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Essay On Should Juveniles Be Tried As Adults

2175 Words9 Pages

Andy was just 11 years old when he started hanging out with the teenage gang members in his neighborhood. They used him as a lookout when they wanted to sell drugs. One drug deal turned violent and two people were shot. This is how Andy ended up facing a charge of murder. Andy could just admit that he was there, testify against the others, and face a few years in juvenile detention. Otherwise, he would be transferred to adult court and if he was found guilty, he would spend a much longer time in detention and prison. He decided to take the risk and go to trial (Steinberg).
Trying juveniles as adults has always been a controversial topic to the public. There are many different statistics that show different percentages of juveniles being tried as adults. Many people would say that we should be protecting the children and not taking out vengeance on them and they are too young to take on such a weighty legal responsibility. If the child is old enough to commit the crime, then they should be punished for it. Several reasons explain why they should be tried like they will understand the …show more content…

Violent crimes receive the harshest punishments, and it is said that the same should carry forth and continue for children as well. Many people believe that the age factor is taken into consideration rather than focusing on the crime factor when it comes to the juvenile courts. This is the wrong approach because it does not focus on the main problem which is the crime that has been committed. It is also said that the juvenile courts do not aim to punish, they are just merely to guide and treat. This is believed to not serve any purpose because this no way guarantees there will be no crimes committed henceforth (Borkar). Eighteen is when a child is no longer considered a child so therefore the children that fall at the higher end of this range should be tried as an

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Sullivan vs. Florida was a very high profiled case in 1989. Joe Sullivan was a 13-year-old African American boy, who was also mentally disabled. Joe was accused of sexually assaulting an elderly white woman hours after he and 2 other juveniles robbed her for her jewelry and coins. Joe was the youngest child to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He was tried as an adult because he a prior felony conviction on his record (Sullivan v. Florida).

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For example, Nathaniel Brazill was 13 years old when he was guilty of shooting a middle school and charged with second degree murder. He says that he made a “stupid mistake” but was convicted of second degree murder not first. In the article, “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains” it says that, “a child is not a man.” Meaning that a child shouldn 't be getting treated as an adult no they

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In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that it is immoral to give juveniles life sentences, even if they commit a crime as serious as murder, because it is a cruel and unusual punishment. This has been an issue in America as teenagers are often treated as adults in court due to a belief that their crimes warrant a harsh punishment. Many believe that these kids should not be given such major sentences because they are still immature and do not have the self control that adults do. I agree that juveniles do not deserve life sentences because they put less thought and planning into these crimes and they often are less malicious than adults. The article “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains” explains that the teenagers lose brain tissue that is responsible for self control and impulses (Thompson 7).

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There have been many times over the years where a child commits a crime and they either get the punishment of a child or they get the punishment of an adult depending on their age, or depending on what the crime they committed was. If you send a child to adult prison it is a lot more harsh than juve so they have to be kept from the other inmates because it is too dangerous for them to be around them. The children transferred to criminal court were less likely to commit the same crime than those who went through the juvenile system. The children who re offended offended sooner and more often than the children who were tried in the juvenile court. In some states if the child is convicted in criminal court they can plead insanity and get out of the of the sentence they would be facing.

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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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There is a requirement in which you can be tried as an adult and one cannot be simply tried as adult. They need to go through the

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There are many children in the world who are being put behind bars and detained for alleged wrongdoing without protections they are entitled to. Throughout the world, children are charged and sentenced for actions that should not be considered as adult crimes. Here in the United States, the minimum age of criminal responsibility is age 12. Law enforcement officials and those in the juvenile justice system nationwide tend to mistreat underage individuals by trying cases while working through the lens of an adult. Unfair punishments are still handed down domestically, which is in violation of Supreme Court law.

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Juveniles should be tried as adults due to being aware of their crimes and having an intention to kill, however, brain development and maturity can play a role into the reason why teens kill. With being tried as an adult juveniles should be granted the opportunity of freedom pending on their rehabilitation status and if requirements are not met, convicts will have to complete the remainder of their sentence. People have long argued that juveniles who commit a murder should not be tried as an adult due the juvenile not being aware of their crime. Awareness, as defined by the Webster Dictionary, is “the knowledge and understanding that something is happening or exists”. Having the perception to comprehend the occurrence of an event is not a dumbfounded characteristic.

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In my opinion, I think that juveniles should be prosecuted as adults depending on the type of criminal offense that he or she commits. If a juvenile commit petty crimes such as petty theft, disorderly conduct, vandalism, etc. then I think that they should be tried in juvenile court. However, if a juvenile commit any of the seven deadly sin in criminal justice then they should be prosecuted as an adult. The seven deadly sin include: Murder, rape, armed robbery, kidnapping, aggravated battery, aggravated sodomy, and aggravated child molestation.

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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.

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These cutoffs range from 7 to 14 years old. At any rate, the current situation is one that has sparked many moral and ethical beliefs to surface, resulting in debates that have yet to be resolved. Children who commit violent crimes should not be tried as adults, because proper educational services are typically not affordable, children are more susceptible to harming themselves

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1291 Words | 6 Pages

Even children have the capability to act and think the way as an adult would. Juveniles need to be held accountable for their actions because it was their actions that caused for them to be put in such a situation. 13 year old Derek King and his 12 year old brother, Alex, were being charged of bludgeoning their father, Terry King, to death. In the book, “Angels of Death,” by Gary C. King stated, “I hit him once and then I heard him moan and then I was afraid that he might wake up and see us, so I just kept on hitting him... I threw the bat on the bed, lit the bed on fire because I was scared of the [evidence] and everything.

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381 Words | 2 Pages

The opportunity for a one-time juvenile delinquent to have their record expunged would probably come at the end of a chapter in their life that they would like to forget. At one time or another in our childhood, we did some things that we were not proud of and would want to forget. For the most part, we did it out of immaturity or simply not considering the consequences of our actions. I have come across a lot of juveniles in my life and even some adults were the only thing that separates my story from their story, is one or two bad decisions. I have come across criminals who have had similar or better childhoods than myself.

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760 Words | 4 Pages

The consequences may affect the minors negatively. Minors have a higher chance of rehabilitation if they are tried through juvenile court so that they can become better members of civilization. Despite that, some people think that minors may not learn their lesson if they are put through juvenile court, but minors should not be treated the same as adults. Minors should be treated for their age, not their crime so that they have the opportunity to change and become a better member of

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1342 Words | 6 Pages

If we look at the different criminal justice systems around the world, most countries have laws or regulations stating the “age of criminal responsibility” (Maher. G). However, there has been no clear international standard identified regarding the age at which criminal responsibility could be reasonably charged for a juvenile offender. The Convention on the Rights of Children (CRC) appeals parties to establish ‘a minimum age below which children shall be

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