the general public’s opinion is stuck at a divide. Even though it may seem extreme to some people,

In her article in The Palm Beach Post, Talitha Hazelton writes about why juvenile courts are necessary. She says, “When children enter that system, they are assessed immediately by an intake juvenile probation officer who learns about obstacles they're facing in terms of home life, health care and education,” (Hazelton). Hazelton makes a good point, because yes, some events in children’s lives can be difficult and traumatic, and can cause emotional stress in these kids. However, this does not excuse a violent crime. If an event in their personal life drives a juvenile to murder or attack another person, there are obviously underlying problems. There is no guarantee that this person wouldn’t just snap again one day, but juvenile courts don’t want to believe that. Juvenile courts want to think that every criminal who enters their system can be “fixed” and entered back into society. However, the fact of the matter is that while they might be able to change someone for the better, they still need to face the consequences of their actions. Adult courts can provide both needed factors, locking up dangerous criminals and holding them accountable for their violent actions. Similarly, Malcolm Young, in his article “Juveniles Should Not Be Tried in Adult Courts,” claims, “But children cannot be said to understand as well the consequences of their acts,” (Young). Young makes another great point. Children can struggle to understand the full implications of their actions, and how they will affect themselves and the people around them. Nonetheless, they still need to be held accountable. Just because a child doesn’t fully understand the consequences of stealing a cookie from the cookie jar doesn’t mean that they aren’t going to be punished, so why should it be