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Pros And Cons Of Trying Youth As Adults

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The idea of trying youth as adults has proven to be a controversial issue over time. To this day, there is still debate as to whether or not it is the right decision to try our youth as adults. Surrounding the practice of trying youth as adults, two significant perspectives emerge: the recognition of developmental factors and the consideration of racial disparities. As we examine the school-to-prison pipeline and developmental considerations, which I personally find significant, it will be necessary to explore factors such as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the bioecological systems. Both factors play major roles in shaping a young individual’s development in both emotional and cognitive domains. When analyzing racial disparities …show more content…

It can be argued that trying juveniles as adults doesn’t take into consideration the maturity or the development of the individual (Regoli, 2019). When we look at an individual's development, it’s important to consider both adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the bioecological system. Youth’s development is dependent on the environment in which they are raised and grow. This is why we also consider Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems theory. Factors such as an individual’s school, family, friends, or community all contribute to the individual’s development. Those who have poor relationships with family and friends, living in a low SES community may not be developmentally at the same level as those who grow up in a high SES community with secure …show more content…

Developmental consideration exhibits the crucial role that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the bioecological systems play in shaping a young individual's development. Trying juveniles as adults fails to account for their maturity and unique developmental circumstances, lessening their chances of rehabilitation and growth. Racial disparities begin early in the education system and commence a cycle of discrimination and limited opportunities for young individuals based on their race or social status. It has become clear that trying youth as adults is an ineffective and unjust approach for reform. By making a commitment to and fostering a fair and effective justice system that takes into account developmental factors and eliminates racial disparities, we can actually help youth. An effective system would help promote their well-being and nurture their potential to contribute positively to society and be the best individual they can

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Director of Justice Reform and the MacArthur Foundation, as well as Christopher Simmons advocate Laurie Garduque reminiscences on the disregard for criminal juveniles during that time: “As concern about increasing juvenile crime peaked, we were alarmed at the wave of harsh juvenile justice reform sweeping the country that blurred lines between adults and juveniles… Existing research did not address the legal implications of adolescent developmental immaturity with respect to competency, culpability, and capacity for change” (“Roper v. Simmons Ten Years Later”). A similar sentiment was shared with Columbia Law School professor Elizabeth Scott, who recalled the conditions for criminal youth in the early 1990’s, asserting that “...attitudes about juvenile crime became more punitive, and it was clear that lawmakers weren’t focusing on developmental differences between teens and adults or how immaturity might contribute to juvenile offending” (“Roper v. Simmons Ten Years Later”). There are a myriad of scary commonalities between these anecdotes, such as the legal disregard for youths despite their underdeveloped brains. There are many factors that make adolescent minds susceptible to committing crimes.

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Juveniles that go through the rehabilitation process will be able to have a clean record after they reach 18, whereas the exact opposite if they went through the adult justice system. Stevenson feels that, “We’ve become so fearful and vengeful that we’ve thrown away children, discarded the disabled, and sanctioned the imprisonment of the sick and the weak—not because they are a threat to public safety or beyond rehabilitation but because we think it makes us seem tough, less broken.” (289) This quote represents the treatment towards juveniles in prison and how the potential of these children is wasted. The goal of rehabilitation is to help the youth understand the consequences of their actions and learn how to make better choices in the

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970 Words | 4 Pages

Many people complain about how juveniles lack brain development and this should be an excuse. It makes others uncertain about trying them as adults since they lack decision-making and impulse control. Despite the lack of development, it’s ideal to recognize that for certain violent crimes, “there have to be consequences to actions” (Ford). Allowing juveniles to simply avoid adult punishment doesn’t help to promote public safety or give adolescents the responsibility they need in the future. But most people believe that juveniles still have room for rehabilitation and change.

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Roper v. Simmons is considered a landmark case and is one of a handful that shows a new direction in granting some relief from what has been established as harsh “adult” punishments for juveniles (Elrod & Ryder, 2014). In fact, many studies are showing that the differences between adults and juveniles are quite significant (Elrod & Ryder, 2014). The courts are realizing that these differences must be taking into account when dealing with juveniles in the criminal justice system (Elrod & Ryder, 2014). However, that being said, change does not occur overnight, and for the unforeseeable future, juveniles will still continue to be waived into adult courts (Elrod & Ryder, 2014).

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When young offenders enter the criminal system they are underdeveloped mentally and physically, they are never given the chance to reimburse as a mature, cultivated, and cultured adult before and during their sentence. Because of this, we do not see much anecdotal evidence of teen offenders evolving and thriving after prison. This lack of affirmation generates the common belief that there must be a genetic correlation with crime and that there is an absolutely nothing that can change a criminal into a law-abiding citizen. But because the general public

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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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Hagan et al. (2005) stated, "Children fare better when they are embedded in an effective social network of caregivers, teachers, and friends who can and do offer appropriate support and guidance" (p.

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There persists a heated and controversial debate nationwide as to whether, under any circumstances, a juvenile should be tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison without parole. While recent efforts to ease the punishment have reduced the ultimate sentence for juveniles to forty years in some areas, the problem remains unaddressed at its root. Juveniles should not be sentenced as adults to life without parole because they lack in cognitive development, have rehabilitative capacity, and cost more annually to be held in prison than to be put through programs that address the root of the problem. First and most importantly, Juveniles should not be tried and sentenced as adults for life because the adolescent brain is in a period of cognitive

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One reason that some individuals to display behavior issue in school is because their exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as: emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, emotional and physical neglect, violence towards mother, household substance abuse, household mental illness, parental separation or divorce, and a household member who is incarcerated (Baglivio and Epps, 2014). The negative experience tends to influence the juveniles behavior. My interview shed some light on this aspect as he explained many of the juveniles had a troubling home life and they weren’t able to receive services or learned proper coping mechanisms which influenced their delinquency (March 27, 2015). Therefore, instead of receiving help the students are pushed towards delinquency and the juvenile justice system. Baglivio and Epps explain some students’ issues might result from ACE factors; “the suspension and expelling of student may deprive the youth of the safest environment they can access” (2014).

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Within the urban communities, negative perceptions are magnified. Adolescents are more prone to be a product of their environment, especially those whose parents are incarcerated. Because of this trend adolescents are being incarcerated at an alarming rate and sentenced to adult facilities. Lambie & Randall (2013) states, the United States have imposed harsher penalties on serious young offenders, and have consequently increased rates of incarcerated youth and made it easier for youth to be treated and incarcerated as adults within the justice

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When kids that are only 16 and 17 are tried in adult court, studies have shown that these teens are more likely to commit crimes and serious offenses. For this reason some kids get into a cycle of trials, Juvy, and release because that is all they know how to do, because when they are released they don’t know how to live a normal life.

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506 Words | 3 Pages

We have seen today in society of how crime rates have been rampant and how statistics show that most of the crimes were being made by minors. I believe that when most of them look at the bottom of these young offenders come disproportionately from impoverished single-parent homes that are located in the neighbourhoods desinvertido and have high rates of learning disabilities, mental health, and substance abuse and problems with the help of the system of juvenile justice that can make a great return on a successful transition to adulthood. Their ages ranged from 20 and under, most are under fifteen years of age. Juveniles tried as adults must assume the same consequences as any other criminal and are subject to state prisons with inmates much higher and that have probably committed crimes much more tortuous then you could ever have. These minors between the ages of nine to twenty according to the offence committed or of the number of times that are prosecuted and believe that it is immutable.

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636 Words | 3 Pages

Imagine being a child imprisoned for committing a crime for which you did not understand the consequences. Alone and afraid, with only hardened criminals and psychopaths as adult role models, you live in fear. Through a vicious combination of physical, sexual, emotional, and mental abuse, there is no option but to turn back to crime as an adult, and continue the cycle. This is a daily reality for thousands of American juveniles. Yet, we continue to call it the juvenile justice system.

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There are differences between a juvenile court and criminal court in the United States. The focus of the juvenile justice system is on rehabilitation, in hope of deterring the minor away from a life of crime so they will not commit a crime again as an adult. In contrast, the criminal justice system focuses on the punishment and often bases the sentencing outcome on the criminal history of the youth. In a study conducted, Butler (2011) showed that the participants’ experience with adult jails and prisons show that those facilities may instill fear but are otherwise emotionally—and often physically—dangerous for youth. Many of the adult prisoners, who were minors when they enter the adult institution, felt they were forced to “grow

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Annotated bibliography Childress, S. (2016, June 2). More States Consider Raising the Age for Juvenile Crime. Retrieved from PBS: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/more-states-consider-raising-the-age-for-juvenile-crime/ More states are considering to raising the age for juvenile crimes before being tried as adult because young offender's mental capacity. The idea is to cut the cost of incarcerate young offender in adult prison and ensure offenders to receive proper education and specialized care to change their behavior. Putting children in adult prison does not deter crime.

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