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Should Adolescents Be Tried As Adults Essay

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Through the study of adolescents and cognitive development, psychologists and scientists often discuss the debate concerning whether adolescents are fully responsible for their actions. This is a significant issue not just historically but also presently, as many still consider if the judicial system should prosecute adolescents the same way adults are. Thus, many have debated whether or not adolescents should be punished as adults for their crimes, or given lesser punishments due to their undeveloped brains. In fact, over the years the United States’ criminal justice system has changed how they treat juveniles a number of times. In the past, adolescents have been tried as adults, but in different periods they have also been sent to juvenile rehabilitation centers. Overall, this paper will argue that when an …show more content…

For example, those who believe children should be tried as adults are often thinking in terms of public safety. If rehabilitation centers are not doing their jobs, then these kids can return to society behaving in the same dangerous ways (E. Warren, personal communication, April 4, 2018). Moreover, trying juveniles as adults introduces an element of scare tactics to society. Not only will their prosecutions be public knowledge, but also longer sentences may scare some away from committing crimes. Statistically, it is true that since the justice system started coming down harder on kids in the 1990s, crime rates have decreased (E. Warren, personal communication, April 4, 2018). Some would also argue that children committing extremely violent crimes don’t deserve second chances and allowing them to potentially be free would only put society at risk. (E. Warren, personal communication, April 4, 2018). Hence, these are all reasons why one would protest the notion that lack of cognitive development should prohibit kids from being tried as

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The article, “The Steep Costs of Keeping Juveniles in Adult Prisons” written by Jessica Lahey states, “Juveniles constitute 1,200 of the 1.5 million people housed in federal and state prisons in this country, and nearly 200,000 youth enter the adult criminal-justice system each year, most for non-violent crimes.” Minors should not be tried as adults because their brains are not developed, they may come from bad backgrounds, and they have their whole life ahead of them, and their life should not be determined by the mistakes they made as a child. Juveniles who are usually 14 or older who have committed serious crimes are tried as adults and are put into adult-state prisons. This is inhumane and unsafe for the child’s physical and mental health. One of the many reasons that minors should not be tried as adults is because their brains are not fully developed, so they cannot make good decisions until they are older, far into their twenties.

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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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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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On the other hand, there are those who believe that kids should not be tried as adults even if they are responsible for a heinous crime because their brains have not matured at an adult level yet. I believe that kids are still kids; they make mistakes like any other adolescent. Kids have to be forgiven if they make a terrific crime in their past because their brain is not

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Why Teens Should Be Tried As Adults Most rapists, murderers, and other criminals are walking out of jail after only serving short sentences. These criminals are juveniles who commit heinous, adult crimes. When the criminals are released, they’re given new identities to protect themselves and continue a peaceful life, while their victims and their family are living every day with fear and pain. The court system and juvenile supporters believe all juveniles should be given a second chance, and because of this, criminals are our neighbors, walking down the street, and are in public places. Just because someone is released from juvenile hall or prison, that doesn’t mean they learned their lesson.

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When someone read this in a magazine, newspaper, or even a media website, what goes through that person’s mind? Why is this juvenile being tried as an adult, he or she is just a kid? Should a minor who commit violent crimes be tried as an adult? Juveniles are young but can know what is right from wrong. “Don’t do the crime, if you can’t do the time.”

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To better understand both sides of trying juveniles as adults, data on of trying juveniles as adults will be looked at. In doing this, evidence for why trying juveniles as adults is harmful will become clearer. The data will show that alternate programs such as community based program geared towards restorative justice and programs such as diversion will be most beneficial in helping juveniles learn social skill and learn the effect their behavior has on the community and the victim. Bringing both the juvenile and the community together with have a lasting effect and has been shown to reduce recidivism rate. Literature review Researchers look at the trying juveniles as adult in one of two ways, they look at juvenile delinquency as learned through peers, the second way they look at it is trying juveniles as adults is through a critical lens where the researchers believe that policy makers and judges benefit by keeping minority juveniles in detention centers or prison.

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The current state of the juvenile justice system is one which has created an immense debate between a variety of people in the United States. The main question in this debate boils down to the issue of whether children should be able to be tried as an adult with no regard to their age. The juvenile court system is a separate entity from adult court which is used to handle the criminal cases of the youth in America. In the present, some children have their ability to fall under the jurisdiction of the adult courts revoked due to the gravity of their crimes. This should not be the case as the juvenile court should be given the ability to treat juveniles the way they should be.

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Lets say a child 12 to 13 years old commits murder, and when asked why, they say “for fun”. This tells us, no matter how long you put a child in prison, they will not understand how their behavior was unacceptable. Putting a child in prison with older criminals will most likey just teach them about much worse crimes other inmates have commited. A study found that the suicide rate for children in an adult prison, rather than a juvenile detention center, increased to eight percent higher. Another study found at children being raped in adult prison is five times more likely than in a juvenile detention center.

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The criminal justice system was created in order to punish people who choose to break the law. Some people believe they are above the law and decided to do whatever they like regardless of the consequences. Children and adults are both responsible for the actions they commit. The criminal justice should tried children as adults for committing felonies because a crime is a crime regardless of the age of the individual. This can be fulfilled by punishing juvelives with the correct sentence, by seeing that they know their actions lead to consequence and they have the proper process for a teen to be tried as adult.

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These three ethical issues that are rising in the juvenile justice system will be further examined. Should adolescents be held to the same level of accountability for their actions as adults? LaBelle

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It is debated that juveniles are committing more serious and violent crimes because the youth think they can get off easy and take advantage of the system put in place. Those in favor of youth offenders being tried as adults believe that as juveniles are punished to the full extent of the law, future youth offender will think twice before committing a criminal act. In support of this, seventy-five percent of the transferred juveniles interviewed by Redding and Fuller (2004) felt that their experiences in the adult criminal justice system had taught them the serious consequences of committing crimes. As one juvenile explained, “[Being tried as an adult] showed me it’s not a game anymore. Before, I thought that since I’m a juvenile I could do just about anything and just get 6 months if I got

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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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In an age where juvenile crime has escalated from simple truancy to more serious crimes such as mass school shootings some would agree it is time to abolish juvenile courts or modify the system at the very least. Because of the seriousness of juvenile crime in this day and age, most states have already lowered the age limit for juvenile court jurisdiction from 17 years and are prosecuting more children as adults depending of the seriousness of the crime. Some criminal justice and child welfare scholars argue that younger children do not have the mental capability or experience to weigh the consequence of committing a crime and much less understand the implications of a criminal record in their future. Furthermore, they note that most juveniles grow out of criminal behavior as they mature out of the system and in

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Can you imagine waking up behind closed walls and bars? Waking up to see your inmate who is a 45-year-old bank robber and you are a 14-year-old minor who made a big mistake. This is why minors who have committed crimes should not be treated the same as adults. Some reasons are because the consequences given to minors in adult court would impact a minor’s life in a negative way. If a minor is tried through a juvenile court, they have a greater chance of rehabilitation.

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