Essay On Should Kids Be Charged As Adults

In the United States each year, children as young as 13 are sentenced to spend the rest of their lives in prison without any opportunity for release. It’s been proven that at an early age, it is impossible for children to have the mental ability like that of an adult.

In conclusion I feel that by not trying juveniles as adults it is a better outcome for the child and society. We are also giving the juvenile a second chance at the future that everyone

“Hey, they’re only kids.That is until they foul up, until they commit crimes, and the bigger the crime the more eager we are to call them adults.”Marjie Lundstrom since they are kids they can't smoke or drink, or go into rated R movies without our consent. So the question has been going around whether or not they should be tried as adults and spend life in prison without parole. I most strongly agree that they should sentence juveniles to life in prison without parole.

In the film 15 to Life: Kenneth’s Story by Nadine Pequeneza the account of Kenneth Young appealing his sentence of four life terms without the possibility of parole is detailed. Young was only 15 years-old when he was charged as an adult for armed robbery and sentenced to life behind bars. Why is it okay for the justice system to charge adolescents as adults? As a nation we can’t logically expect children to be held to the same standards as adults and do so only when criminal courts deem it fit. Charging children as adults for any crime is not only a far cry from being a deterrent but it is also fails to provide justice for all of the individuals involved.

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

Did you know, that in the United States alone, Over 200,000 children are charged and imprisoned every year as adults? Early in the 20th century, most states established juvenile courts to rehabilitate and not just punish youthful offenders. The system was designed for children to have a second chance at their lives. “A separate juvenile-justice system, which sought to rehabilitate and not just punish children, was part of a movement by progressives to create a legally defined adolescence through the passage of child-labor and compulsory education laws and the creation of parks and open spaces.”(How to reduce crime Pg 1) Although the view on juveniles committing brutal crimes is nearly inconceivable, it is not a solution to give juveniles adult consequences because the effects of the adult system on juveniles are not effective.

According to splcenter.org, “Research has shown that children in the adult criminal justice system are 34 percent more likely to be arrested again than those of similar offenses in juvenile court.” To sum up what the evidence is saying is that by throwing them the adult criminal justice system the juveniles are 34% more likely to be thrown back in prison. That aside, The brain does not fully develop until in the twenties so they can engage themselves in dangerous situations and not realize the consequence of their actions. According to splcenter.org, “ Research also shown that children have unique propensity for rehabilitation. The human brain does not fully develop until the mid-20s and the portion of the brain that governs rational decision-making is last to develop.

In conclusion, juveniles tried as adults is unjust. Juveniles should not be tried as adults for several reasons -- because considering young people as adults alters the legal process, because there is a difference of legal standards in adult and juvenile courts, because the brains of young people are not fully mature until their mid and late twenties, and because adult courts do not offer rehabilitative programs

Court systems are left with difficult decisions. A controversial decision courts are faced with today is whether or not juveniles are to be tried as adults. The increasing number of incarcerated children in adult jails raises questions as to why. Adolescents sentenced to prison are more likely to be abused, commit suicide, or reoffend, thus committing more serious offenses. The statutes requiring juveniles to enter adult prisons are inhumane and in-just. Nevertheless, sentencing children to adult prisons continues regularly today. When adolescents commit crimes, they should be tried as juveniles rather than adults.

According to Caldwell (1961) the juvenile justice system is based on the principle that youth are developmentally and fundamentally different from adults. According to Mack (1909) the focus of the juvenile justice system has shifted from “was the crime committed” to “why did the child commit the crime”, “how can we help the child”. When performing as it is designed and up to the initial intentions, the juvenile court balances rehabilitation (treatment) of the offender with suitable sanctions when necessary such as incarceration. According to Griffin (2008) in some cases juveniles may be required to be “transferred” to adult court. In this paper I am going to discuss the three primary mechanisms of waiver to adult court: judicial waiver

All crimes are bad no matter how old you are because murder is unforgivable. Juveniles shouldn’t be tried as adults because they still have a future ahead of them. Every juvenile should be tried as an adult but it all depends on the crime that was committed. Should juveniles be tried as adults is a question asked by most people, I would say yes because if you do the crime you can do the time, if the crime that is committed is severe the punishment for the crime should be the same, all crimes are bad make sure you think before you do, but one reason why juveniles should not be tried as adults is that they have a whole life ahead of them. Juveniles should be tried as adults because if they aren’t to many people's lives are at

In 2007, there were more than 200,000 minors/juveniles that were tried as adults (McCrea). This represents the current problem within the juvenile justice system well. This represents the problem because it shows how our system allows for hundreds of thousands of juveniles to be tried as adults. This is why I believe that juveniles should not be tried as adults. For one, the juveniles are not fully understanding of the consequences that are possible if they break the laws that they do (Redding). Also, while they are able to be tried as an adult in our current juvenile justice system, they are not allowed the rights that come with being an adult (McCrea). Lastly, juveniles are going through changes and putting them in jail can greatly affect them (Ortiz)

Kids should be subjected to the measures of punishment that our judicial system is giving to them. Kids who show lots of enmity should be tried as adults. It is the only way to protect the innocent children. These kids know right from wrong, but they choose to do the wrong things and violence is wrong. As the laws have gotten stricter on discipline the kids have gotten wilder. When we let society tell us how to discipline our children then violent children is the result.

Crimes are most associated with adults. Murder is especially most associated with adults. When a teenager commits such a crime such as murder they must be tried, and they should not be treated with leniency and coddling, but with the full force of the law as an adult.

A number of researchers have suggested over years that teenage brains are not yet fully developed. At the National Institute of Mental Health researchers have studied the human brain ever since the stage of birth all the way to adulthood, to prove that the brain is not complete. When it comes to this topic, Americans assume that if a teenage commits a crime than they should not be held accountable because of their age. Yet they must consider that teens are capable of understanding the situation they are in, how they are looked upon as young adults,, and how they should learn from their mistakes.