Juvenile Offenders

A youth say 13, boy or girl, acquires a gun and shoots another youth who has been harassing them. There is no doubt they should receive some sort of punishment for their actions. However, should they receive this punishment through the Juvenile Courts or Criminal Courts? This is the question, which has no real definitive answer. However, this paper will attempt to address some important issued concerning this matter. Studies have shown that juvenile crime was on the raise during the beginning of the 1990’s. During the late 1990’s and into the early part of the new century these crimes have fallen slightly. However, where these crimes the same type of crimes as juveniles committed before? No these crimes have become more violent in nature due to the change in the world we live in. Therefore, in conducting research into this matter it came to show the age of the individual should not be a determining factor but the crime committed. Juveniles today commit more serious crimes than before; thus requiring them to be tried and punished as adults because of the nature of the crime, violence involved, and types of crimes.

Now in dealing with the crimes being committed we cannot discuss this without first getting over a major hurdle, being age. This is the most discussed portion of any argument when dealing with juveniles and crime. At what age does a child have the ability to commit a crime? Under the common law, which all laws in the United States originated, states that a child could not commit a crime if the defense was able to prove infancy. Infancy or in other words immaturity was the guide and concluded a child could not commit an adult offense. However, what is this age and when does it or did it change? Well in order to answer t...

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...ew York University Press.

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“Crime in the United States 2008.” FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation Homepage. N.p., n.d. Web 13 July 2010.

Snyder, H., Sickmund, M., & Poe-Yamagata, E. (2000) Juvenile Transfers to Criminal Court in the 1990’s: Lessons Learned From Four States. National Center for Juvenile Justice: Pittsburg, PA.

Griffin, P. (2008) Different from Adults: An Updated Analysis of Juvenile Transfer and Blending Sentencing Laws, With Recommendations for Reform. National Center for Juvenile Justice: Pittsburg, PA

Griffin, P. (2003) Trying and Sentencing Juveniles as Adults: An Analysis of State Transfer and Blending Sentencing Laws. National Center for Juvenile Justice: Pittsburg, PA