Should Adult Offenders Be Allowed?

One of the most controversial questions in the juvenile justice system today is, "Should the death penalty be applied to juveniles?”. A lot of people think that the death penalty for juveniles is cruel and unusual punishment and should only be used for adults. The crimes that juveniles commit are as dangerous and as violent as adult crimes. People argue that the adolescent brain does not mature until the late teens or early twenties, and that death penalty should not be the resolution. Some studies show that childhood abuse or neglect can causes the child to commit crimes when they grow to adulthood. Debate about the use of the death penalty for juveniles has grown more intense because of the crimes they are

In Contrast to Bryan Stevenson’s “Just Mercy” stories of juveniles being tried as adults, Jason Zeidenberg in the article “The Risks Juveniles Face When They Are Incarcerated with Adults” strongly emphasizes the dangers and consequences that juveniles face when they are tried as adults. Zeidenberg states the consequences of juveniles being raped, assaulted, committing suicide and the effects of being victimized. Children who are housed in the same facility as Adults is not a good idea nor a good mix, according to Zeidenberg a “15-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in Ohio by a deputy after she was placed in an adult jail for a minor in

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

How would you feel if the police arrested kids all over our country to jail for just crossing the street the wrong way or pushing another kid on the playground? That is what is happening to many underage juvenile all over the United States; they are being sent to adult prisons for crimes that do not deserve such severe punishments. Why they were tried as adults is an enigma and we will explain why this is a terrible injustice. In 1899 children in between the ages of 7-14 were believed they were incapable of committing criminal intent. The court system back then believed that if enough evidence could be gathered to convince a jury, the underage person would be convicted and sent to an adult prison. Currently in our state, persons as

Supreme Court ruling Graham v. Florida (2010) banned the use of life without parole for juveniles who committed non-homicide crimes, and Roper v. Simmons (2005) abolished the use of the death penalty for juvenile offenders. They both argued that these sentences violated the 8th Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. While these landmark cases made great strides for the rights of minors passing through the criminal justice system, they are just the first steps in creating a juvenile justice system that takes into consideration the vast differences between adolescents and adults. Using sociological (Butler, 2010) and legal (Harvard Law Review, 2010) documents, this essay will explicate why the next such step to be taken is

Around 250,000 youth are tried, sentenced or incarcerated as adults in the United States every year. On any given day around 10,000 juveniles are housed in adult jails and prisons. Of the juveniles held in adult jails, most of them are awaiting trial, as 39 states are required that youth charged as adults be held in an adult jail before they are tried. Though as many as a half of them will not be convicted or will be sent back to juvenile justice systems, most will have spent at least one month in adult jail, and one in five of them will have spent over six months there. The juveniles held in adult prisons have been convicted as adults; the laws and standards of this practice vary widely by state.

Did you know, that in the United States alone, Over 200,000 children are charged and imprisoned every year as adults? Early in the 20th century, most states established juvenile courts to rehabilitate and not just punish youthful offenders. The system was designed for children to have a second chance at their lives. “A separate juvenile-justice system, which sought to rehabilitate and not just punish children, was part of a movement by progressives to create a legally defined adolescence through the passage of child-labor and compulsory education laws and the creation of parks and open spaces.”(How to reduce crime Pg 1) Although the view on juveniles committing brutal crimes is nearly inconceivable, it is not a solution to give juveniles adult consequences because the effects of the adult system on juveniles are not effective.

Adults are held accountable for their actions and expected to abide by the laws and if they do not there are consequences to follow. Some punishments can be as little as a monetary fine, or as detrimental as life imprisonment. Today, some children face these exact consequences depending on their actions. Certain children are held accountable for their actions and punished as adults in an adult courtroom depending on the offense and the jurisdiction. According to Youth Justice (2012), “On any given day, approximately 2,700 young people are locked up in adult prisons” (p. 4). This is hard to understand, because the United States has a juvenile justice system that is centered on rehabilitation and reforming youth into law-abiding citizens. Youth Justice (2012) also claimed, “On any given night in America 10,000 children are held in adults jails and prisons” (p. 3). Currently, all states participate in serving justice to juveniles even though it is extremely difficult. Even though all states have a juvenile justice system in place, they are still able to send children to an adult courtroom to be charged and punished as an adult, otherwise known as the term “waived.” Children should not be held to the same standards as adults, there is no formal goal or point in punishing a child as an adult, and lastly, juvenile delinquents deserve the most effective treatment and rehabilitation measures available, which is unlikely in the adult criminal justice

There are 2,225 child offenders serving life without parole in the United States(“united states: thousands of children sentenced to life without parole”). Around 93% of minors sentenced to life without parole were convicted of first degree murder (“united states: thousands of children sentenced to life without parole”). As of 2018, 42 states in America have passed laws allowing minors to receive life sentences based on certain crimes(“united states: thousands of children sentenced to life without parole”). Although charging minors as adults may seem extensive and harmful, many take into account the irreversible effects on the victim’s family, the mindset and background contributions, and the fact that

Imagine sitting in a courtroom, hoping the the judge will not give a harsh sentence. Unfortunately, that’s the case for many juveniles, some as young as 13! A juvenile is subject to a more severe sentence with the limited sentencing available. It is estimated that 250,000 youth are prosecuted as adults, each year. This number should change, as juveniles are not adults, both mentally and physically. Juveniles need an environment surrounded with guiding adults, education and the resources to help them. A juvenile is not an adult, and should not be tried as one.

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

“I used to believe are our future but now I realize that this, sadly isn’t the reality. Through laws that treat kids like adults, the government is throwing away the future of children in this country.” (D. Lee) An estimated 200,000 juveniles are tried as adults. The term juvenile refers to any young person under the age of 18. For most states in the United States, the age of majority is 18. While there are many things that juveniles are unable to do until they reach the age of 18, being charged as an adult for a crime is not amongst those things in some states. Juveniles are not allowed to vote, drink alcohol, or sign a legal contract, yet they can be charged and treated like adults when it comes to them being

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.

Imagine a life of not choosing how a person’s day will go, being forced to life a certain way. Most people have no idea what it feels like to be in prison, statistically only one out of every five people will know what it’s like to be in prison. Most of us imagine that prison life must be hard and extremely difficult to endure, but because of the life long lasting debt to society many struggle with adapting to life on the outside. Much of their time is structured, as they are told where they can live, how they can interact with people, or even where the can work. Many lives of the convicted are hindered because of the laws we have set in place for them.

In the United States, 13 and 14 year-old kids arraigned as grown-ups, have been and kept on being sentenced to life detainment with no possibility of getting parole. A study by the Equal Justice Initiative has archived 73 cases which youngsters 13 and 14 years old have been sentenced to kick the bucket in jail . The larger part need lawful representation and much of the time the appropriateness and defendability of their amazing sentences have never been explored . Most sentences forced on these kids were compulsory. Meaning the court couldn 't give any thought to the kid 's age or life history. A few youngsters were