Juvenile Justice There is a great deal of controversy that exists in America today. The question is whether a juvenile who committed a heinous crime should be punished to the same extent as an adult. The growing trend in the United States is to “get tough” on juveniles who commit these crimes. This has resulted in a growing number of minors who trial as adults, and being sent to adult prisons. Many believe if that an adult crime is committed, then you should face consequences appropriate for adults, but what exactly is the appropriate age to be considered an adult? What factors do we have to consider when doing so? I believe that juveniles by definition are not adults, and therefore should not be tried as such. Recent research shows that the …show more content…
Saillant explains that there are those, including prosecutors in that case who absolutely agree that the murder was pre-meditated based on a hate crime, but didn’t consider the other factors; Mclnerney was being humiliated daily by King in front of all his friends. Mclnerney was being bullied by King. The time came when Mclnerney was at a breaking point and did what he thought was the only way to stop King from bullying him. Scott wiper, one of Mclnerney’s attorney said, “Someone like Brandon, who was barely 14 and had no juvenile record, should have gone before a juvenile judge, who would look at certain factors to determine he is suitable for rehabilitation.”(Saillant). It wasn’t fair that Mclnerney, who had no juvenile record, was tried in an adult court. On the other hand, if he wasn’t tried as an adult the judge would have considered the factors in the case such as, “… abused its power failing to consider such circumstances as Mclnerney’s youth, his hard family life and failure of school officials to deal with rising tensions between the two boys.” said by his attorney said. The way the Ventura County district attorney’s office handled the case was misconducted. Mclnerney had family issues like dealing with his father whom faced charges of domestic abuse and his mother that struggled with drug addiction. In defiance of him having good grades in school and never had trouble with the law, “While incarcerated at Juvenile Hall awaiting trial, he has been a ‘model kid’, Wippert said, “The staff loves him… he is not a monster like the D.A. is portraying him.” This shows clearly that just because a first time crime Mclnerney committed, does not mean he is a bad person and being in a juvenile hall proved he