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Consequences of Juvenile Punishments
Juvenile justice system problems
Consequences of youth crimes
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The justice system is flawed greatly when it comes to sentencing juveniles who commit heinous crimes. In comparison to adults who commit the same crime, juveniles will be given a less harsh sentence mainly because of the fact that a juvenile is not considered an adult yet. Juvenile’s records are, in a sense, forgiven or put away, not for the public to have access to, unlike adults ' records. People under 18 years of age are capable of the same actions that someone over the age of 17 is capable of, including committing murders. Therefore, they should receive the same punishment because that is what justice is, fair treatment for all.
When people go to trial for a crime they commit, they have the opportunity to fight for what they think is right, despite any input they may
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People often see juveniles as "innocent," underdeveloped," and "stupid because they are young." Excuses back their actions, even when their actions involve crimes. Are people so blinded by their own emotions that they fail to see the reality of detrimental situations? It seems as though people can 't imagine themselves in the shoes of the victim or the victim’s family, but they are quick to jump to assumed details within a case and include their opinion as to what 's right and what 's wrong. It is evident that some people love to elaborate on the smallest of details in order to maintain their perspective because they are unwilling to open their minds up to new ideas until they are given multiple prices of evidence that disproves their main arguments for a case. When it comes to juveniles, convicting them to spend their life in prison seems rather harsh, more than likely to at least one person in the jury, which will make it hard when it comes to murder cases and deciding the sentence the perpetrator will
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
If a family member was murdered, a family member was murdered, age should not dictate if the punishment for homicide will be more lenient or not. If anyone not just juveniles has the capabilities to take someone's life and does so knowing the repercussions, they should be convicted as an adult. In the case of Jennifer Bishop Jenkins who lost her sister, the husband and their unborn child, is a strong advocate of juveniles being sentenced to life without parole. In her article “Jennifer Bishop Jenkins On Punishment and Teen Killers” she shows the world the other side of the spectrum, how it is to be the victim of a juvenile in a changing society where people are fighting against life sentences for juveniles. As she states in the article “There are no words adequate to describe what this kind of traumatic loss does to a victims family. So few who work on the juvenile offender side can truly understand what the victims of their crimes sometimes go through. Some never
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
The sentencing of underage criminals has remained a logistical and moral issue in the world for a very long time. The issue is brought to our perspective in the documentary Making a Murderer and the audio podcast Serial. When trying to overcome this issue, we ask ourselves, “When should juveniles receive life sentences?” or “Should young inmates be housed with adults?” or “Was the Supreme Court right to make it illegal to sentence a minor to death?”. There are multiple answers to these questions, and it’s necessary to either take a moral or logical approach to the problem.
Heinous crimes are considered brutal and common among adults who commit these crimes, but among children with a young age, it is something that is now being counted for an adult trial and punishable with life sentencing. Although some people agree with this decision being made by judges, It is my foremost belief that juveniles don’t deserve to be given life sentencing without being given a chance at rehabilitation. If this goes on there’s no point in even having a juvenile system if children are not being rehabilitated and just being sent off to prison for the rest of their lives and having no chance getting an education or future. Gail Garinger’s article “ juveniles Don’t deserve Life sentence”, written March 14, 2012 and published by New york Times, mentions that “ Nationwide, 79 adolescents have been sentenced to die in prison-a sentence not imposed on children anywhere else in the world. These children were told that they could never change and that no one cared what became of them. They were denied access to education and rehabilitation programs and left without help or hope”. I myself know what it’s like to be in a situation like that, and i also know that people are capable of changing even children when they are young and still growing.
Shawn was 16 in 1998 when he violently stabbed his father in his sleep, was tried as a juvenile because of his pre-existing parasomnia, and was sentenced to juvenile hall until his 19th birthday. Jose, 15 in 1998, engaged in a deadly brawl with four other teenagers, tried as a juvenile and sentenced to 208 days in juvenile hall. Marquese, 17, considered a “frequent flyer” of the juvenile system, reoffended on parole by stealing a car and breaking and entering, was tried as a juvenile and paroled in 2001. Manny, 17 in 1999 attacked a family in his neighborhood with a baseball bat alongside two other gang members. One of the victims was six months pregnant. He was tried as an adult and sentenced to nine years in prison. Jordan Brown, now 12, is currently awaiting trial for the murder of his father’s pregnant girlfriend, where he will be tried as an adult for both the murder of the woman and the fetus. What were the factors that decided Manny and Jordan’s case would be tried as adults? Manny and Jordan’s case went to adult court, while other children and teenagers are tried and sentenced in the juvenile system. The court systems have criteria for trying children as adults, taking into account different factors within the crimes themselves. How exactly does th...
Juveniles are more than just kids. They are capable of doing anything an adult is capable of doing. One has probably heard the saying, “If you want to be treated like an adult, then act like an adult.” If they’re going to do crimes that “only” adults are capable of doing, then they should treated like an adult and be tried and sentenced like one. Imagine being close to a murder victim, wouldn’t you want them to feel hell? “How would you feel if you never got to see your child alive again while their killer served only a short sentence before being released from jail?” (hchs1259). This quote hits hard. One can only imagine being in the position of a parent whose child was murdered.
Today, we live in a society faced with many problems, including crime and the fear that it creates. In the modern era, juveniles have become a part of society to be feared, not rehabilitated. The basis of the early juvenile justice system was to rehabilitate and create safe havens for wayward youth. This is not the current philosophy, although the U.S. is one of the few remaining countries to execute juveniles. Presently, our nation is under a presidential administration that strongly advocates the death penalty, including the execution of juveniles. The media and supporters of capital punishment warn of the "superpredator," the juvenile with no fear, remorse, or conscience. Opponents of this view encourage the idea that another death is only revenge, not deterrence. We will examine the rights allotted to juvenile offenders, and the punishments inflicted upon them for violations of the law.
Based on my recent study of the adolescent brain and cognitive development, I don't think anyone under the age of 24 should be trialed as an adult. Even though 18 is the age when teens become adults and get jobs, our brain is so vulnerable as teens. The pressure added on by society telling 18 year olds to suddenly grow up and be an adult is overwhelming. With that stress of growing up is also stress to make the right decisions and meet expectations of others. During teenage years the adolescent brain is at it’s most crucial stage in development. Being trialed during this developmental stage hinders proper development. After viewing the case studies on the 5 teens from colorado I concluded that most trials take weeks and months at a time. During
Many people say that the systems first priority should be to protect the public from the juvenile criminals that are a danger to others. Once the juveniles enter the system there is however, arguments on what should be done with them. Especially for those deemed too dangerous to be released back to their parents. Some want them locked away for as long as possible without rehabilitation, thinking that it will halt their criminal actions. One way to do this they argue would be to send them into an adult court. This has been a large way to reform the juvenile system, by lowering the age limits. I believe in certain cases this is the best method for unforgiving juveniles convicted of murder, as in the case of Ronald Duncan, who got away with a much lesser sentence due to his age. However another juvenile, Geri Vance, was old enough to be sent into the adult court, which caused him t...
In the article On Punishment and Teen Killers by Jenkins, sadly brings to our attention that kids are sometimes responsible for unimaginable crimes, in 1990 in a suburban Chicago neighborhood a teenager murdered a women, her husband, and her unborn child, as she begged for the life of her unborn child he shot her and later reported to a close friend that it was a “thrill kill”, that he just simply wanted to see what it felt like to shoot someone. A major recent issue being debated is whether or not we have the right to sentence Juveniles who commit heinous crimes to life in adult penitentiaries without parole. I strongly believe and agree with the law that states adolescents who commit these heinous crimes should be tried as adults and sentenced as adults, however I don’t believe they should be sentenced to life without parole. I chose this position because I believe that these young adults in no way should be excused for their actions and need to face the severe consequences of their actions. Although on the other hand I believe change is possible and that prison could be rehabilitating and that parole should be offered.
It is expected that at a young age, children are taught the difference between what is right and what is wrong in all types of situations. The majority of Supreme Court Justices abolished mandatory life in prison for juveniles that commit heinous crimes, argued this with the consideration of age immaturity, impetuosity, and also negative family and home environments. These violent crimes can be defined as murder, rape, armed robbery, aggravated assault and the like depending on state law. With these monstrous acts in mind the supreme court justices argument could be proven otherwise through capability and accountability, the underdevelopment of the teenage brain and the severity of the crime. Juveniles commit heinous crimes just like adults
Their brains develop in different stages and they learn skills that they need to learn at certain time. In the article “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences”, by Garinger, she argues that juveniles should not be treated as adults if they commit horrible crimes. Garinger states that juveniles should not be sentenced to life in prison without parole. She states that the court is considering life in prison without parole for juveniles who commit capital crimes. Garinger says that juveniles are immature, and still developing, so they can not be held to the same standards as adults. The writer add that as a juvenile court judge, she has seen how that juveniles can change and may become rehabilitated. For example, the court has already struck down death penalty and the life in prison without parole for juveniles or for young offenders convicted of non-homicide. According to the article, “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life In Prison,” Paul Garinger states that “Brain imaging studies reveal that the regions of the adolescent brain are responsible for controlling thoughts, actions, and emotions are not fully developed. They can not be held to the same standards when they commit terrible crimes.” If this is true, there is no a reason to treat juveniles as
The first article; “Adult Crime; Adult Time.” by Linda J. Collier is about how the juvenile delinquents of the world should be thrown right in with the hardened criminals. She talks about the Jonesboro, Arkansas incident in which 11-year-old Andrew Golden and 13-year-old Mitchell Johnson, slaughtered their classmates as they ran from the school building. They pulled the fire alarm and began their assault with a barrage of bullets. In this particular situation, “they are still regarded by the law as children first and criminals second.”(Pg. 620). This has not been the first time that young children have committed such crimes, but the average of violence committed by children has risen by 60% since 1984. She claims that because of these statistics, we need to update the juvenile justice system. “In recent years many states have enacted changes in their juvenile crime laws and some have lowered the age at which a juvenile can be tried as an adult for certain violent crimes.” (Pg. 620) According to this author, she feels that it is a start in the right direction. She claims that she has represented children as a court appointed guardian and is humbled trying to help children out of their difficulties which often due to circumstances beyond their control. Still, for violent crimes, she feels that “children who knowingly engage in adult conduct and crimes should automatically be subject to adult rules and adult prison time.”
sentenced to age-appropriate punishments that allow them to learn from their mistakes and rehabilitate, rather than being subjected to the ultimate punishment of death. The evidence presented by Horn (2009) and Stevenson (2014) clearly shows that juveniles are not fully developed and lack the necessary experience and judgment to be held to the same standards as adults. Therefore, it is imperative that the justice system recognizes the unique circumstances of juvenile offenders and provides them with appropriate rehabilitation and support rather than resorting to cruel and unethical punishments such as the death penalty. 2008). The evidence clearly shows that children in adult prisons are at a high risk of being sexually assaulted and mistreated.