Juvenile Offenders Should be Tried as Adults

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During the 1970s and 1980s the system of juvenile justice had been changed drastically across the United States: a substantial share of the crimes committed by juvenile moved to the jurisdiction of the criminal courts. It happened due to the significant rise of the juvenile crime rates (Fagan, 2008). David O. Brink (2004), a philosophy professor, argues that this transformation was also a part of a more general trend “to get tough” with criminals, due to the increasing number of violent crimes. There are several main supportive arguments to be presented here. First, the transformation of the judicial system will help to maintain social order and justice, and also to prevent other juveniles from committing crime in the future; in addition to this, the division of courts per age does not in fact justify itself, at least when it comes to the proclaimed aim of rehabilitation or reeducating young criminals; and finally, if individuals want society to be free from young criminals, more attention should be paid to our children, and some steps must be taken in advance.

The first argument is in favor of social order. Any well-organized society exists in accordance with the strict set of rules and principles everyone must follow, as well as to expect others to follow them. This sense of mutual responsibility and equality before the law must rule out a person from malicious mischief; otherwise they must be ready for suffering. The differences in punishment measures for different categories of offenders who commit the same crime undermine the system of social order and justice. Why should some offenders get second chance and escape punishment? Who will give a second chance to their victims?

In order to make today children incapable of co...

... middle of paper ...

...ce is very dubious about its rehabilitative function. Society in general has to pay more attention not to the re-educating, but initially to the right upbringing, so that the juvenile crimes could be prevented.

Works Cited

Brink, D. (2004). Immaturity, normative competence, and juvenile transfer: How (not) to punish minors for major crimes. Texas Law Review, 82, 1555.

Fagan, J. (2008) Juvenile crime and criminal justice: Resolving border disputes. The Future of Children, 18(2), 81-118.

Maroney, T. (2009). The False Promise of Adolescent Brain Science in Juvenile Justice. Notre Dame Law Review, 85, 89.

Steinberg, L. (2000). Should juvenile offenders be tried as adults? A developmental perspective on changing legal policies. Paper presented as a part of Congressional Research Briefing entitled, Juvenile crime: causes and consequences, Washington.

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