Juveniles Should Not Be Prison

Whether juveniles should be tried as adults in the justice system or not, has been an ongoing debate for many people. There has been many cases throughout time where people under the age of 18 have been tried as adults in the justice system. Information about this debate can be found in articles, novels, and podcasts. Typically people who are under the age of 18 are identified as a juvenile delinquent and go through different procedures after committing a crime. There is many examples and evidence of why juveniles should not be tried as adults. A juvenile is typically considered a person who is under 18 years of age.

One of the most debatable topics in today’s justice system is whether or not juveniles should receive waivers to adult court. There are three methods that are used to transfer a juvenile to adult court. Juvenile waiver, statutory exclusion, and Concurrent Jurisdiction are the three different methods used to transfer a juvenile to adult court. Statutory exclusion is when the juvenile is transferred immediately to the adult court. Concurrent Jurisdiction is when the juvenile may be tried as an adult and a juvenile at once. Throughout all three methods juvenile waiver is the most common one that is used throughout juvenile courts and used in mostly all states. The only states that do not provide judicial waivers are Nebraska, New York, and New Mexico. When a judge transfers a juvenile to adult court, he or she is denying the protections that the juveniles receive. The judge makes the decision of whether or not the juvenile is tried as an adult. Double Jeapordy laws protect the juvenile from being tried in juvenile court and then adult court because of the fact that a juvenile would be tried twice. Most times 17 or 18 year olds are the youngest age limits that can be waived to adult court, but in some states ages low as 13 or 14 can be waived. It depends on the crime that a juvenile commits on whether or not he or she is transferred to adult court. Once the juvenile is tried as an adult, he or she will be affect in the community for a lifetime versus having his or her records

America is again divided by something that we need a solution for right away. Today, it is between the people who believe mandatory life in prison for juveniles should be abolished and those who believe the opposite. If a teenager committed murder and any other heinous act they indeed should be sentenced to life. We cannot let people get away with that. They took the life of another, so they should see how it feels. There are many reasons why you should believe juvenile life sentences should still be legal such as the effect it has on the victims families, the accountability these teens should have, and just how ludicrous any other counter argument can be.

As in any controversial issue, there are people that support the juvenile death penalty. One of the reasons they are pro death is because it could possibly discourage other juveniles from committing crimes (“Death Penalty for Juveniles Pros and Cons” 3). The idea is that if other juveniles have the knowledge that they could possibly be sentenced to death for committing a very serious crime, then it might stop the others from actually committing a serious crime (3). Between the years 1642 to 2000, there have been around 361 people sentenced and killed because of the crimes that they have committed when they

Other people argue that Juveniles may not have the mental capacity to know that this is wrong. This is, in fact, wrong in most cases. A child no matter what the age should know that killing or performing other atrocious acts on others is wrong.There are some exceptions such as mental illness and adverse effects from medications. According to https://flowpsychology.com/10-pros-and-cons-of-juveniles-being-tried-as-adults/, “because teenagers have full control over their thoughts and actions. If they do not have the moral compass instilled in them by that time, then they are very likely to commit more crimes.” This implies that, should teenagers not be tried as adults, they may never learn their lesson.Even if they don’t from harsher punishments; at least they will

However if we take a step back and look at how incarcerating youth is hurting them. According to the risks juveniles face when they are incarcerated with adults written by Jason Zeidenberg "juveniles are more likely to be targeted for rape five times more than the adult prisoner and suicide rates among juveniles are 7.7 times higher than those that are in juvenile detention centers." Those two statistics alone explains the reason juveniles should not be placed in prison with adults. Another reason juveniles should not be locked up with adults is because "juveniles are twice as likely to be beaten up by staff." This statistic is very sickening because in the prison the people the juveniles should trust are also bringing them

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.

Juveniles should not be tried as adults because it is proven that children are incapable of making a rational, mature decision on their own. Adolescents have a shorter experience in the world, their brains are still developing, they do not have the same responsibilities or rights as adults and they are easily influenced at this age. Let 's say a child around the age of twelve is playing with two other friends at his house. His mother and father both work constantly so these children are alone. They are snooping around in his dad 's room and find a gun. Not being old enough to understand or realize it 's not a good idea they begin to play with it. One of the children pulls the trigger not considering what could happen. He accidentally shoots on of the other children and he was instantly killed. They decide to call 911 and before they arrive the child that accidentally shot the other tells his friend to tell them that it was his fault because hed get in trouble by his mom. The boy agrees and tells the police it was his fault and he is sent to adult prison for the maximum sentence. Children are both easily influenced and not as intelligent compared to an adult. These children are so immature and underdeveloped they should not and cannot make rational decisions on their own.

It is true; crimes are still crimes, whether juveniles or adults commit them. However, they are overlooking one key fact: the age of the offender. Adolescents are not capable of understanding the consequence of their actions. Adolescents are going through many changes as they are getting older and they are not focusing on the consequences of their actions. “Children and adolescents do not, in fact, they cannot think like adults. They may commit the same

There has been a lot of discussion regarding juveniles and incarceration. One of the bigger questions is should juveniles receive life without parole or the death penalty. In my opinion, it depends on the crime and not the age of the suspect at the time of the crime. I believe all murderers should be given life without parole at the very minimum, regardless of the age of the suspect. I understand the law, but I do not necessarily agree with the law regarding punishments and protecting suspects while the victims have to fight for justice. With that being said, I believe in, “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”

Over the last few decades there have been more and more violent crimes committed by children and young adults. Some of these children are under the age of 15, committing violent crimes such as robbery, rape, murder, gang violence. Some of these children are being tried as adults while others are tried and punished as juveniles. A juvenile offender may receive a slap on the wrist being sentenced to house arrest or parole while others are being sent to adult prisons without the possibility of parole. An adult committing these same crimes would receive a more sever sentenced.

Others may think that juveniles should be sentenced to life without parole because if they are old enough to commit the crime, then they are old enough to serve the time. These individuals may think that teens who commit crimes need to take responsibility for their own actions. However, most teens who are convicted of crime live in a community where they eventually learn that crime is something typical rather than something inhumane. A juvenile serving life without parole mentions in an article, “ I looked to the gang in the streets for love and support…I stopped going to school because I was not learning or getting special help with my learning disability” (qtd. in Nellis 9). This quote demonstrates that these teens who live in a community full of crime, tend to see crime as something that is rather acceptable.

In the article, “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences” by Gail Garinger, states that, “An overwhelming majority of young offenders grow out of crime” (9). They have a chance to clean up their act and completely transform into a sensible person because their mindsets are still developing. This is another reason why I don’t think teens should be given the same sentences as adults. They are more easily influenced than their older counterparts and this is one of the factors that differentiate the two. I believe age limits were implemented into our everyday lives.Due to the inconsistencies in the mental state of juveniles, they aren’t trusted to take on “adult” responsibilities. In all other aspects of the world, we are considered children; children who deserved to be nurtured. If they aren’t treated as adults normally, why should they be in the judicial system? We shouldn’t be sent away for committing a heinous crime. Instead, we should be looked after and monitored so that we can learn from our mistakes. Children are better reformed in an environment where they are taught right from wrong as compared to one where they are treated as

On June 25, 2012, the Supreme Court spoke that juveniles who committed a serious crime such as a murder could not be sentenced to life in jail.This all due to the Eighth Amendment on cruel and unusual punishment. The Juvenile justice system has caused controversy since then about to sentence minors to life sentence or not. There are many sides and strong opinions about it. Many authors concerned about Juvenile justice agree or disagree about minors treated into an adult justice system. The argument has targeted young juveniles such age as seventeen to be treated as an adult or to be still treated as a minor. My opinion about this controversial issue is to treat these juveniles as adults but trial them as actual adults until they have reached

If a person is under the age of eighteen years old, they should not be subjected to life in prison for the pure reason that they are not adults. A person is legally considered a child until they turn eighteen. A child is treated like a child in every way until they slip up and break the law, then that’s when everyone jumps to calling them adults. A child should not be sentenced as an adult simply because they are not an adult. By taking a look at Garinger, Lundstrom, Thompson, and Jenkins’ articles, it is clear to see that children should not be sentenced to life for many reasons.