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Essay On Juveniles Should Be Tried As Adults

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If I committed a serious crime, I think it would be unfair to receive the same punishment as an adult who is 30 because although young people should be held accountable for serious crimes, the juvenile justice system exists for that purpose. “Kids are kids until they commit crimes” by Marjoe Lundstrom is an article about teenagers being tried as adults for committing serious crimes. The article, “Juveniles don't deserve life sentences” by Gail Garinger is about our unjust system putting teenagers in adult prison. Juveniles do not deserve to be treated as adults in the court system because their development is still incomplete, therefore their judgment is less mature.
Some might object that juveniles could never change and that no one cares what becomes of them, although i maintain that research shows that teens grow out of criminal behavior by their 20’s and our brain finishes developing by the age of 25 which means that we will have different mindsets when we are adults compared to when we were teens (Garinger). Research also shows that as kids mature, they are significantly less likely to re-offend. Most teens naturally grow out of delinquent behavior as they mature. Juveniles are capable of changing with the help of rehabilitation and other programs that are offered in …show more content…

They are behind bars with dangerous criminals and face a higher risk of sexual abuse, physical assault, and suicide. Jails and prisons are dangerous places for anybody, but especially for children and teens. Many of these prisons house vicious predators who have been locked up for brutal violent

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While charging young offenders as adults could potentially protect people on the outside, children who are housed in the same facility as adults is not a good idea nor a good mix. “I watched Joe, who laughed like a little boy, but I saw the lines in his face and even the emergence of a few prematurely gray hairs on his head. I realized even while I laughed, that his unhappy childhood had been followed by unhappy, imprisoned teenage years followed by unhappy incarceration through young adulthood. All of the sudden, it occurred to me what a miracle it was that he could still laugh.” (Stevenson 217-224) Children in adult prisons are prone to rape, suicide and assault than in juvenile detention centers according to studies on juvenile suicide in adult institutions and youth facilities in the 1980s.

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There is no segregation between adults and children within the system. Children are entirely different from grown adults, they have different needs, wants, they need to learn and find themselves. When placed in an adult prison they have lost all those needs, and wants, and are expected to act like an adult. Adolescents placed in jail for drug use need restorative action, rehabilitation for their actions. If these children placed in adult jails for drugs get released they are most likely to be apart of the recidivism rate and end up back in jail for drug use once again.

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Since children are subject to many stages of harm in adult prisons, they are also prone to recidivism, “Those that survive become more dangerous and reoffend at more serious levels very soon after release from prison” (367). Kids who survive prison are often left with psychological damage and resort in behavioral problems which leads them back in prison with no hope of a proper rehabilitation. They say prison is a dangerous cycle. When you are out, you never stay out and the cycle continues because the world does not want you

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2110 Words | 9 Pages

Should Kids Be Tried As Adults? Kids are being tried as adults by our juvenile justice system depending on the crime they commit or by the degree of the murder they commit. The way the crime was committed the way it was planned out plays a major role on the sentence of those victims or kids who are tried as adults. Some kids get locked up their whole life while the others who are given a sentence can be just kept until they turn 25 and they just let them go. This system is criticized by many people who believe that those who commit these crimes and are sentenced to life time without parole are not given a second chance to life.

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829 Words | 4 Pages

The violent crime rate among juveniles has grown at twice the rate compared to adults in the last two decades (Levitt, 1998). This fact shows that juveniles are constantly being given a slap on the wrist for the crimes adults get sent away for and the violent crime rate would not be inclining at the rate it is if they were processed as adults. Juveniles being processed as adults would decrease the rate due to the deterrence effect. There has been a rise in juvenile arrest rates for violent crimes due to the change in law and policies for juveniles that are less harsh when compared to adults (National Research Council, 2001). Juveniles know that the punishment they will receive for a crime is not harsh which leads them to commit more violent crimes.

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States only push adult sentences if a juvenile has committed a felony. A felony is a more serious crime like murder, armed robbery, or rape. While for some people this makes sense others don’t agree with it thinking it’s an unfair punishment. Sophia DeBlasi states in her article “When Are Juveniles Tried as Adults” “Most often when a juvenile is tried as an adult, it is due to the fact that they have committed a very serious crime”. When a juvenile receives an adult sentence they usually have committed a serious crime which could possibly wipe away the rest of their childhood.

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The article “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences” argues that children in prison need to be given a chance to mature and be rehabilitated (Garinger 9). Because these killers likely committed these crimes on impulse, they would often realize after the fact that they were wrong to do such an action. Therefore, when they are released, they will be more careful and think about their actions before committing. If they are given a life sentence, they will never be given this chance to fix their life. Older people who commit murders are less likely to learn from their mistakes since they put more thought into the killing than adolescents

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437 Words | 2 Pages

Lets say a child 12 to 13 years old commits murder, and when asked why, they say “for fun”. This tells us, no matter how long you put a child in prison, they will not understand how their behavior was unacceptable. Putting a child in prison with older criminals will most likey just teach them about much worse crimes other inmates have commited. A study found that the suicide rate for children in an adult prison, rather than a juvenile detention center, increased to eight percent higher. Another study found at children being raped in adult prison is five times more likely than in a juvenile detention center.

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702 Words | 3 Pages

Juveniles can benefit from rehabilitation programs and therapy, juveniles should be given the help they deserve, rather than being put into a jail cell. Currently, “parole decisions may be based on factors unrelated to a consideration of maturity and rehabilitation” (Des Moines Register). The possibility of rehabilitation is very important in the decision of parole for juveniles. Juveniles need to be given the resources they need to be successful in society. Juvenile offenders are young and have the possibility to change and develop into mature adults with the help of therapy and rehabilitation programs.

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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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1777 Words | 8 Pages

It really doesn’t matter the age of the criminal, it they are committing crimes that are inherently adult in nature, then yes, these criminals absolutely should be punished as an adult regardless of their age. Our courts, shouldn’t ever allow anyone, child or adult, get away with murder. In todays world ,there are many crimes being committed Adults are not the only ones that are committed crimes In today issue is that juvenile offenders should be tried as adult in a criminal court However many disagree and they believe if these young offenders are capable of committing a crime like murder, no matter their maturity, they should be tried as adults. The criminal justice system has a very particular way in dealing with the law when it comes to young adults .

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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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1058 Words | 5 Pages

Doing so has had countless adverse effects on the youth. Despite this, many prisons and facilities have turned a blind eye to these negative factors, and continue to plant them in the adult systems. Children should not have to be put in jails and prisons with adults because they have an increased chance of being raped, educational services are often too expensive, and their minds are inclined to becoming mentally unstable, which often leads to suicide. Solutions to these issues include lifting the ban that prevents grants to be awarded to inmates, and abolishing children from adult jail facilities altogether. Conversely, others may argue that these children deserve this treatment, children are becoming more intelligent and know right from wrong, and that these sentences will show others what can potentially happen.

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1291 Words | 6 Pages

In our society, crimes are being committed not only by adults but by juveniles as well. By law as soon as a person turns 18 they are considered to be an adult. So what if an adult and a juvenile were to commit the same crime yet were sentenced differently simply based on the fact that one is a child and one is an adult? Juveniles are committing violent crimes just as adults and should be given the equal treatment and sentencing as adults receive. Juveniles aren’t completely ignorant as everyone seems to think.

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760 Words | 4 Pages

Can you imagine waking up behind closed walls and bars? Waking up to see your inmate who is a 45-year-old bank robber and you are a 14-year-old minor who made a big mistake. This is why minors who have committed crimes should not be treated the same as adults. Some reasons are because the consequences given to minors in adult court would impact a minor’s life in a negative way. If a minor is tried through a juvenile court, they have a greater chance of rehabilitation.

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