Should Juvenile Criminals Be Sentenced Like Adults?

Whether Brandon Moore should be sentenced for life due to crimes he committed at age of fifteen, or receive a chance to parole.

In August of 2004, Robert Acuna was sentenced to the death penalty. His crime? Shooting his two elderly neighbors, James and Joyce Carroll, "execution style" and then proceeding to steal their car (Liptak). This heinous crime only adds to the current debate: should juveniles be sentenced as adults? The answer is yes, there should be no leniency displayed towards minors who commit the same serious crimes as adults. Although young, juveniles should be capable of understanding the serious extent of the crime they commit. Sentencing juveniles as adults will prevent perpetrators of major crimes, such as mass murder, from walking free. Furthermore, judges have enough experience to know whether to try a minor as an adult or not. Juvenile sentencing as adults is not a wrong but rather a form of justice in the face of rising teen violence.

Should Juveniles offenders ever be sentenced life without parole? Many kids commit riskless crimes and later have to face the harsh reality of their actions. In the book “Just Mercy” the story of Trina a fourteen years girl who accidently burned down a house with no intention of murdering anyone is sentenced to life without parole, she is an example of juveniles who should receive parole. I don’t think Juvenile offenders should be sentence to life without parole but only in extreme causes for those who don’t show no remorse for the crime they commited.

“Uniformly in our communities, more and more young people are engaging in more and more dangerous and serious behavior. And I see as a result of that, more prosecutors and the citizens generally seem to be exerting more pressure to charge these youths as adults, as opposed to having them processed through the juvenile justice system,” Juvenile Judge Elizabeth Crnkovich

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.”

Yes, juveniles deserve life sentences in jail if they decide to commit a violent crime. This is because there is no effective deterrent to force them to think twice. Over the course of time, this has resulted in even more juveniles being arrested for these activities. Evidence of this can be seen with figures provided by the Center for Disease Control. ("Youth Violence," 2010)

as young as thirteen are sentenced as juveniles to life in prison without parole. Americans today

Have you ever thought about how severe juvenile crimes are and how they should be tried? Some juveniles commit crimes that are so bad that they could be tried as an adult. But, should they be tried as an adult depending on how bad the crime is?

The main reason for this is to learn more and have a better understanding of how Juvenile Courts work and about there Juvenile Court Sentencing Options. Kent Scheidegger, legal director, of the criminal justice legal foundation, states that “Most teenagers, know enough to be tried in adult court,” "Minors aren’t fully capable of understanding what is going on, I find not credible in the case of intellectually normal teenagers." he said. Research on the youths brain development shows that teens have a different understanding and common sense from adults. There are discussions among the juvenile courts whether

Much controversy exists on the question of whether a juvenile criminal should be punished to the same extent as an adult. Those who commit capitol crimes, including adolescents, should be penalized according to the law. Age should not be a factor in the case of serious crimes. Many people claim that the child did not know any better, or that he was brought up with the conception that this behavior is acceptable. Although there is some truth to these allegations, the reality of this social issue is far more complex. Therefore we ask the question, Should childhood offenders of capitols crimes be treated as adults?

It is my opinion that youthful offenders should not be sentenced to life without parole (LWOP) because according the APA the adolescent brain is not fully developed making them less culpable for their crimes; as their brains are still developing into late adolescence this poses two potential ways to differentiate them from their adult counterparts (a) it is difficult to predict recidivism as their brains are growing and changing, this makes “recidivism the exception not the rule” and (b) as their brains do develop they may be more amenable to treatment. Finally, while research is limited, there are some notable findings within case law in regards to how the traditional considerations for sentencing (deterrence, retribution, incarceration,

There are many people who receive life in prison without parole sentences for committing crimes like homicide. Some of the people that receive these sentences are juveniles. Many people argue that juveniles should not be sentenced as an adult because their brain is not fully developed while others argue they should. Juveniles should be able to receive the “life in prison without parole” sentence because although their age is different than adults, their crime is not.

Are young offenders truly capable of understanding the consequences that their actions might cause? Sometimes the crimes that juveniles commit are horrendous, but does that mean they are no longer a child anymore? There are ways to investigate a child mental development. However, we must ask questions like how is the child raise? Who are their guardians? Is there any structure in their home? Is there any neglect and abuse? These questions can help us understand the history and upbringing to configure the state of mind of the child. When these question are answered we find out majority of the young offenders come from dysfunctional families, where there is no type of structure in their home. However, juvenile offenders should not be tried as adults because they have not fully matured and such as they will suffer physical and psychological damage.

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