Cristian Fernandez, who was twelve years old at the time of the crime, committed manslaughter and aggravated battery to his half-brother who was only two years of age (Schoettler, 2013). An adult would receive a thirty-year minimum sentence for this crime, but Fernandez received a seven-year sentence and will be released on his nineteenth birthday. Juveniles are treated differently in the criminal justice system regardless of the crime they commit which is not how it should be. It is clear that juveniles are given a slap on the wrist even though they commit heinous crimes and that needs to change. Juveniles should be processed as adults because age is no excuse for criminal behavior, punishment should be based on the crime committed, and their population is committing more crimes than ever before. Juveniles can be impressionable, …show more content…
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. Processing them as adults would deter them from committing these crimes and the rate would not be as high as it is today. Juveniles need to learn that committing a violent crime is not a crime that can be overlooked or given little to no time for