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Advantages And Disadvantages Of Juvenile Being Tried As Adults

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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

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