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Should Juveniles Be Tried As Adults

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Juveniles Should Not Be Tried as Adults
In February of 2009, police found the body of “twenty-six year old Kenzie Houk... with a bullet in her head” (Chen). The murder suspect: eleven year old Jordan Brown, her future step-son. At the time, Jordan was an energetic, little fifth-grader. He was just like any other boy. He loved riding his bike, reading Harry Potter, playing football, and spending the weekends hunting with his dad. Jordan was always smiling, and he never showed any violent behavior in the past. Now, if Jordan is convicted as an adult, he might face life in prison without the chance of parole. He was only eleven, and his attorneys said he still does not fully understand what he did or the trial process he has to go through now …show more content…

Juveniles are still in the process of growing up and finding where they belong. If they spend this time growing up in prison, then the influences around them will not be positive. Hayden, who had received a 3.7 GPA in high school and was on his high school wrestling team, is now serving four and a half years in prison, and his father said, “If he[Hayden] was in the right kind of environment, he would have a real chance of straightening out his life and going forward” (Villa). It is hard to know if a juvenile is truly going to change, but research by the Human Rights Watch suggests, “children are in the process of growing up. … Their forming identities make young offenders excellent candidates for rehabilitation- they are far more able than adults to learn new skills, find new values, and re embark on a better, law-abiding life” (“Minors Are Not…”). Juveniles can rehabilitate from their mistakes and change their lives. They may need a little help to change, but the help and resource they need are not found in prisons. Sentencing juveniles as adults causes them to lose hope in their future. It makes these teens feel as though they can never accomplish anything in the future because of their one mistake; however, that is far from the truth. Juveniles can still choose to turn their lives

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