Throughout human history, society tries to find the right way to deal with juvenile delinquency and problems of children who are abandoned, left without parental care, or abused. In the 19th century, the United States began to move in the direction of important social reforms that ultimately led to great changes in the ways of solving these problems. Various states have passed laws on child labor, which protected children from heavy-duty, the laws on social assistance to children who were working when the parents abused the children and did not care about them, the laws on education, which guarantees the right of every child to receive education. Murderers, rapists, and other criminals are being released from jail every day after serving only very short and lenient sentences. Who are these criminals and what makes them so special? The criminals are juveniles who commit adult crimes. They are being tried every day in juvenile courts, they are receiving shortened sentences, and they are being released and given new identities to continue to live their lives in peaceful and happy bliss, all while their victims and their families are left to suffer forever. Because the courts and juvenile rights advocates believe that second chances should be given to youths who commit crimes, criminals are walking the streets, living as our neighbors, and in many instances committing additional crimes. In today’s society it is not who or whom it is what. Juvenile offenders are now facing a two court system, not only can they be tried in juvenile court for a crime committed. They are now being charged as adults in adult court. Charging a juvenile as an adult has stirred up ... ... middle of paper ... ...oving lawmakers to rethink policies that treat them like adults” by Sarah Alice Brown . “Between 1994 and 2010, violent crime arrest rates decreased for all age groups, but more for juveniles than for adults”, were Sarah Alice words. In addition she said; more specifically, the rates dropped an average of 54 percent for teenagers 15 to 17, compared to 38 percent for those between 18 and 39. And while arrest rates for violent crimes were higher in 2010 than in 1980 for all ages over 24, the rates for juveniles ages 15 to 17 were down from 1980. In my opinion, I do feel that juveniles should be tried as an adult depending on the crime. I feel if a child decides to make a huge life changing decision they should have to suffer the consequences. If their crime is something little and they don't have a criminal background, then no I don't think they should be.
When our thoughts turn to the criminal justice system it is only a natural instinct to assume everyone associated with policing, courts, and corrections will have to deal with juveniles sometime in their career. Young people in today’s society can be so easily influenced by social situations, peer pressure, and family members. The courts in the United States are faced with difficult decisions on a daily basis. Sentencing juveniles to adult facilities for their crimes is becoming a common trend in the justice system today; however it is not a deterrent whatsoever. “The current policies of juvenile bind over to adult criminal court and severe sentencing have been unsuccessful
A movement has started in our country to renovate the juvenile justice system. This movement wants to erase any differences between young offenders and adult criminals. Almost all fifty states have changed their juvenile justice laws, allowing more youths to be tried as adults...
There has always been controversies as to whether juvenile criminals should be tried as adults or not. Over the years more and more teenagers have been involved in committing crimes. In some cases the juries have been too rough on the teens. Trying teens as adults can have a both positive and negative views. For example, teens that are detained can provide information about other crimes, can have an impact in social conditions, and serve as experience; however, it can be negative because teens are still not mature enough for that experience, they are exposed to adult criminals; and they will lose out on getting an education.
The United States criminal justice system constantly violates human rights. These rights belong to justify every person in America and should not be used to tear one another down for what their beliefs are. Likewise, freedom of speech is so ingrained in the constitution that it should be more widely embraced. The protection of religion, speech, and expression is a critical part of America’s political system. The strong, direct link between freedom and democracy is unbreakable and is an important part in governing ourselves. It states that Congress is prohibited in creating laws against people’s belief’s; yet, it is regularly denied to anyone who talks back to the law. Furthermore, this country supports the death penalty. While some individuals
This paper will discuss the history of the juvenile justice system and how it has come to be what it is today. When a juvenile offender commits a crime and is sentenced to jail or reform school, the offender goes to a separate jail or reforming place than an adult. It hasn’t always been this way. Until the early 1800’s juveniles were tried just like everyone else. Today, that is not the case. This paper will explain the reforms that have taken place within the criminal justice system that developed the juvenile justice system.
They’re more impulsive. There’s more risk taking. They don’t delay like adults, they don’t stop and think, literally.” During pre- and early-adolescence, the brain becomes more competent and dopamine activity increases (Merrefield 1). Things like sex, drugs, and adrenaline thrills feel really good, and when teens are in groups they are even more likely to go for the thrill. These “kids” now-a-days have minds of adults, why should that get a lesser charge for their actions, especially if its murder or rape. Teens do not stop and think before they do, kids in general, do not stop and think about what they’re
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.
Thus, the shifting perceptions of the justice system has transformed what it means to be a child and an adult due to their pervasive, and punitive approaches to crime and delinquency. Although adolescents today enjoy many new freedoms and greater time to experiment, those that don’t conform to “normative behaviors” and engage in socially constructed definitions of delinquency, often end up under the firm hands of the juvenile justice system. Despite the creation of this phase in an adolescent’s life, the injustices within the adult justice system have breached into the juvenile system, thus, blurring the lines of what it means to be an adolescent in modern times. Thereby, the adolescent stage is constantly being manipulated to conform and match the social construction of crime and delinquency, and the rise in the practice of trying juveniles as adults within the court system and mandating life sentences is evidence of this
The death penalty issue has always been one of the most important issues of the contemporary system of justice. Years ago, most the criminals were male over 20, but nowadays the situation has quite changed. Not only grown-ups but also by children who are under 18 years old nowadays commit murders and other terrible crimes. Ordinarily, a young criminal is not applied the same restrictions for his crime as a grown criminal is, nevertheless if it especially goes about capital crimes people start talking about the death penalty for such juveniles. A child always remains a child and if he commits a crime it is not because he has had a good life. It is not the guilt of the children, but their big misfortune. It is a misfortune of not having anybody
A deep look into juveniles in adult prisons. Touch bases on several smaller issues that contribute to juveniles being in and effects of adult prisons. The United States Bureau of Prisons handles two hundred and thirty-nine juveniles and their average age is seventeen. Execution of juveniles, The United States is one of only six countries to execute juveniles. There are sixty-eight juveniles sitting on death row for crimes committed as juveniles. Forty-three of those inmates are minorities. People, who are too young to vote, drink alcohol, or drive are held to the same standard of responsibility as adults. In prisons, they argue that the juveniles become targets of older, more hardened criminals. Brian Stevenson, Director of the Alabama Capital Resource Center said, “We have totally given up in the idea of reform of rehabilitation for the very young. We are basically saying we will throw those kids away. Leading To Prison Juvenile Justice Bulletin Report shows that two-thirds of juveniles apprehended for violent offenses were released or put on probation. Only slightly more than one-third of youths charged with homicide was transferred to adult criminal court. Little more than one out of every one hundred New York youths arrested for muggings, beatings, rape and murder ended up in a correctional institution. Another report showed a delinquent boy has to be arrested on average thirteen times before the court will act more restrictive than probation. Laws began changing as early as 1978 in New York to try juveniles over 12 who commit violent crimes as adults did. However, even since the laws changed only twenty percent of serious offenders served any time. The decision of whether to waive a juven...
Life is precious and we live it only once, however, what we do with it is to our own discretion. Today, we see many young ages decide to live a life of misdeed and become what is known as juvenile criminals, but with these unethical actions come with a consequence and to deal with these unlawful adolescent we have the Juvenile Justice Department. The juvenile justice department is a system used to address and deal with youth that are caught and convicted of crimes. However, when young offenders commit a serious crime or constantly being in trouble with the law, they are waived into Adult court where they will be subject to any punishment. In some cases they are waived into the adult system automatically such as homicide cases. Based on the
The United States has been affected by a number of crimes committed by juveniles. The juvenile crime rate has been increasing in recent years. Everyday more juveniles commit crimes for various reasons. They act as adults when they are not officially adults. There is a discussion about how juveniles should be punished if they commit heinous crimes. While many argue that juveniles who commit serious crimes, such as murder, should be treated as adults, the fact is, juveniles under the age of eighteen, are not adults, and should not be treated as such.
As human being we all do things that can lead us to great consequences. Our media has created a big picture of criminals, as a big horrible factor that would lead to destruction. The media have come to a conclusion, that just because we do things that are against the law, we are the bad people and need to lock away. Many people have discussed this very important topic, but I certainly believe Juvenile offenders should not be tried as an adult.
“should juvenile offenders be tried and punished as adults?” I deliberately think that all juvenile offenders should be tried and penalized as an adult because even though they are children, they still should be able to comprehend right from wrong, especially when there are dire situations. Now days children are way more intelligent than you think, with all this new technology, you can’t take anyone for granite. The frequency of young children committing these dreadful crimes has escalated enormously for the past couple of decades. There needs to be some type of justice for these innocent victims that are being affected or even killed by these juvenile offenders. As long as you understand what you did was wrong, then you should be tried and convicted as an adult as well. These juvenile systems let x amount of children off the hook when they reach a certain age, which is outrageous for the reasons of these heinous crimes that these immature children commit.
Today?s court system is left with many difficult decisions. One of the most controversial being whether to try juveniles as adults or not. With the number of children in adult prisons and jails rising rapidly, questions are being asked as to why children have been committing such heinous crimes and how will they be stopped. The fact of the matter is that it is not always the children's fault for their poor choices and actions; they are merely a victim of their environment or their parents. Another question asked is how young is too young. Children who are too young to see an R rated film unaccompanied are being sent to adult prisons. The only boundaries that seem to matter when it comes to being an adult are laws that restrain kids from things such as alcohol, pornography, and other materials seen as unethical. Children that are sent to adult prison are going to be subjected to even more unprincipled ideas and scenes. When children can be sent to jail for something as minor as a smash and grab burglary, the judicial system has errors. The laws that send juveniles to adult prisons are inhumane, immoral, and unjust. Kids are often incompetent, which leads to unfair trials. Adult prisons are also very dangerous for minors, and in many cases this leads to more juvenile crimes.