Many people assume that teenagers should not be sentenced as adults, because their brain is not fully developed. On the other hand, people believe if teenagers commit crimes then they need to have consequences for their actions. According to the Campaign for Youth Justices, about 250,000 teenagers are tried, sentenced, or incarcerated as adults every year in the United States (Campaign for Youth Justices 3). Therefore, charging teenagers as adults is fair, because they are human beings just like adults.
On Friday August 16, 2013, Christopher Lane was shot in the back of the head by James Edwards, Chancey Luna, and Michael Jones in Duncan, Oklahoma. While looking on social networks Edwards mentions on his Facebook account: “I see death around the Coner” (Edwards). As a result, Edwards knew what he is doing, because why would you want to put stuff on Facebook about killing someone? While interpreting this quote, it tells me that Edwards knew what person he was going for. One defendant explains to the Police Chief, Danny Ford, “ We were bored and didn’t have anything to do, so we decided to kill somebody.” If the teenagers were bored, how can Edwards tweet that he sees death around the corner? According to Edwards Facebook status, he was planning to commit a crime. Remember, planning is the process of making plans for something. On April 19, 2013, Edwards updated a Facebook status saying: “When s**t gets serious... That n***a always #M.I.A. He bout to dropped from the team” (Edwards). Edwards knew who he wanted to kill, because Lane played on a baseball team for an Oklahoma College. In addition, Edwards Facebook updates says he was going to drop someone from a team, therefore, it shows that Lane was the target. James Edwards, C...
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...d Cooper and her friends took ten dollars from Pelke and her car keys? When I get bored, I don’t think about killing an innocent person. While interpreting the Ruth Pelke case, it’s hard to believe that people would so such a thing to an innocent person that is minding their own business.
In the article called, “Kids Are Kids-Until They Commit Crimes,” by Marjie Lundstrom mentions that if kids commit a crime, then they are not kids. Lundstrom says in her article, “On March 9, Lionel Tate-who was twelve when he savagely beat to death a six-year-old-will likely learn if he must spend life in prison after his lawyer unsuccessfully tried to put pro wrestlying on trial. Now fourteen and convicted as an adult of first-degree murder, Tate supposedly was imitating his World Wrestling Federation heroes when he pummeled his playmate, less than a third his size” (Lundstrom).
According to criminal.findlaw.com the definition of the juvenile justice system is the area of criminal law applicable to people not old enough to be held responsible for criminal acts. Juveniles are people 17 and under. Juveniles should be convicted as adults for violent crimes like assault or murder etcetera because if they can commit an adult crime they should get an adult punishment. Also if juveniles don’t get punished for their crimes then they’ll keep doing it because they got off unpunished the first time.
Thousands of kid criminals in the United States have been tried as adults and sent to prison (Equal Justice Initiative). The debate whether these kids should be tried as adults is a huge controversy. The decision to try them or to not try them as an adult can change their whole life. “Fourteen states have no minimum age for trying children as adults” (Equal Justice Initiative). Some people feel that children are too immature to fully understand the severity of their actions. People who are for kids to be tried as adults feel that if they are old enough to commit the crime, then they are old enough to understand what they are doing. There are people who feel that children should only be tried as adults depending on the crime.
Kids should be subjected to the measures of punishment that our judicial system is giving to them. Kids who show lots of enmity should be tried as adults. It is the only way to protect the innocent children. These kids know right from wrong, but they choose to do the wrong things and violence is wrong. As the laws have gotten stricter on discipline the kids have gotten wilder. When we let society tell us how to discipline our children then violent children is the result.
Today, we live in a society faced with many problems, including crime and the fear that it creates. In the modern era, juveniles have become a part of society to be feared, not rehabilitated. The basis of the early juvenile justice system was to rehabilitate and create safe havens for wayward youth. This is not the current philosophy, although the U.S. is one of the few remaining countries to execute juveniles. Presently, our nation is under a presidential administration that strongly advocates the death penalty, including the execution of juveniles. The media and supporters of capital punishment warn of the "superpredator," the juvenile with no fear, remorse, or conscience. Opponents of this view encourage the idea that another death is only revenge, not deterrence. We will examine the rights allotted to juvenile offenders, and the punishments inflicted upon them for violations of the law.
Age is a factor in why Juveniles should not be sentenced to life in prison. As Paul Thompson states in his article Startling Finds on Teenage Brains from the Sacramento Bee, published on May 25, 2001 “ ...These frontal lobes,which inhibit our violent passions, rash action and regulate our emotions are vastly immature throughout the teenage years.” he also says that “The loss[of brain tissue] was like a wildfire, and you see it in every teenager.”. This loss of brain tissue plays a role in the erratic behavior of teens, they cannot properly assess their emotions and thoughts. During this period of brain tissue loss teens are unpredictable, adults do not know what their teen’s next move will be, teens themselves do not even know what their next move will be. As we grow our brains develop, therefore teen brains are not fully developed, so they cannot be held to the same standards as adults.
A crime is a crime regardless of age. If they did the crime, they should do the time. Juveniles try to push the law to the limits due to their age. They are unaware and don’t realize their criminal history will follow them all their lives. Juvenile offenders should be tried and punished as adults based on the crime, criminal history of the individual, and the personality of the offender.
developing mentally and emotionally. This can lead to poor decision-making and impulsive behavior. Additionally, studies have shown that juveniles are more likely to be influenced by peer pressure and external factors, which can lead to criminal behavior. Therefore, it is important to consider the age and developmental stage of the offender when determining the appropriate punishment. Instead of the death penalty, alternative forms of punishment such as rehabilitation and counseling should be considered for juvenile offenders.
Trying juveniles in adult courts has negative effects on the defendants as previously proven. Another reason juveniles should be tried in juvenile centers is that trying an adolescent offender in adult court is a terrible double standard. Author Peter Katel(2008) would agree with this. He stated that brain scans have shown that adolescents do not think like adults(2008). If a teenager doesn 't think like an adult they should not be handled the same way(Katel, 2008). This is evidence of the double standard. There are age restrictions on many things do to the thought processes of different aged people, however when it comes to justice some find it acceptable to try all evenly. In the mind of Hannah McCrea(2008), “…”justice” means proportional
Based on my recent study of the adolescent brain and cognitive development, I don't think anyone under the age of 24 should be trialed as an adult. Even though 18 is the age when teens become adults and get jobs, our brain is so vulnerable as teens. The pressure added on by society telling 18 year olds to suddenly grow up and be an adult is overwhelming. With that stress of growing up is also stress to make the right decisions and meet expectations of others. During teenage years the adolescent brain is at it’s most crucial stage in development. Being trialed during this developmental stage hinders proper development. After viewing the case studies on the 5 teens from colorado I concluded that most trials take weeks and months at a time. During
Juveniles deserve to be tried the same as adults when they commit certain crimes. The justice systems of America are becoming completely unjust and easy to break through. Juvenile courts haven’t always been known to the everyday person.
"Don't do the crime, if you can't do the time." -- David Grusin and Morgan Ames
People have mixed feelings on why or why not teens should be tried as adults. The ones who think that teens shouldn’t be tried, think teens are just as innocent as little puppies. The ones who think that teens should be tried as adults think that teens are the devil and they should be locked up and have the key thrown away. Both sides of the argument have reasonable reasons to why they think what they think on this topic.
Also, in Marjie Lundstrom’s brief article entitled, Kids Are Kids-Until They Commit Crimes, she centers on the case of twelve year old Lionel Tate and his punishment for committing murder. For instance, Lundstrom states how Tate at the age of twelve savagely beat to death a young girl while he was trying to mimic one of his ‘World Wrestling Heroes” which he saw on television and at the age of fourteen became convicted as an adult of first degree murder (Lundstrom). At the time he was only twelve when he committed the crime and still to this day is getting punished for a heinous crime he committed at such a young age. Although Tate did commit a cruel crime and should receive some sort of punishment for it, the fact that he is under age should
Being eighteen years of age is when one is officially and legally regarded as an adult. As an adult, one is deemed to incorporate the capacity to appreciate certain rights that every individual is given alongside the necessity to fulfill certain obligations. At this age, individuals gain privileges, such as the ability to purchase tobacco products, voting rights, purchase fireworks and get tattoos. However, although being of age sounds great, there is one privilege that many do not desire to ever attain, the ability to be held responsible for your own actions. In the year 2012, the Supreme Court made the decision to ban mandatory life imprisonment without parole for juveniles. Nevertheless, their decision was utterly unacceptable. Because of this new rule, jurists, prosecutors, lawyers and just about any adult, forcibly must be lenient towards juveniles who cannot be justified when they commit atrocious crimes.
Should juveniles be sentenced to prison for life? Should juveniles be trialed as adults after committing a heinous crime and sentenced to life? As a teenager, this question is far too complicated to answer because I am a teenager yet in my opinion, I believe that the juvenile should not be sentenced to life. I believe that there is another way to punish them for their crimes. The last execution was in 2006 in California.