Should Juveniles Be Tried As Adults

In 1993 10-year-olds Jon Vensibaals and Robert Thomsan beat a 2-year-old to death then put his dead body on the railroad tracks to cover the crime committed. Even though they were just children when they committed this awful crime, they knew what they did was wrong. So the question then is, “if they knew what they were doing was wrong, and planned to murder someone, should they be tried as adults for the crime or as juveniles?” The juvenile criminal system was designed to reform and rehabilitate juveniles in their best interest, depending on the crime. On the other hand, the adult criminal system punishes the adult for crimes. The issue of dangerous kids being charged and sentenced as adults in the late 1980s for especially cruel crimes became

However, others may disagree with the fact that 10-year-olds should be held responsible for criminal actions, arguing that it is a very young age to be sentenced as an adult. Minor criminals should be held back for criminal actions; in some cases, sentenced as an adult starting at the age of 10 for severe crimes that are obviously wrong. Juvenile heinous crimes are nothing new nor surprising in today’s society. This problem started to grow so much in the 1990s that the State's Supreme Court became involved when it came to juveniles. In the Online video, the filmmaker has mentioned that “In the United States, there are 2,225 young offenders who have been sentenced to life without parole for having committed murder in their teens.”. This just shows how the problem continues to grow with time. With the USA having the most juveniles in prison, the most common reasons for that is either family trauma or abuse or the use of

Most of these criminals commit these crimes to others that are innocent because of anger issues that can not be handled or for other mental or drug addiction issues. Hence, the minor will be sent to where their crime and mental status are to be tried for their crimes. Depending on the crime and on the criminal mental and drug issues, they will be sent to either juvenile detention or prison, whichever suits the best for their behavior and actions and where it helps society be more safe from the spread of these crimes. In the U.S., ages are established when a person is responsible enough to drive and vote; in other parts of the world there is also an “Age of Criminal Responsibility.” The age of criminal responsibility is based on when a country decides people are capable of understanding their behavior and are responsible for their actions. Ages range from 7 to 17 depending on what country one lives in. Ireland and the UK, for example, are as low as 10. The average age of criminal responsibility throughout the world is 12. According to Penal International’s online article, Justice for Children Briefing