Essay: Why Juveniles Should Not Be Tried As Adults

Life without parole is consequently unfortunate for any juvenile individual. Expectantly children commit unethical decision which may lead to trouble. Children who commit these crimes are often stereotyped as future adults soon to conduct horrible behavior. According to Shobha Mahadev a

The Absurdity of Minors in Adult Prison Throughout history there have been many cases in which minors as young as eight years old have been not only tried as an adult, but placed in adult prisons for life. The justice system more often than not overlooks many important pieces of evidence due to incompetent lawyers, racial inequality, and economical differences. This evidence is what could make all the difference in placing a minor on juvenile court rather than adult court. Charging a minor as an adult is absurd, and there is not a single situation in which this could be deemed as a reasonable decision, because the brain of a minor is still developing unlike one of an adult, most minors come from an already troubled background that makes them

By trying juveniles in the adult courts they are forcing them to accept a punishment that does not allow for the nurturing and growth that they need. Putting them in with other adult criminals only makes them more likely to commit severe crimes in the future. Judge Dorn has this

Juveniles should be tried as adults because they only serve a few years in prison, they deserve a harsher punishment, and they are committing crimes at a younger age.

Not one person, was created to be perfect beings, but children are pure and innocent and their mental and critical thinking skills are not fully developed and strong enough to handle adult prisons. On the other hand, children are most likely to vividly remember delinquent actions they performed whether it was done intentionally in a “heat of the moment” action such as Charlie’s case in Bryan Stevenson’s “Just Mercy” or unintentionally due to peer-pressure or self-protection in most juveniles’ case. Moreover, the justice system is hypocritical to their own children, “Protect the young” but places the young in harm’s way. Children in adult prisons are prone to rape, suicide and assault than in juvenile detention centers according to studies on juvenile suicide in adult institutions and youth facilities in the1980’s. The studies indicated that “the suicide rate of juveniles in adult jails is 7.7 times more likely than of juvenile detention centers. In 1989, five times as many youth held in adult prisons answered yes to the question "has anyone attempted to sexually attack or rape you" than those held in juvenile institutions while about 10% of the youth interviewed reported a sexual attack, or rape attempt.(Zeidenberg).Another factor of why children should not be tried as adults is that youths are easily victimized and beaten up by inmates and most likely staff, they are also for example

On June 6, 1996, a 6 year-old boy believed to have been the youngest person ever charged with attempted murder in the United States had the charges reduced to assault with intent to injure in Martinez, California. The boy accused of the brutal beating of a month-old infant during the burglary of a neighbor's apartment (Curtius A3-A23). The court considered him too young to help in his own defense, and a psychiatric evaluation ruled him unable to understand the consequences of his acts. Charles Patrick Ewing (1990) writes, "the stakes are high when a court decides whether a juvenile murder defendant will be tried as a juvenile or as and adult. Generally a youth tried in juvenile court faces a rather limited punishment if found guilty" (p. 151).

Juveniles should not be tried as adults when they commit serious crimes,

First, I believe that juveniles should not be tried as adults because their mentalities are not fully developed.

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

Children in adult prison are in severe danger. They suffer higher rates of physical and sexual abuse and suicide. Compared to those held in juvenile detention centers, youth held in adult jails are 7.7 times more likely to commit suicide. Five times more likely to be sexually assaulted. Twice as likely to be beaten by staff. 50% are more likely to be attacked with a weapon. In the public’s eye, the teens that suffer through this are just getting what they deserve. But in reality the restricted youth are at great risk of sexual assault. More than 1 in 10 youth in state juvenile facilities and large non-state facilities reported experiencing one or more incidents of sexual victimization by another youth or facility staff in the past 12 months or since admission, if less than 12 months. We agree that adult court is for the most serious and radical offenders. While it is true that juvenile offenders are waivered to adult courts because they are a menace to the community and the reasoning of their crime, did it occur to you that youths held in adult prison are at greater risk of sexual victimization? The National Prison Rape Elimination Commission found that “more than any other group of incarcerated persons, youth incarcerated with adults are probably at the highest risk for sexual abuse.” Some of you may say that this isn’t such a horrible thing compared to their sins. But this crucial and inhuman act may be more deadly than you think.

As more minors are committing violent crimes, the question of whether they should be tried as adults has arisen. Children as young as 13 or 14 are committing violent crimes such as murder, rape, and armed robbery. Some of these children are being tried as adults while others are being tried as juveniles and receiving milder punishments. A juvenile offender may receive a few years in a juvenile detention facility and possibly probation following his release at age eighteen. An adult committing the same violent crime will receive a much harsher penalty, often years in jail, possibly a life sentence, with little or no chance of parole. The only difference between the two offenders is the age at which they committed the crime. Juveniles over

Juveniles can be tried as adults for crimes ranging from kidnapping, murder, rape, arson, robbery, torture, assault, and more. Some of the cases that are sent to adult court are petty crimes, such as: underage drinking, possession of a controlled substance, and other minor crimes. The question is whether they should be tried as adults. These are all adult actions, on one hand, and may lead a person to wonder what brought a child to commit these crimes. One might further inspect that if a child or teenager is engaged in so-called “adult” activities, what kind of activities might a child choose to be involved in adulthood? What is the child’s background? Can you blame the child of a heroin addict for having access to drugs at a young age? Can you blame the child of a murderer for acting out? Yes, everyone has a choice even a child.

I do not think it is a good idea to lock juveniles up in prisons with adults. For a child to set down and plan a murder for instance, there would have to be some kind of deep emotional problem. On the other side of this, if the child knows right from wrong and he can sit down and plan a murder, then you could say if he is old enough to kill someone then he is old enough to die. The juvenile criminal is rooted much deeper than right from wrong. It starts back from when they are small children. Most of them are usually outsiders or outcasts. Who can you hold fault for that other than society? If juveniles don't fit in with the popular kids in school they are considered an

Many young adolescents who have committed horrendous crimes have been a huge topic amongst the Supreme Court. Whether young adolescents are viewed as innocent, naive children to the public, this not changed the fact they can commit brutal crimes. In spite of the fact that adolescents have committed brutal crimes such as murder, one needs to understand that their brains are not as fully developed as an adult brain would be. Adolescents should not be trialed to a life sentence or attend adult prisons; however, they should be punished for their actions and undergo rehabilitation programs to help them be prepared to fit in with the rest of society.

In my own opinion, I consider juveniles as immature because they lack the ability to recognize the long term impact of their actions as they have decreased levels of responsibility. Therefore, the justice system should not charge juveniles in adult legal system and sentence them as adults.Trying juveniles as adults exposes the young offenders to state penitentiaries up to life in prison without parole and even sentenced to death. This raises a question on how truly effective treating juveniles as adults are to the young offenders. As the crimes committed by juveniles increase, there has been an outcry from the public and affected to prosecute juveniles accused of serious crimes as adults. It is true that juveniles do