ipl-logo

Juveniles As Adults

998 Words4 Pages

An average juvenile was involved in an argument with his teacher and took a gun and shot him without any intentions. When on trial, he realized that he made an unwise decision and responded quizzically to the interrogation questions from the prosecutor. Subsequently, demonstrators outside the trial court argued that “a child is not a man” and shouldn’t be punished like one. Such a case was presented in the trial of Nathaniel Brazill. Although all lives matter and children are known for being compulsive, dangerous citizens of our society, they are juveniles and deserve to be tried as juveniles. Therefore, trying juveniles as adults is an act of injustice because they lack mental development, they are often influenced by adults in their malicious …show more content…

For example, Luke Corcoran, stated that “What [juveniles] are not going to have is the opportunity to kill another person.” (Hernandez, Page 6) Additionally, although juvenile crime is on the decline, “persuading the public to soften its stance on youthful offenders… is a hard sell.” (Hernandez, Page 6) However, most juveniles feel guilty about their crimes and change their personalities in prison. For example, a juvenile “took part in a violent fight… Although tried as an adult, he served his sentence in Juvenile Hall, and by all accounts has turned his life around… Jose represents how kids, even those charged with violent offenses, can change when given a chance.” (“Four Kids, Four Crimes,” Page 1) Similarly, Jacob Ind changed his values by learning that his detention was what he needed to “heal himself” as a person (“Five Stories,” Page 1) As a result, juvenile detention alone can enforce a life lesson for juveniles not to commit any crimes. In conclusion, having juveniles tried as adults is an unfair deal. After all, they are influenced by their psychological malaises, such as the effects of extreme brain tissue loss in areas controlling compulsion. This, in part, is caused by adults directly telling them to commit a wrongdoing without thought of the consequences. This also ties in with abuse, in which most juveniles may simply not have a choice. All in all, juveniles should be tried for their age because they are not adults, but instead young individuals who can make a change in their behavior if they are given a second

Open Document