Juveniles Being Tried As Adults

No matter their age, when it comes to serious offenses juveniles should be tried as adults because the understanding of what is right and wrong is known by young children, if they have the ability to commit a crime they should be charged as adults, and without them being trying

In the article “Kids are Kids- Until They Commit Crimes” Marjie Lundstrom states “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.” If teens seem to commit the same crimes as adults, they shouldn’t get less time. A child should be tried as an adult because a crime is a crime no matter who commits it. … Teens that

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

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

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.

Crime and punishment seems to be the hot topic in modern society. People from different age ranges go to different levels of prison, depending on what they have done. Sometime juveniles are tried and sent to prisons suited for adult crimes if it’s serious enough. Should we tried juveniles as adults if the criminal act is severe enough? What impact does it have on the juveniles? Would juveniles being tried as adults than being tried as juveniles yield a better outcome? Is there a benefit from juveniles being tried as adults?

Juveniles should be tried as adults because they only serve a few years in prison for doing harsh things. Manuel Sanchez and John Duncan committed a bloody murder by shooting a man several times in the chest, and John and Manuel were only twelve years old at the time. For example, “ It was a brutal, callous, bloody murder. But what is even more shocking to people in the small Washington town of Wenatchee is that John Duncan and Manuel Sanchez are only twelve years old.” I found this information in the article “ Rethinking Juvenile Justice” ( John, 1). Instead of the boys

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

How then can we single out certain minors and call them adults? Across the United States, thousands of children have been sentenced as adults and sent to adult prisons (Equal Justice). Children as young as 13 years old have been tried as adults and sentenced to die in prison (Youth Justice). This is because that children may have committed a serious crime or may have been documented within the judicial system, based from their previous records. In today’s time, we have become quite accustomed to hearing that a young child is being tried as an adult. We as a society are not doing anything good by trying kids as adults, and therefore should not have children be tried as adults because children are vulnerable of suffering mental and physical violence in jails, they are able to rehabilitate, and we as people are ending a human being’s life. Therefore, it is important to know the problems associated with trying children as adults, the causes of trying children as adults, and the solution to stop trying children as adults in the judicial system.

BANG!!!! The sound of the gun shot being fired by James, a sixteen year old thug. THUNK! The sound of the body of an elderly man hitting the ground. James has just shot and killed the neighborhood grocery store owner for a few hundred dollars and a twelve pack. James was quickly arrested and the question is should he be convicted as a juvenile or as an adult? Juveniles should be convicted as adults for violent crimes because they are old enough to know what they are doing and if they commit a crime they should be convicted for it.

“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.

The truth of the matter is a "kid", "teens" or however you want to call it; are not a grown ups we aren't given the same rights as grown-ups and majority of the time are ignored because we ar not grown-ups; however when it come to crimes we are most definitely taken into considerations. After considering both sides of the debate on juvenile justice, it is clear that juveniles should not face life without parole for the reason that we aren't taken in consideration most of the time as well as our immaturity.

Many adults come up with many reasons why youth involve themselves with acts of violence, there is never an actual answer to why they committed the crime, but the question of why they are being tried as an adult. Vicious misconduct is well-defined by the Division of Juvenile Justice as “murder, rape, severe attacks, and theft. These are all actions that sound terrible and cause for harsh consequences. Unluckily, there is an increasing development of adolescent violence; even “kids” under the age of sixteen are engaging in these vicious acts. When a child comes of age, they advance to being able to enjoy but not abuse adult liberties. Adolescents attain a

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.