Juveniles Should Be Tried As Adults

It is shocking how young children can decide they want to kill their teacher or mother. For example, Nathaniel Brazill, a fourteen year old child killed his English teacher in two thousand. If this child would have known that if he might be put away for a lengthy period, he might have thought twice before acting on his thoughts. Yes, he may need rehabilitation, but it is still the fact that if the issue is not dealt with he may still feel as though killing anyone is okay. In the magazine article, “Should the Law Treat Kids and Adults Differently?” states, “Wednesday, fourteen year old Nathaniel Brazill was found guilty of second-degree murder for killing his English teacher last year” (Reaves, 2001). At only fourteen this child took someone’s life; the teacher could have been someone’s mother, daughter and etcetera. A life cannot be replaced so by making an example of one child, other children can learn about the consequences of their actions. In the magazine article, it states, “When a child kills, does he instantly become an adult? Or does he maintain some trappings of childhood…” (Reaves, 2001). When a child chooses to kill they are deciding that they do not need a childhood. They may still be a child but by performing the act of killing, try are opening the door for people to view them as an adult. Children should not have the mindset to kill

Most of the murders committed by juveniles are not thought out fully and are impulse actions. Yes the offenders do deserve punishment but life without parole in an adult prison is just too harsh for a teenager. Teens deserve a second chance to change

There are many controversies that surround juveniles being rehabilitated rather than going through the adult justice system, but studies show that juveniles are not fully developed to be tried as an adult. One of the main questions that it always boils down to is “should juveniles be tried as adults?” in my opinion juveniles should not be tried as adults because of their age.

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.

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

In today's society, there are many crimes going on. Adults are not the only ones that commit crimes. One issue today is that juvenile offenses and whether juvenile offenders should be tried as adults in criminal court. A common phrase that is often used in this case of young juveniles committing crimes is "Old enough to do the crime, old enough to do the time." This phrase should be cleared to people that juveniles are not adults, and with this being said it will not make them one. "It has redefined juvenile offenses by treating most of them as delinquent acts to be adjudicated within a separate juvenile justice system that is theoretically designed to recognize the special needs and immature status of young people and emphasize rehabilitation over punishment" (Steinberg). While juveniles should be responsible for their actions, and should be held accountable for the crime, then the juvenile justice system is design to determine the consequences. Youths are still minors and are less mature. They often face a lot of negative peer pressure. Therefore, juveniles should not be tried in courts as adults.

When it comes to trying teens in court as adults some say stop trying them as adults and try them as juveniles, others say they must be tried as adults when they commit adult crimes or harmful, heinous crimes. Many people do not think there is such thing as an “Adult Crime.” A Crime is a crime no matter who it is committed by teens or children should be held accountable for their actions and tried as adults. If I knew

I believe that juveniles do deserve to be tried as adults and not be given the leeway of being called just a “teenager”. As a young adult i just turned 18 not too long ago and i can tell you from my own experience and the experience of my close friends that teenagers or anyone from the age of 12-18 does know right from wrong and fully acts upon their own decision and conscious. It would be very disrespectful to anger the victims on letting out the killer. I know that if my family member was murdered by a teenager and 10 years later they let them out, i would be beyond angered with their decision to even give them a second chance.

Throughout the years i think adolescents are old enough to distinguish right from wrong but I think they are too young to make right decisions. If adults go to jail for killing or making violent crimes than adolescents should definitely face the consequences and serve time. When juveniles are serving their time in jail and getting rehabilitation and they accept the fact that they did wrong and have overcome their mistakes I think that they should get a second chance.

18 Nov. 2015. This article speaks on why most juveniles should be tried as adults. Showing that when teens commit murder they receive less of a sentence than if an adult were to commit the same murder as the teen, the adult would most likely get a more time than a teen. The article show that New York has reduced their age to try juveniles as adults from the 16 to 13 years old.

The question to whether or not a juvenile should be tried as an adult for committing a crime is still quite complex. There are those that believe a crime is a crime and no matter who the person may be they shouldn’t be punished the same way as everyone else. Though other oppose that they shouldn’t be punished so harshly because it can severely fracture their mental health. Though there must be some other resolution to sentencing juveniles to life prison and therefore ruining their

“If they commit the adult crime, they should pay the adult consequences. It’s not as if they don’t know the difference between right from wrong (Ojeda, 110).” However, these children don’t comprehend the consequences; even when the crime was committed; without reasonable mentally and physically and are owed to their aggressive, impulsive, and rebellious behavior. Juveniles wouldn’t get the right help in adult prisons. The adult prison doesn’t consider juveniles for any programs such as rehabilitation; some if convicted for life in prison without the possibility of parole wouldn’t have any education for the reason of wasting their time and money.

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 think teenagers should be charged like a adult. I think they should be charged and be treated like an adult because they can make there own decision and they should have enough common sense to not do dumb stuff like that. If a teenager committed a serious crime like killing someone I think they should go to prison and stay in there for life like and adult. Teenagers can make their decisions because they don't have a mind of three year old.

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