A juvenile is defined as “physiologically immature or undeveloped” in the Merriam Webster dictionary. Throughout the years, laws have changed and teenagers who commit crimes are going to be tried as adults. This is a very big issue because many people have different opinions. Juveniles who commit adult crimes should be given a proper sentence based on the level of their crime because of the goals of the criminal justice system and the teen’s level of competency. The Criminal Justice System’s main goal is to “deliver justice for all, by convicting and punishing the guilty and helping them to stop offending, while protecting the innocent” (Garside). Juveniles who murder, steal, etc. are guilty. It does not matter their age because they have …show more content…
Paul Thompson says in his article “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains”, “massive loss of brain tissue occurs in the teenage years...brain cells and connections are being lost in the areas controlling impulses, risk taking, and self control..” (Thompson). This fact is used widely by those who disagree with the claim that juveniles should go to prison. However, this is ignoring many other points. For example, by sixteen a teenager can drive and by seventeen a teenager can get a job. If their brain tissue controlling their behaviors is being lost and they can still have the responsibility of getting a job to work with people and getting a license to drive on public roads where there is a chance of accidents, then they're old enough and developed enough to know exactly what they're doing when they are either planning a crime or in the middle of committing …show more content…
Sara Goudarzi of LiveScience.com says in her article “Why Teens Don't Care”, “Children start taking into account other people's feelings around the age of five. But the ability develops well beyond this age, the new research suggests” (Goudarzi). Children at age five can understand other people’s feelings and as well as knowing what is right and wrong, they understand it's bad to commit crimes because it can hurt others. These teens who have committed crimes learned right from wrong at a young age and this is something that is not biological; it's a learned trait. Therefore, they should know that committing a crime is wrong and there are not any other excuses. If five year olds can understand feelings, then there is no excuse for these juveniles. If it is true that brain tissue is lost throughout the development of the brain and knowing right from wrong is learned from outside resources, then the boy or girl who murders, steals, etc. will not lose this ability. As they commit the crime, they are fully aware that what they're doing is wrong. The article “On Punishment and Teen Killers”, Jennifer Jenkins gives another example of how a teenager acts. She says “He [teen who killed the woman] reported to a friend, who testified at his trial, about his ‘thrill kill’ that he just wanted to ‘see what it would feel like to kill someone’” (Jenkins). As said earlier, children learn these
Most people don 't look at every aspect of a crime. They don 't think about everyone that was affected, other than the victim. In her article "On Punishment and Teen Killers", Jennifer Jenkins explains how her younger sister was taken from her by a murderer who shot and killed her. In her article she states, "So few who work on the juvenile offender side can truly understand what the victims of their crimes sometimes go through. Some never recover." Jenkins is explaining her personal experience of losing her younger sister to help others understand what the families of the victim have to deal with for the rest of their lives. She brings a point of view that most people have never been in because they 've never experienced what it 's like to have a loved one taken away from you by murder. In her story she also states, "If brain development were the reason, then teens would kill at roughly the same rates all over the world." Many people believe that the supreme court needs to be more lenient on juveniles because their brain is not fully developed as that of an adult, but brain development cannot be used as an excuse because as Jenkins explains, the teens would be killing at the same rate all over the world. Jenkins also brings up a good point about how the US as a whole needs to step up to prevent these crimes from happening. Jenkins states, "We in America have to own to this particular problem, with weapons so easily available to our youth, and the violence-loving culture we raise them. She is trying to bring awareness to society that America is also at fault for these crimes. Furthermore, she also explains why life sentencing is not as cruel as some may feel it is when she says, "… a life sentencing still allows a great deal of good living to be done, even from behind bars, far more than these teen killers gave to our murdered love
On the contrary Jenkins argues that if that was the case, then teens would kill at roughly the same rates all around the world. On my behalf I concur with Jenkins because everyone is responsible for their own actions and behavior. Consciousness, is what awares our minds whether we decide if we want to do something or not and what is right and wrong. If brain underdevelopment is supposedly one of the reasons, then why aren 't my siblings and I kill people like the other juveniles who are. Professor Stephen Morse reasons that “the actual science does not in any way negate criminal culpability”. We cannot incriminate science or anything because every individual will be different in many aspects because every kid matures and grows at different ages and stages. For example, from my own experiences I have seen a twelve year old child be more mature and formal than a thirty year old adult. In some cases, some children mature when they go through puberty, others till later or maybe even at a very young age.. The “underdevelopment brain” argument should not be an issue to interfere with why a juvenile should not be trial to life in prison. Although a teenager will suggest and demand that their emotions ran high, which was why they killed somebody and their
For example Paul Thompson an assistant professor of neurology who wrote “Startling finds on teenage brains” says that most teens are experiencing a wildfire of tissue loss in their brains, although it cannot be used to excuse their violent or homicidal behavior it can be used as evidence that teenagers are not yet adults so the legal system shouldn’t treat them as such”. Other people also believe it is wrong to convict a juvenile as an adult just because he/she made one “stupid mistake” for example in startling finds in the teenage brain, Brazill 14 years at the time took a gun to school and shot up the middle school teacher but they say Brazill made one “stupid mistake” and that him and many other teens are far from adulthood and that their minds set are not the same as an
The article “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains”, by Paul Thompson, states “While research on brain-tissue loss can help us to understand teens better, it cannot be used to excuse their violent or homicidal behavior”. Thompson writes how even though teens cannot be understandable, they have a certain behavior that was caused by violent or harmful issues they've had at their young childhood. Another example would be in the article “Juveniles Don't Deserve Life Sentences”, by Gail Garinger, says “These children were told that they could never change and that no one cared what became of them”. This shows how these kids can have negative feelings about what they are told at a young age, leading to crimes. Every teen that has committed a crime has had a certain issue or negative way of growing
When comparing adults and juveniles in the terms of justice, I think we all can agree that adults should face greater punishments than a juvenile offender since the adult tends to have more common sense, and it’s not fair for a minor to face the same consequences as an adult. While this may be a preferred viewpoint, there are many factors to consider when viewing cases such as the severity of the crime, the situation the law breaker was in at the time of the crime, and most importantly the age of the criminal. When analyzing a juvenile offender, you must also take into consideration, that they are a minor, and don’t have as much understanding of the law as an adult may have. With these concepts in mind law enforcement is forced to analyze juvenile crimes more intensely to ensure that they are protected under the law, even though they’ve broken the law.
How immature juveniles are not known. But what we do know that they are indeed immature, and cannot control their actions at times. Teens do not think at times as Marjie Lundstrom says in her article Kids Are Kids-Until They Commit Crimes from the Sacramento Bee, published March 1, 2001 “...Tate supposedl...
In the article On Punishment and Teen Killers by Jenkins, sadly brings to our attention that kids are sometimes responsible for unimaginable crimes, in 1990 in a suburban Chicago neighborhood a teenager murdered a women, her husband, and her unborn child, as she begged for the life of her unborn child he shot her and later reported to a close friend that it was a “thrill kill”, that he just simply wanted to see what it felt like to shoot someone. A major recent issue being debated is whether or not we have the right to sentence Juveniles who commit heinous crimes to life in adult penitentiaries without parole. I strongly believe and agree with the law that states adolescents who commit these heinous crimes should be tried as adults and sentenced as adults, however I don’t believe they should be sentenced to life without parole. I chose this position because I believe that these young adults in no way should be excused for their actions and need to face the severe consequences of their actions. Although on the other hand I believe change is possible and that prison could be rehabilitating and that parole should be offered.
As minors commit violent crimes without being held accountable, they can grow up to be real criminals and they can be very dangerous. Without a solid foundation of what is right and wrong, these minors will grow up believing that their actions are the norm. For this reason, minors need to be held accountable. They need to be taught that they cannot get away with their crimes. In 2007, courts with juvenile jurisdiction handled an estimated 1.7 million delinquency cases. Delinquency cases include vandalism, shoplifting, robbery, and murder. These are just some of the crimes minors can commit. This was up by forty-four percent from 1985. If a minor grows up believing that crime is acceptable, they will repeat the pattern. Without interrupting the pattern and making them accountable, these minors will always have a twisted sense of right and wrong. A sense of what is right and wrong is important and can be learned at any age. Minors learn very young, what...
It is expected that at a young age, children are taught the difference between what is right and what is wrong in all types of situations. The majority of Supreme Court Justices abolished mandatory life in prison for juveniles that commit heinous crimes, argued this with the consideration of age immaturity, impetuosity, and also negative family and home environments. These violent crimes can be defined as murder, rape, armed robbery, aggravated assault and the like depending on state law. With these monstrous acts in mind the supreme court justices argument could be proven otherwise through capability and accountability, the underdevelopment of the teenage brain and the severity of the crime. Juveniles commit heinous crimes just like adults
Their brains develop in different stages and they learn skills that they need to learn at certain time. In the article “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences”, by Garinger, she argues that juveniles should not be treated as adults if they commit horrible crimes. Garinger states that juveniles should not be sentenced to life in prison without parole. She states that the court is considering life in prison without parole for juveniles who commit capital crimes. Garinger says that juveniles are immature, and still developing, so they can not be held to the same standards as adults. The writer add that as a juvenile court judge, she has seen how that juveniles can change and may become rehabilitated. For example, the court has already struck down death penalty and the life in prison without parole for juveniles or for young offenders convicted of non-homicide. According to the article, “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life In Prison,” Paul Garinger states that “Brain imaging studies reveal that the regions of the adolescent brain are responsible for controlling thoughts, actions, and emotions are not fully developed. They can not be held to the same standards when they commit terrible crimes.” If this is true, there is no a reason to treat juveniles as
In juvenile court, the judge must decide if the teen gets tried as an adult or minor. If the juvenile gets sent to a juvenile detention center for murder they will live their lives there until they are twenty one, but if tried as an adult they will serve so many years in prison. There is a grey area of law for certain teens that commit serious crimes. In this case of the grey law, each state gets to decide upon the particular state how they person is tried. For most cases pertaining to the juvenile courts are case by case bases. Many believe that it isn’t fair for the teens to be locked up with adults. The U.S. House of Representatives made the Juvenile Justice Act encouraging states to find alternatives to having the teens go through such a process with people much older than themselves (Locked Up…).
...mentally”, as shown above, my claims are supported by this article. They argue that they still need to learn about morals and they are young, they need to have their freedom. None of us are born harmful, be are raised in an environment that traumatized them and change their beliefs. They are pushed to their limits by the same kids that go to school with us. This as many other reasons ,such as, mental illness, parental abused, social status and much more are the main caused by murder.This is why teenager commits crime, aside that our brain still hasn 't fully develop and adults see that if they did the crime they must make they time. There are other ways to teach them a lesson, but not to locking them for their whole life. Not let them roam freely, but give them the chance to see the outside world and make the realized what they done to lose that freedom they once had
Juvenile offenders should not be tried as adults because there are differences between a teenager and adult. A teenager is not mature as an adult. Some teenagers are capable to change their behavior and are capable to recognize their own mistakes. It is a huge mistake for juveniles offenders to be tried as adults and send them to adult court and prison . There are many factors why they should not be tried as adult.
...d States, juveniles charged with violent felonies ought to be treated as adults in the criminal justice system” (Maxwell). In the criminal justice system everyone has the right to be treated equally regardless the age they have. This society that were living in believes many juveniles offender are being treated differently regard to what age are the juveniles and there brain is not fully developed is injustice the court of law has the right to treat the juveniles the same way as a adult. There should be a reaction or action against the juvenile that commit certain types of crimes they should further receive their punishment for what they done and tried as adults. In the United States many people believe that juveniles should be tried as a adult, with the evidence and the facts they have come to a point that they should be treated the same no matter the age they are.
In today’s generation there are many children and teens that commit crimes to satisfy their self being. Every day we see in the news about the reasons why children or teens commit crimes like murder or homicide. Sentencing juveniles to life in prison is not a right response to prevent homicide and serious murder, because their brains are not fully develop and the bad environment they live in. Teenagers or children need to be remain unformed of preventing crimes in today’s society. With this said, juvenile’s mental brains, backgrounds and growth are the reasons why they are not proficient to maintain themselves in a prison cell.