Sixteen years old and sentenced to life in prison. Sarah Johnson shot her mother in the head while she was sleeping and then her father while he was stepping out of the shower. She tried to pin the murders on an intruder but there was numerous amounts of evidence against her. Johnson was tried in an adult court even though she was only 16 years old. She was sentenced to life in an adult prison. (Stinson) At just sixteen years old Sarah didn’t know the full consequences of what she did. Juveniles are not adults. They do not have the same knowledge or capability as an adult. They deserve the chance to be taught right from wrong before being thrown in prison. Where the only thing they will learn, is how to survive a life contained inside four walls. Juveniles should not be tried as adults and should have a chance to be rehabilitated.
No matter what, there will always be crime. In low income areas stealing and aggravated assault are everyday occurrences. When children under the age of eighteen are put into these environments they do not know any better than to adopt the criminalistic lifestyle. This leads to crimes being committed by
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Every child deserves a chance to be the fireman or astronaut that they dream of being. If the laws were non-existent fifty percent of those kids with a dream would not make it to a third of their life expectancy. Throwing a child into prison is equivalent to the latter. They need to be taught the right way to behave. A juveniles brain is less developed than an adult’s, “it does not have the level of maturity, thought process, decision-making, experience, or wisdom” that an adult’s has.(Juvenile) Putting a juvenile into a good environment where they can be rehabilitated before it is too late is the only beneficial choice. No one wants to see their child behind bars with gang members and killers. Children belong in desks in front of a chalkboard. (love and