Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
What are consequences for juvenile offenders
Juveniles getting adult jail sentences
Juveniles getting adult jail sentences
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: What are consequences for juvenile offenders
"Criminal court doesn't care they are kids," said Melissa Sickmund, Chief of Systems Research at the National Center for Juvenile Justice in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "Once they are there, it's just another case." There have been many debates on whether teens should be tried as adults. There are many exceptions to trying teens as adults. Various factors must be considered such as, how serious is the wrongdoing and if teens aren’t given adult responsibilities, then how can they be tried as an adult?
Many people think that it’s good to try teens as adults because they committed a serious offense. If the crime is murder, manslaughter, or arson, you can see how it would seem right to try the teen as an adult. They committed a very serious felony
…show more content…
People use the argument that teens are not fully adults. Research shows that the human brain is not fully developed until the age of 25. The brain of a teen is very underdeveloped and thinks differently than an adult. Because a teen does not think the same as an adult they don’t fully understand what is going on in the big world around them.
People have mixed feelings on why or why not teens should be tried as adults. The ones who think that teens shouldn’t be tried, think teens are just as innocent as little puppies. The ones who think that teens should be tried as adults think that teens are the devil and they should be locked up and have the key thrown away. Both sides of the argument have reasonable reasons to why they think what they think on this topic. There seems to be no right or wrong with this argument. You can see where the information from both sides can persuade people and really make them think about should be done in this situation. It should mainly depend on the case of severity of the crime. It should also depend on the age of the teen. Are they mature enough to understand why they are being sentenced as an adult? The decision should be made by the judge, with the help of psychiatrists and psychologists. It should not be made from legal teams that are just there to win their case. They aren't worried about the life they could ruin. There are many things that need to be thought about when making a decision like this
Within the last five years, violent offenses by children have increased 68 percent, crimes such as: murder, rape, assault, and robbery. Honestly, with these figures, it is not surprising at all that the Juveniles Courts focus less on the children in danger, and focus more on dangerous children. This in fact is most likely the underlying reasoning behind juveniles being tried as adults by imposing harsher and stiffer sentences. However, these policies fail to recognize the developmental differences between young people and
The article titled “ Juvenile Justice from Both Sides of the Bench”, published by PBS, and written by Janet Tobias and Michael Martin informs readers on numerous judges’ opinions on the juveniles being tried as adults. Judge Thomas Edwards believed that juveniles should not be tried as adults because they are still not mature enough to see the consequences of their actions and have a chance to minimize this behavior through rehabilitation programs. Judge LaDoris Cordell argues that although we shouldn’t give up on juveniles and instead help them be a part of society, however, she believes that some sophisticated teens that create horrible crimes should be tried as adults. Bridgett Jones claims that teens think differently than adults and still
For example Paul Thompson an assistant professor of neurology who wrote “Startling finds on teenage brains” says that most teens are experiencing a wildfire of tissue loss in their brains, although it cannot be used to excuse their violent or homicidal behavior it can be used as evidence that teenagers are not yet adults so the legal system shouldn’t treat them as such”. Other people also believe it is wrong to convict a juvenile as an adult just because he/she made one “stupid mistake” for example in startling finds in the teenage brain, Brazill 14 years at the time took a gun to school and shot up the middle school teacher but they say Brazill made one “stupid mistake” and that him and many other teens are far from adulthood and that their minds set are not the same as an
In the last 42 years little to no changes have been made to correct the standards that govern punitive measures towards juvenile delinquency. Today juvenile law is governed by state and many states have enacted a juvenile code. However, in numerous cases, juveniles are transferred to adult court when juvenile courts waive or relinquish jurisdiction. Adolescents should not be tried in the adult court system or sentenced to adult penitentiary's on account of: teen brains are not mature which causes a lack of understanding towards the system, incarceration in an adult facility increases juvenile crime, and children that are sentenced to adult prison are vulnerable to abuse and rape.
There has always been an issue with Juveniles being treated as if they were adults. Many believe that Juveniles that commit crimes such as rape, murder, or extreme violence, should be given a sentence of life in prison. It's been an issue since the start of when Juveniles have been given life without parole and has continued until this day. These kids have to suffer their first years in prison living without parole. I believe that some teens do deserve life without parole due their certain age point, childhood issues, and serious crime they have committed.
Many people assume that teenagers should not be sentenced as adults, because their brain is not fully developed. On the other hand, people believe if teenagers commit crimes then they need to have consequences for their actions. According to the Campaign for Youth Justices, about 250,000 teenagers are tried, sentenced, or incarcerated as adults every year in the United States (Campaign for Youth Justices 3). Therefore, charging teenagers as adults is fair, because they are human beings just like adults.
As minors commit violent crimes without being held accountable, they can grow up to be real criminals and they can be very dangerous. Without a solid foundation of what is right and wrong, these minors will grow up believing that their actions are the norm. For this reason, minors need to be held accountable. They need to be taught that they cannot get away with their crimes. In 2007, courts with juvenile jurisdiction handled an estimated 1.7 million delinquency cases. Delinquency cases include vandalism, shoplifting, robbery, and murder. These are just some of the crimes minors can commit. This was up by forty-four percent from 1985. If a minor grows up believing that crime is acceptable, they will repeat the pattern. Without interrupting the pattern and making them accountable, these minors will always have a twisted sense of right and wrong. A sense of what is right and wrong is important and can be learned at any age. Minors learn very young, what...
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 ...
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.
Thousands of kid criminals in the United States have been tried as adults and sent to prison (Equal Justice Initiative). The debate whether these kids should be tried as adults is a huge controversy. The decision to try them or to not try them as an adult can change their whole life. “Fourteen states have no minimum age for trying children as adults” (Equal Justice Initiative). Some people feel that children are too immature to fully understand the severity of their actions. People who are for kids to be tried as adults feel that if they are old enough to commit the crime, then they are old enough to understand what they are doing. There are people who feel that children should only be tried as adults depending on the crime.
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.
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.
"Don't do the crime, if you can't do the time." -- David Grusin and Morgan Ames
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.
One reason why juvenile offenders should not be tried as adult is because they are far from adulthood. Many teenager who have committed a crime has a different background. For example, they have suffered sex abused, their parents have been drug addicted , or have been in prison for many years. There are many factors