On May 31st, 2014 a twelve year old girl named Payton Leutner was stabbed 19 times by two of her twelve year old friends that were trying to please a fictional character called Slender Man. Leutner’s friends lured her into a Waukesha park, stabbed her and left her for dead. If the two twelve year old girls were convicted in juvenile court, they would stay in jail until they are 18 then, when released back into their communities, they would have intense supervision and services. However, if they got convicted as adults they would face up to 65 year in prison with a combination of prison and extended supervision under the Department of Corrections.
The two young girls convicted of the crime were 13 at the time of the trial. Even though the two young girls were juveniles they got tried as adults because they seemed to plan the attack months in advance, and it made them seem to dangerous and unsafe in a juvenile court. One of the girls was diagnosed with early onset schizophrenia which led to them being tried in adult court. If juvenile is defined as someone who committed a crime under the age of 18, who can you justify having them in a court designed for adult offenders.
Some juvenile cases get transferred to adult criminal court through a process called a waiver. A waiver is when a judge waives the protections that juvenile court provides. Usually when cases are wavered they are more serious crimes, or they are juveniles who have perviously committed crimes. Although being tried in adult court gives a juvenile more protection, it has distinct disadvantages too, which including the potential for a more severe sentence and the possibility of serving time in an adult correctional facility. Some factors that might help a case get a waiver is, the juvenile is charged with a serious offense, the juvenile has a lengthy record, or the minor is older. There are many reasons why juveniles should and should not be tried as adults and here are some of those reasons.
Pros of Juveniles being tired as adults
Bringing justice to extreme crimes
Even though juveniles are kids, they should still be able to distinguish right from wrong. The victims and their families should still deserve justice.
Courts focus on age instead of
First, I believe that juveniles should not be tried as adults because their mentalities are not fully developed.
Many have discussed and argued if Juveniles should be charged as adults. Then there's others that believe that they shouldn't be charged as adults. However, juveniles should be tried as adults because they committed a crime in which they must pay for which they also knew it is wrong. They should be tried should depend on what age they are and what fractions have they encountered like rape, abuse, etc. If a 5 year old were to be playing with another kid and perhaps that 5 year old kills the child they have absolutely no idea of what they have done they are far too young to understand what they are doing or have done. Most of the time you have to take care of children because they are putting items in their mouth that they don’t know what it
In the so-called “Slender Man stabbing,” two 12-year-old girls told authorities that they had hatched a plot to kill a friend to prove their loyalty to Slender Man, a supernatural character created by an internet user that now features in many media including video games. They attacked the girl, stabbing her nineteen times. Luckily she survived the attack. The girls were charged with attempted murder in the firs degree. Did they really understand what they were doing? Some argue that juveniles in this age range are not able to fully differentiate fact from fiction or understand the consequences of their actions, yet the girls acknowledged that they knew Slender Man was a fantasy. Others argue that premeditated attempted murder is still just as severe regardless of the age of the perpetrators. It is
Everyone, especially in matters of serious crimes, should get the Justice they deserve. In a juvenile court, the sentences will be less stringent because of someone's age. An example is given on the website https://flowpsychology.com/10-pros-and-cons-of-juveniles-being-tried-as-adults/, “In 2006 a 12-year-old girl killed her entire family for not approving of her boyfriend. She was only given 10 years.” Juvenile courts are not allowed to deliver the death penalty. In a situation where the death penalty would
Minors cannot smoke, drink, or vote, but as soon as they commit a crime, they are suddenly adults. Adolescents as young as 12 are being charged as adults. According to the legal system, citizens are not adults until the age of 18, so why should we not treat them as such? They are mentally incompetent compared to adults, and are unable to fully understand the judicial system to defend themselves. “When compared with young adults, children ages eleven to thirteen were more than three times as likely to be found ‘seriously impaired’ in understanding the judicial process and aiding their own defense. Similarly, it found those fourteen or fifteen years old were twice as likely to be "seriously impaired" in such awareness and reasoning” (Krikorian “Many Kids Called Unfit for Adult Trial”). It is unconstitutional to force adolescents to defend themselves when they are inept in doing so. Jordan Brown was only 11 when he was arrested for the murder of his stepmother, Kenzie Houk, and her unborn child. Houk was shot in the back of her head. Brown had in possession, a 20-gauge shotgun that he claimed he used for hunting. However, he claimed he never did it and was walking to the school bus with his sister. Even though there was insufficient evidence, Brown was left unable to defend himself, and charged with two counts of first degree murder in an adult
In August of 2004, Robert Acuna was sentenced to the death penalty. His crime? Shooting his two elderly neighbors, James and Joyce Carroll, "execution style" and then proceeding to steal their car (Liptak). This heinous crime only adds to the current debate: should juveniles be sentenced as adults? The answer is yes, there should be no leniency displayed towards minors who commit the same serious crimes as adults. Although young, juveniles should be capable of understanding the serious extent of the crime they commit. Sentencing juveniles as adults will prevent perpetrators of major crimes, such as mass murder, from walking free. Furthermore, judges have enough experience to know whether to try a minor as an adult or not. Juvenile sentencing as adults is not a wrong but rather a form of justice in the face of rising teen violence.
Kenzie Houk had everything going for her. She was twenty-six, engaged to the love of her life, and was eight-and-a-half months pregnant. In the late winter of 2009, her four-year-old daughter waddled in her bedroom, hoping to surprise her mommy with a good morning smile. Instead, she found her mother with a bullet through her head. Eleven-year-old Jordan Brown, the soon-to-be stepson of Kenzie Houk, was arrested and charged with homicide, pulling the trigger before he went to school. There were two counts of homicide, one for Kenzie Houk and the other for her baby. Brown was tried in juvenile court and sentenced to a residential treatment facility until the age of twenty-one. To Kenzie Houk’s family, Brown’s sentence would never live up to that her four-year-old and seven-year old daughters would have to serve. “The day Kenzie was murdered, the whole family was served with a life sentence,” said Debbie Houk, the victim’s mother. “[Her daughters] are serving life right now. They are never going to see their mom” (Chen). Serious juvenile crimes, similar to this, cannot be properly justified in the juvenile justice system. Juveniles should be tried in the adult criminal court system for serious crimes because of the lack of severity in the juvenile court system, increased youth crime and recidivism rates, and the mental maturity of juvenile offenders.
“There were three men who hurt me on the first night. They touched me and made me do things…. They came back the next night and hurt me a lot…. There were so many last night. I don’t know how many there were, but they hurt me . . . .” Charlie, a 14 year old boy, confessed reluctantly to Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer and social activist. Charlie was considered a “good kid”, until he shot his mother’s abusive boyfriend, George, a local police officer. After that, he was placed in adult jail. ("How America’s Justice System Failed Our Children"). Although what Charlie did was ruled second-degree murder, what he had to face, and will continue to face from the trauma, from adult jail is arguably worse. This tragedy continues to be the harsh reality of juveniles sent to adult jail. Each year 200,000 youths are tried as adults (Rozzell). Juveniles are put in stressful situations and without the role models they need, they make one poor choice that destroys the rest of their life. Some are held in adult jail awaiting their trial, many of whom committed nonviolent offenses. These incarcerated juveniles, who do not even have a fully developed brain, have their current and future lives destroyed by being tried and held as adults.
Murder is always a devastating sight, juveniles who commit homicides is another story. Sentencing a juvenile to life without parole isn’t the best punishment for a child that is developing in life. Juveniles are full of built up steam and emotions, they aren't comprehensive with the actions they take.
Michele Deith said “Children brains are still under developed, then why tired them as an adult in court”. A child being tried as an adult effect their lives in many ways. The message of loss hope builds up in their minds prompting the idea that they can’t make mistakes. Because they fear they will always be tired unfairly. Also, being in prison for a life time for an ignorant mistake will make them more likely to commit more crimes. Crime records as a juvenile holds less than an adult record. Majority of juvenile cases are only classified as minor offensives. While, some cases may be different because of the crime, children should still be recognized for learning and should be held responsible however, not on an adult level.
Juveniles should not be tried as adults because it is proven that children are incapable of making a rational, mature decision on their own. Adolescents have a shorter experience in the world, their brains are still developing, they do not have the same responsibilities or rights as adults and they are easily influenced at this age. Let 's say a child around the age of twelve is playing with two other friends at his house. His mother and father both work constantly so these children are alone. They are snooping around in his dad 's room and find a gun. Not being old enough to understand or realize it 's not a good idea they begin to play with it. One of the children pulls the trigger not considering what could happen. He accidentally shoots on of the other children and he was instantly killed. They decide to call 911 and before they arrive the child that accidentally shot the other tells his friend to tell them that it was his fault because hed get in trouble by his mom. The boy agrees and tells the police it was his fault and he is sent to adult prison for the maximum sentence. Children are both easily influenced and not as intelligent compared to an adult. These children are so immature and underdeveloped they should not and cannot make rational decisions on their own.
Whether we want to believe it or not, the lines of boundaries are being blurred for kids. How will they know right from wrong if it is not strictly enforced that serious crimes have serious punishments? In the video, "Should Kids be Tried as Adults?", a team of news reporters discussed the case of the Slender Man stabbings that occurred on Saturday, May 31, 2014 in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Two 13-year-old girls drug their friend of the same age and stabbed her 19 times. While discussing the terrible crime, it was stated that, "The Waukesha county judge felt that juvenile sentences would depreciate the seriousness of the offense.
Juveniles should be considered as adults at courts because they need to learn from their mistakes, they are old enough to know what they do, and they have to be considered as adults on how bad the crime was at court. Juveniles should be considered as adults so they can learn about what they did wrong.
Imagine sitting in a courtroom, hoping the the judge will not give a harsh sentence. Unfortunately, that’s the case for many juveniles, some as young as 13! A juvenile is subject to a more severe sentence with the limited sentencing available. It is estimated that 250,000 youth are prosecuted as adults, each year. This number should change, as juveniles are not adults, both mentally and physically. Juveniles need an environment surrounded with guiding adults, education and the resources to help them. A juvenile is not an adult, and should not be tried as one.
Regardless of age, a killer is a killer. A killer can be the daily customer you have at your job or the child you’re babysitting. “The Supreme Court justices would be wise as well as compassionate to strike a balance: Make juvenile offenders responsible for their actions but don't completely rob them of hope. And this should apply not only to the inmates who were 14 at the time of their crimes but to the remaining 2,497 who were 15 to 18 years old,” (Ellison 19). Kids make mistakes all the time, that doesn’t mean we should take their life away from them. With overlooking the listed factors in court when sentencing a juvenile, this will improve the number of children in prisons. Not all of these children partake in the act because of evil, but merely because of