Should Juveniles Be Tried As Adults

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.

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.

There are articles or news reports every once and a while about juveniles committed heinous crimes, but not serving any real time for the crime. Juveniles or even adults should not serve a few years for murder or rape. Murderers, rapists and other criminals are being released from jail every day after serving only very short sentences for their heinous crimes. (Source #1) Who are these criminals and what makes them so special? The criminals are juveniles who commit these awful adult crimes. Juveniles are being tried every day in juvenile courts and are receiving shortened sentences, and they are being released and given new identities to continue to live in peace. All while their victims and their families are left to suffer forever. Because the juvenile rights and courts believe that second chances should be given to youth that commit crimes. In my opinion that is half-true, if it is a minor crime then yes. If the crime is very serious or heinous or harmful. They should not get a second chance and be tried fairly as adults.

Children are not mature and sometimes are unaware of the consequences that have taken place due to their actions. Taking someone’s life can be very dangerous, but if you are young enough to commit an adult crime then you should be charged as an adult as well.

The numbers of Juveniles being tried, and convicted as adults within the U.S are beginning to rise drastically. There are many reasons for the sudden increase such as lack of space in juvenile detention centers, and the rise in repeat offenders. This is starting to become a serious issue due to the effects that this act has on kids under the age of 18 no matter the crime at hand. Cambridge Dictionary describes a Juvenile Delinquent as, “a young person, usually under 18, who commits a crime” (Cambridge Dictionary) Many Juveniles are being tried as adults as well as convicted due to the crime committed. Though this is a strong argument as to why they should be allowed to live among adult convicts, the effects that this move can have on juveniles

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.

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?

In the last part of the 18th century, children under the age of seven were regarded as being incapable of

People may think that kids wouldn’t be able to do a crime as bad as a grown person. On the news, internet, or social media, people see what horrible crimes some people commit and some of those people are juveniles. What is a juvenile? The definition is of, for, or relating to young people, and in this case, having to do with young people committing crimes. These crimes include murder, rape, and others. Furthermore, in some cases, juveniles are tried as adults. This can lead to major funding and/or imprisonment. I do not believe this is the correct answer for dealing with juveniles. Young people aren’t mature, mentally and physically, enough to survive in jail. They are also irresponsible and receptive to their surroundings. For an example,

Do you think juveniles should be tried in the court system as adults for heinous crimes that they commit? I think it depends on what crime they committed before they should be tried as an adult. If a child decides to make that decision they will suffer the consequences and end up going to jail, if they don’t have a criminal background, then there’s a chance they wouldn’t be tried as an adult. Some people might think it’s very harsh, but if you commit a crime you do the time, and if the crime was something like murder, raped, assault then yeah, they should be tried as an adult. If the crime was something simple like theft, burglary, motor vehicle theft, and robbery then the crime won’t be so serious.

“Humanity has the stars in its future, and that future is too important to be lost under the burden of juvenile folly and ignorant superstition” Isaac Asimov. During the last decade, 47 states in the US and the District of Columbia have passed laws to make it easier to try and sentence adolescence as adults. These laws were implemented to stop a wave of so called “super criminals” predicted in the 80s. The same people who predicted this generation have admitted that the wave never came; yet in 1998 200,000 young people were charged with criminal’s offences (McCormic). These young kids are suffering from laws that are outdated and made for a generation that does not exist.

There is a controversy on whether or not minors under the age of 18 who have commited a crime should be charged and punished as adults. Many people think that in certain situations, juveniles should be tried as adults, not all the time. In court, there are five criteria that is used to determine the offender’s fate. The five criteria taken into account are the degree of the crime, previous delinquent history, previous rehabilitation, how long the delinquent has to be rehabilitated, and the seriousness of the crime. Serious crimes, also considered adult crimes, include murder, rape, torture, arson, and more. With all ideas and facts taken into account, juveniles convicted of serious crimes should be tried and punished as adults.

Over the past 100 years juvenile crime has had its ups and downs and has changed quite a bit. Not only has the types of common crimes changed over the years but also as the type of punishment teens are receiving. Juvenile crime has slowly shifted from theft and petty crimes to being much more violent, children are quick to imitate things they see from television and video games and in todays society where violence is one click away it is easy to see why this is the case. In 2008 about 60% of children who were surveyed in the United States were exposed to violence either through crime, or abuse in their homes, schools, and communities, and approximately 46% of these children were assaulted at least once in the past year (Crimesolutions.gov).

The definition of a juvenile is a person of a young age who has committed a crime. This young age may vary from one through seventeen. Essentially these juveniles are considered to be children, in which case means they are not fully matured. Children mess up; they do things they are not supposed to, test limits, and push people to their max because they are not fully aware of the consequences that lie ahead of them due to the fact that their maturity level is still relatively low. With that being said, juveniles should not be tried as adults when being sentenced because these teens have not fully developed.

Teens who commit crimes shouldn’t be charged as adults. It also has to do with the crime, if a teen breaks into a car he/she shouldn’t be charged as adults they should be charged as juvenile. Kids will be kids they will make mistakes but doesn't mean they should have their life taken from them. In the article (Kids are kids-Until they commit crimes) says “It’s a glaring inconsistency that’s getting more glaring by the hour as children as young as twelve and thirteen are being charged as adults in America’s courts.” young teens are getting their life taken away from them, they haven’t learned right from wrong if the court system just gives them life.