Teenagers are seen as idiotic, reckless, and terrible when it comes to making grown up decisions. Jeffrey Arnett, describes teenagers as egocentric, self-centered. “Adolescents are able to imagine their own lives in a magnified and grandiose way, and may see themselves as having a specially ordained existence (Arnett, Jeffrey).” While teenagers are busy imaging what their lives can be, they pay no attention to the present, to the ways their futures can be derailed, such as, drugs, death, and legal prosecution. All of these things fit under one broad term, reckless behavior.
Not every teenager portrays reckless behavior, but majority of teenagers are defined that way by society. In the United States, juveniles were involved in at least 680 murders, in the year 2011 alone (Statistical Briefing Book). Nationwide 2,600 inmates serve the sentence of life-without-parole for crimes they committed as juveniles. In the state of Pennsylvania alone, 450 inmates serve this sentence, which also appears to be the most in any U.S. state (Juvenile Law Center)
Imagine this you are sitting in the court waiting to hear the final verdict for the individual who murdered your loved one. Instead of the harsh punishment this murderer deserves, a lighter sentence is giving because of one issue, age. After the startling news, that your loved one will not being getting the justice they deserve, the pain and heartbreak will only intensify and multiply. Many aspects that are taken into consideration when finding a verdict and sentencing an individual are for the most part important, but when it comes to a crime it should be judged fairly. A juvenile has the same amount of responsibility as an adult and vice versa. There are all sorts of things that set juveni...
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...ly a difference in age, if the crime is the same? How could anyone get away with a crime they decided to take part in and consciously became involved. How would you feel if your son, daughter, sibling, or relative was killed, and the person who decided to kill them was still out, walking the same streets as you?
Lastly, it is understandable that not every teenagers’ life is a breeze, and that some are stuck in an identity crisis. But there are many of other solutions for handling problems, situations you may be afraid to face, or for any advice you might need. With so much help to offer a juvenile, it is unacceptable to act out in such a way that a violent crime is committed. Once the crime is committed, it done it cannot be changed and for that charge juveniles with the sentence they deserve. Don’t go easy on them, or give them a deal because they do not deserve it.
“More than 2,500 children in the United States had been sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Most juveniles sentenced to life imprisonment without parole had been convicted of homicide crimes. We estimated there were fewer than two hundred juveniles serving life without parole for non-homicide offenses” (Stevenson, 2014, pp. 269-270).
y of their actions.To demonstrate this assertion is correct, sufficient research has been complied.To prove in the article, On Punishment and Teen Killers, by Jennifer Jenkins has stated that,”We in America have to own this particular problem, with weapons so easily available to our youth, and the violence-loving culture in which we raise them”(5).Although it 's not us who commit the crime we do make it easier for them to get a hold on weapons espicially in the Unites States.Adam Liptak points out in the article, Jailed for Life After Crimes as Teenagers, that “The United States is one of only a handful of countries that does that.Life without parole, the most severe form of life sentences,is theoretically available for
Throughout and for many years there has been a lot of controversy on how to trial someone who has committed a crime under the age of 18. A lie will be a lie even if it 's serious or innocent and that 's why just like a crime will always be a crime, no matter what the situation is. The age of a person who has committed murder shouldn 't be an issue or a complication. Many advocate that the juvenile is just a child, but despised that I believe that is no justification or defense for anyone who does a crime. America and the nation need to apprehend that juveniles that are being conducted to life in prison is not just for one small incident or crime, but for several severe crimes according to Jennifer Jenkins, Juvenile Justice Information
Vandergoot determines that the reasoning capacity of an adolescent, the ability to make legal decisions, and filter unnecessary information is unclear to a juvenile in the justice system; the vagueness of youth stepping into the courts prevents them from fully participating in the justice system. ( Vandergoot, 2006). As a result of this impreciseness youth encounter Vandergoot concludes a separate justice system allocated for youth to adhere to adolescent needs. Vandergoot discusses the Youth Criminal Justice Act a justice system devised to adhere to youth needs. She summarizes the system that benefits young offenders in contrast to adult offenders.
A large proportion of all crimes committed throughout the United States are committed by juveniles. In the United States there are roughly 73.8 million youths; youth being defined as being under the age of eighteen years old (CrimeSolutions). The total U.S population is roughly 317,800,000 million people making juveniles account for about twenty-three percent of the whole population (Census Bureau). Although there are not as many juveniles as there are adult’s, juveniles account for a good portion of crimes that are committed. For violent crimes about twenty percent of the crimes are committed by juveniles and twenty-five percent of property crimes (FactSheet). Although, the total amount of juvenile offenders has gone down throughout the years, there is still more that needs to be done to prevent the crimes that are being committed by juveniles. There are many different programs that are out there to help prevent juveniles from committing crimes or recommitting a crime. There have been many different studies to show the specific time period juveniles commit crimes most throughout the day, which programs help juveniles and what ones do not, and studies that show the sex and race of the most juvenile offenders that are convicted.
So by punishing juveniles as adults, the others may come to the conclusion that it is not so easy to cut loose once being prosecuted as an adult. They will realize this is the real world, and that It may not be another “slap on the wrist” the next time. Teens will realize there will be no special consideration because of their age. In the article, “In Prison, Teenagers Become Prey,” by T.J Parsell, he explains using ethos, logos, and pathos to describe how some teens who become incarcerated end up killing themselves due to the fact of how horrific and traumatizing it is in jail. He states, “Most juveniles who serve time are eventually released. They will either be traumatized from sexual assault or hyper-violent from having learned to fend off the threat” (Parsell). Although teens are too “young” for prison, many still believe that life lessons will be obtained throughout the years of their punishment. It will teach them to be responsible and to think before they act. One author who believes in adult punishment is
In this day and age you see people who are making bad decisions, for example the use of drugs and underage drinking. The decision to do these things is most of the time done by people who are adolescents. These people don't think about the real consequences that it could have later in their lives or even the damage that it does to their bodies right now. These people do it without thinking.
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
Juvenile murderers, also known as juvenile homicide offenders, date back seventy years. These children’s age ranges from five to seventeen years old. Most were said to be psychotic
On the other hand, if there was no reason behind the crimes, for example, a juvenile kills a person or vast amounts of people because they find joy in
An adolescent does not possess the mature brain development to comprehend that their actions have a trickling effect. . “The rational part of a teen’s brain isn’t fully developed and won’t be until age 25 or so” (Sather and Shelat). They have an inability to understand that one wrong choice can change the course of their life.
In many cases, there are teenagers who are sentenced to life without parole because of a crime that they have committed. Usually these teens are misunderstood for something that they did not commit or just because they were the “accomplice” of the person who really did commit the crime. Juveniles should not be sentenced with life without parole, due to teenagers not knowing what they are doing most of the time. The impulsiveness of their undeveloped brain is usually the one responsible. These teens are usually undergoing different emotions and things that they cannot control.
transcends into adulthood (Casey, 2008). During adolescence there are examinable changes in various areas of life. These changes occur physically as the adolescent goes through puberty, as well as psychological changes where high emotional reactivity emerges, and social development is at its height (Casey, 2008). Adolescents are more likely than adults or children to engage in risky behaviour that can subsequently lead to death or illness by drunk driving, carrying weapons, using illegal drugs, and engaging in unprotected sex, which in turn can lead to STD’s and teenage pregnancies (Eaton, 2006). The prior is proof that adolescents do engage in risky behaviour. Through this essay we will explore the various theories of why risky behaviour is at its height during adolescence.
Firstly, everyone has gone or will go through the teenage rebellion phase. No matter how good of a person you think you are, you have probably rebelled against an elder person at least once. Once hormones have revealed it-self, children turn into confused young adults that think they can do everything by themselves and that there will be no longer any need of nurture from adults. The word “young” from “Young adults” are what teenagers completely ignore, when actually they should do the opposite and ignore the “adults” part.
In a world where crime occurs every second of the day on every street, the effort to prevent our youth from witnessing such things has grown nearly impossible. The duty those who are older than juveniles have is to place them in a positive place to grow, away from violence. Since the youth may not recognize right from wrong, someone must do so for them. The juvenile is looked at by the Judicial System almost as the child of the state. By this the state has the best interest for the child and will act in whatever manner necessary to accomplish this. Although the State does understand that juveniles should be treated as if they are less to blame for a crime than an adult, there have been many counts of juvenile cases that raise questions about current laws. When a juvenile commits a crime that would normally see an adult face serious time in prison, the sentencing process falls nowhere in the same category. This is because of the certain rules and regulations for courts in the Juvenile System that limit the juvenile sentencing drastically. Just for the reasoning that a juvenile is a growing human being with an undeveloped brain, does not condone a juvenile to commit gruesome crimes that will conclude in no way near the punishment deserved.