Juveniles Should Be Legal For The Criminal Justice System

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Many people in America believes that juveniles should be treated as an adult in the criminal justice system. They believe any age, no matter if you are age 10 or 15 should be tried as an adult. Treating juvenile as an adult in the criminal justice system should not be acceptable because it can have a negative impact on their lives. If I were in charge of New York state laws and procedures I would assure that all juvenile cases will not be handle in the adult court system.

Whether the child is eight, fifteen, or seventeen they should not be treated as adults. My first policies would state that juveniles are not mature enough to be treated as an adult. Juveniles do not have the ability to make decision on their own because they are a juvenile: under the age of 18. These adolescents do not have the ability to drink, drive, get married or sign legal contracts. So, if they do not have the ability to perform those acts under the law, then they should not be treated as an adult under the law. Additionally, they might develop some kind of mental disorder being in such environment. Since they are so young being in that environment will affect them more, he or she may suffer from depression or anxiety. Also, adolescents are more prone to negative influences and peer pressure, so they will not always make the right decisions; not because they do not have an abundance of inexperience. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, “the brain doesn’t look like that of an adult until the early 20s.” This proves that juveniles brains are not development enough to be tried as an adult.

In some cases juveniles have committed a violent crime that led them to go straight to the adult court. In my second policy, if they are waived to adul...

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...uffered from depression and anxiety. He missed out on his brother accomplishments to the NFL and making a world record. He has lost his childhood, doesn’t know how to drive a car, never been on a date. Alonza say, that he still feels like a sixteen. Alonza statement basically says, that going to prison did change or better him because he stills feels like the same age he went into prison. Alonza story shows how going to an adult prison negatively affected his life.
No matter how violent the crime was, no juvenile should be treated as an adult. The Juvenile system was created to focus on the welfare of the child, so entering a adolescent as an adult goes against the mission and does not help the adolescent in any way. Youth should not be excused for for crime as rape, homicide, or home invasion, I believe the punishment should be different for juveniles and adults.

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