Should Juveniles Be Punished As Adults For Committing the Same Crime?
A second chance can be exactly what a person needs to get their life back on track. Since 1899, juveniles who broke the law were brought before the juvenile court. In rare cases, judges decided which juveniles were not susceptible to treatment in the juvenile court and in these rare cases, the juveniles were sent to the adult criminal court.
The juvenile execution rate is low in the U.S. but there are still some countries that allow for youth to be killed. The brain of a teen compared to an adult’s brain is still growing and developing. “Research has shown that brains don’t look like an adult brain until the early to mid-twenties, so if your child is under 25, you are still in the teen zone.”(Ritvo, Eva M.D), so the brain is unsure on the decision making process.
Although many people may disagree, violent juvenile criminals should be tried as adults. There should not be any mercy on their crimes. They know they will be tried as juveniles and violent crimes will be repeated. A cold winter night, behind a Blue Bell ice cream shop, in an alley, stands a 15 year old girl. Bobby Jackson walks up and stabs the 15 year old in the chest and shoots her 2 times in the head. Bobby Jackson, 14 years old, is now being charged with murder. Your mom is taking out the trash, Bobby Jackson walks up and stabs your mom and shoots her two times. Bobby Jackson is getting charged with murder, but is only serving 2 years in prison. Although people may disagree that violent criminals should be tried as adults, there should not be any mercy on their time sentenced in jail. They know they will be tried as juveniles and violent crimes will be repeated.
Treat Juveniles Differently than Adult Criminals
I do not think it is a good idea to lock juveniles up in prisons with adults. For a child to set down and plan a murder for instance, there would have to be some kind of deep emotional problem. On the other side of this, if the child knows right from wrong and he can sit down and plan a murder, then you could say if he is old enough to kill someone then he is old enough to die. The juvenile criminal is rooted much deeper than right from wrong. It starts back from when they are small children.
If for some reason, a criminal felt a necessity to physically harm someone for their own gain or amusement, they should be considered dangerous and have punishment for their crimes. There have been many, many times where an adolescent has caused such pain and sadness, just to be let off with a slap on the wrist. I’m talking about murder here, accidental or otherwise, murder is murder no matter who or how old you are, and the fact they they practically get away with it because of their ages disgusts me. According to the justice department, about 10% of the homicides in the United States are committed by juveniles under 18. Want to see just how serious it gets? Every year the FBI has to
Prior to 1899, in the United States, child offenders over the age of seven were imprisoned in the same facilities as adult offenders. As a result of political and social reformers, society’s views on juvenile justice began to shift to a more sympathetic view. Beginning in 1899, individual states began to address the youth incarceration problem by establishing youth reform homes, the predecessor to juvenile dentition centers. The objective of these homes was the rehabilitation of juvenile offenders for their re-entry into society and for the greater good. However, in recent years, many have argued that juveniles charged with violent felonies ought to be treated as adults; while others argue its antithesis. In 2005, Kirk Gunderson (17) committed suicide while incarcerated in an adult jail. His mother, Vicky Gunderson, explained to a researcher on youth justice how her son was sexually assaulted and involved in physical confrontations. He was placed in confinement where he was left for two and a-half hours by himself. Once the guards came back, Kirk was found dead hanging by a blanket from a smoke detector. It is upsetting to many to read cases like Kirk’s but it poses a question; could this act of violence been avoided?
once the minor has committed a violent crime, they are no longer a kid. The minor had the ability to know right from wrong, but he still chose to commit the heinous crime anyway. Choosing to commit this violent crime means that the minor chose to act as an adult and must be held accountable. Once the minor has made the decision to act as an adult, they must be treated as an adult. If we do not teach minors that what they did has consequences they will never learn. Arguments can be made that minors should not be treated as adults and while these arguments do have merit, they are not my beliefs. In my opinion, minors who commit violent crimes need to be tried as adults. Justice does not discriminate when it comes to age. Right is right, and wrong is wrong and the wrong should be punished equally.
In the twenty first century there have been many cases of kids committing murder, whether it is the relationships they hold at home or the video games they play, the environment a child is exposed to will affect their developmental process. Children are supposed to be innocent and pure without the desire to kill, yet in the last 50 years official statistics on Listverse.com suggest that over 1,100 kids have been found guilty of murder in England alone. The average age of a child that kills is just about fourteen years old. These kids are usually brought up in an environment that does not teach them right from wrong.
Crimes are most associated with adults. Murder is especially most associated with adults. When a teenager commits such a crime such as murder they must be tried, and they should not be treated with leniency and coddling, but with the full force of the law as an adult.
In the article, “kids are kids-until they commit crimes” is about how kids are considered kids until they commit a crime. In other words, people say that kids are not kids because they commit crimes. That is why a lawmaker, Ron Wilson, had had enough with those statements. Wilson said if kids were being trialed as adults then so be it. But you have to lower the age of voting to 14. And really in light of things, how crazy would that be. The group of 18 and under, is what people usually write off as “only kids.” It is the reason why they can't drink or smoke. Why? Because they are only kids. It's like saying, ok, if you want to trial kids as adults, then let them smoke and drink and drive and all the things an adult is able to do.