Juvenile Delinquents Tried as Adults

But change that to an eight year old boy and his friends, and everyone’s opinion changes. They want to coddle the children and blame the violence on the parents, video games or social media. How does one word, juvenile, change the world’s mind so quickly-because it is in human’s nature to care for the young. People see children as clay to be melded into the perfect model of a person. When these children do something bad, they see the molder to be at fault. It is like they have they never seen a child misbehave when they are “molded” well. Children have their own brains and ideas. These ideas are their own and they are not only based on others in lives. The important thing is to see that juveniles are not children, “In the words of one 'get-tough' advocate, juvenile offenders are criminals who happen to be young, not children who happen to be criminal’” (ABC News). This perfectly sums up what juvenile crime is. It is not about the child, it is about the victim. If a juvenile is capable of committing a crime and planning it out, they should be tried for it. In one case, a boy murdered a woman after breaking into her house and her seeing his face. Instead of acting innocent, he was proud of what he had done, “Simmons wasn’t modest about what he had done; to the contrary, he had

There are times juveniles should not be convicted as adults because sometimes the “crimes” may not harsh enough to be charged as an adult. For example, if a 8 year old saw a gun in their mother's purse and thought it was a toy and grabbed it and began to shoot who would be at fault ? Plus children in adult prisons are 10 times more likely to be taken advantage of in their time. Research shows that children prosecuted in the adult criminal justice system are more likely to reoffend than those held in the juvenile justice

Today’s heated debate regarding the decision to try juveniles as adults has prompted individuals to construct opinionated and informational articles on the topic. The nation’s troubled youth are protected by groups that believe these offenders deserve rehabilitation and a chance to develop into a productive member of society. However, others believe that those committing certain heinous crimes should be tried as adults as a means to protect public safety, prevent second offenders, and “dispense justice in the form of punishment” (Aliprandini & Michael, 2016). Because these perspectives offer a reasonable and valid argument, juveniles responsible for major crimes

As a contrast, there are many differences between the adult and juvenile justice system. These differences consist of the right to a jury, the right to post bail, leniency of evidence, different court proceedings, the right to a public trial, and rehabilitation efforts. As for the purpose of this paper, we will dissect the differences of the two systems. Many appeals have been filed under the notion that a right to a jury should be upheld for juvenile offenders. The courts have voted against this action time and time again. These appeals are made on the assumption that, as noted earlier, adult crimes should be tried as adult crimes. However, the court rules on this matter while keeping the rehabilitation efforts of the juvenile courts in mind, as opposed to the more punitive measures. Their desire to see kids treated as kids are defined with their upholding of the law, and pushing rehabilitation to its max. But should rehabilitation be the prime focus when the act is of adult capacity; even in a child’s body? I do not think so. What are the percentages of rehabilitation success with adults for committed capital offenses? How are they going to differ when a child partakes in them? I think there is a

When it comes to trying juveniles as adults, it is a strong issue to follow through, but it has been a controversial topic to the public. This topic is a controversial topic even considering that there are numerous arguments to put forth on both sides. There will be stated pros and cons of each side and articles to back up the arguments. Juveniles are defined as children who fall under the age of 18, depending on the state. Even though, some juveniles are tried as adults despite their under age.

Approximately two million adolescents a year are arrested and out of that two million, 60,000 of them are incarcerated according to the American Journal of Public Health. The 60,000 incarcerated adolescents each year are being tried as adults in court because of the serious crimes they have committed. The crimes they have committed are anything from armed robbery to murder. Some juveniles might be first time offenders and others might be repeat offenders. Crimes have always been a major issue in the United States and can cause controversy in the criminal justice system. Charging a minor as an adult in criminal court varies from state to state based on each state’s jurisdiction. Some states consider anyone up to the age of 18 still a juvenile and would not be charged as an adult in criminal court, but other states may charge a juvenile as an adult at the age of 16 or 17. Jordan (2014) states, “Although states already had methods for transferring youth to the adult system, as a result of the growing fear of juvenile violence, most states implemented new laws to increase the number of youth entering the adult criminal system’ (Bernard & Kurlychek, 2010; Torbet et al., 1996)” (p. 315). While it sounds beneficial to incarcerate more adolescents in the adult criminal justice system to avoid juveniles from committing crimes in the future, that is not always the case. Incarcerating these juveniles can be life changing in a negative

Imagine witnessing your parents’ brutal murder right in front of you. Your father is forced to his knees and shoot in the back of his head, execution-style. Your mother’s teeth lie on the floor from the bullet propelled through the side of her head. The fiend proceeds to move forward and shoot her brains out. For Carroll, this was a reality. Robert Acuna barbarically murdered James and Joyce Carroll. What do you think this savage deserves? In America, adolescents can be tried as adults at ages as young as 10. They can be sent to an adult prison with adult cellmates, trapped in an adult environment that they just are not ready for. The prison environment is very influential and may change adolescents for the worse. Exposure to adult criminals

Some juvenile delinquents are being treated like adults and being sent to adult prisons instead of juvenile prisons. In an article called “ADULT PRISONS: No Place for Kids,” by Steven J. Smith, Smith presents an argument against treating juveniles like adults. His argument states that minors shouldn’t be trialed and placed into adult prisons because instead of being rehabilitated, they typically come out worse because of the daily exposure to already hardened criminals. Smith provides reasons why juveniles are convicted as adults, the drawbacks of placing adolescents in prisons with adults, and an alternative punishment for juvenile criminals.

The dilemma of whether or not to transfer juveniles to adult court has been a major topic, for many years, in the United States. Since 1899, judges have had the option to transfer juveniles to adult court. The major factor for transferring juveniles to adult court since then has been the seriousness of the offense. That being said, juveniles only make up a small portion of violent crimes in the United States. Only 16 percent of juvenile offenders in 2008 were arrested for violent crimes (Champion,2008). The problem is the determination of whether the crime is serious enough to be waived and transferred to adult court. Almost every state has statutory judicial waiver provisions, which grant juvenile judges the authority to transfer

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.

Most people are against juveniles getting tried as adult in adult court because they might say “their young and doesn’t mean any harm” or “a minor doesn’t belong in a jail full of adult criminals.” But I say if they can commit a crime they can do the time. Also, most juveniles tried as adults or placed in adult facilities jails or prison, are denied education and most likely won’t finish school but if they were free it would most likely be the same because they either wouldn’t attend school or when they do go to school they cause problems and have a list of referrals’ or even kicked out of school or attends an alternative

Adults, on the other hand, are fully developed and fully conscience of their actions and the consequences that follow. However, because teen brains are not fully developed, this allows their brains to grow and learn from mistakes and experiences. In the article, “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences”, author Gail Garinger talks about her first hand experience with juveniles in the justice system. She has seen the potential for them to grow and change over the years, and how being tried as adults and serving life sentences has had severe impacts on many. Gail believe adult prison is not the place for a teen. Placing juveniles in adult prison substantially inhibits their potential for

“I think it's important for us as a society to remember that the youth within juvenile justice systems are, most of the time, youths who simply haven't had the right mentors and supporters around them because of circumstances beyond their control,” (qtd. in Brainy Quotes) are wise words from Q'orianka Kilcher, a human rights activist. Many Americans feel adolescents should be held accountable for their behavior; however, trying them as if they are adults is not always the optimum course of action. Because the teenage brain matures from back to front, the prefrontal cortex is not established until mid-twenties. Ordinarily adolescents can be rehabilitated in order to avert future offending; yet when tried as an adult, all hope for rehabilitation is lost. A one time mistake will follow an adolescent around for the rest of his/her life, dramatically decreasing the opportunities for success. Trying adolescents as adults is an injustice due to their lack of rationality and potential for rehabilitation.

Juvenile delinquency has become a controversial issue within the Criminal Justice system. In the United States, juvenile delinquency refers to disruptive and criminal behavior committed by an individual under the age of 18. In many states, a minor at the age of 16 to 17 ½ can be tried as an adult. Once the individual reaches adulthood, the disruptive and criminal behavior is recognized as a crime. However, the criminal justice system has divided juvenile delinquency into two general types of categories that has brought upon controversial issues of inequality and corruption. Yet, putting young individuals in juvenile detentions facilities seems to open the door for them to commit more crimes in the future. Therefore, under certain circumstances juveniles should be tried as an adult.

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.