Should Juveniles Be Tried As Adults Essay

Whether or not we should try juveniles as adults has always been a controversial issue. First of all, “juveniles” are children who fall under the age of 18. However, the legal age varies within certain states across the USA. Despite the age difference, some juveniles are still tried as adults. Does convicting a juvenile as an adult, turn out to be a better problem-solver, and how is this affecting the deterrence of crime?

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.

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

Nowadays, the topic of the Juvenile law system is a very controversial as well as difficult discussion to have. For every court case, trial, and scenario, there are many different circumstances that may affect the outcome. Due to the seriousness of their crimes or even their past offenses, juvenile criminals can sometimes be tried as adults. Personally, in the beginning of this assignment, I could see both sides of the argument. There are many reasons why children under the age of 18 should be tried as children, however, there are more proficient reasons as to why we should do away with juvenile court. Many of my peers do not think this, however, they are keen on keeping children tried as children. I truly cannot fathom the “good” that

Many serious crimes are committed daily and some by juveniles under 18. When serious crimes are committed these juveniles get tried as adults and receive adult sentencings. Many people argue that such juveniles should not be tried as adults because they are just kids and are still developing. In my opinion, I agree that juveniles should not be tried as adults, however I also believe they should receive adult sentencings but to a lesser degree, because they are not yet fully developed, they have potential to change, and it is not fair that they are underage but are being tried as adults.

The topic of juveniles justice and whether or not to charge teen criminals in adult courts and sentence them to audit prisons is one issue that is always up for debate. Media plays a huge role on juvenile crimes they show the worst about it and not any positive which makes many people feel that there's a huge problem going on with the juvenile justice. Minors should not be charged as adults or be sentenced to adult prisons without knowing the background or the circumstances.Not every kid that commits a crime will grow up to be a criminal, brain studies show that teens are unable to make decisions efficiently which causes them to make the wrong decision, children from juvenile court to adult court actually increases crime, kids take risks in adult prisons and bring justice for extreme crimes.

Court systems are left with difficult decisions. A controversial decision courts are faced with today is whether or not juveniles are to be tried as adults. The increasing number of incarcerated children in adult jails raises questions as to why. Adolescents sentenced to prison are more likely to be abused, commit suicide, or reoffend, thus committing more serious offenses. The statutes requiring juveniles to enter adult prisons are inhumane and in-just. Nevertheless, sentencing children to adult prisons continues regularly today. When adolescents commit crimes, they should be tried as juveniles rather than adults.

The opposing side claims that adolescents should be convicted as adults in the United States Court System. This is not at all constitutional, and healthy for the teens. Throwing adolescents into adult jails will not help them understand the real world and think about their actions, but become more disrespectful in the innapropriate environment. “In Miller, Justice Kagan noted that adolescence is marked by “immaturity, impetuosity, and failure to appreciate risks and consequences,” all factors that limit an adolescent's ability to make sound judgements” (Rovner). Without the right rehabilitation centers at adult jails, juveniles will not know what to do in the future. Along with not receiving correct rehabilitation, adolescents brains

Kids should be subjected to the measures of punishment that our judicial system is giving to them. Kids who show lots of enmity should be tried as adults. It is the only way to protect the innocent children. These kids know right from wrong, but they choose to do the wrong things and violence is wrong. As the laws have gotten stricter on discipline the kids have gotten wilder. When we let society tell us how to discipline our children then violent children is the result.

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.

Crimes are most associated with adults. Murder is especially most associated with adults. When a teenager commits such a crime such as murder they must be tried, and they should not be treated with leniency and coddling, but with the full force of the law as an adult.

By law adolescents are not able to vote, purchase tobacco or alcohol, join the armed forces, or sign a legal contract. Children are not permitted the same rights and responsibilities as adults because the law recognizes their inability to make adult decisions. The law acknowledges that children are unable to handle the consequences that come along with the rights that adults have. By allowing them to be charged as adults is holding them to a double standard. Telling them that they are not old enough to enjoy the same luxuries as adults, but they can experience the same punishment as adults if they commit a crime. The law acknowledged the inability of children to make decisions but still allows them to suffer the same consequences as adults. Research demonstrates that transferring children from juvenile court to adult court does not decrease recidivism, and in fact actually increases crime. Instead of the child learning their mistake they are more likely to repeat it. Juvenile detention centers have programs that help reconstruct young minds and help them realize where they went wrong. Prison does not offer this same opportunity. (Estudillo, Mary Onelia)

Children as young as 14 years old have been tried as adults and are sentenced to die in prison without considering their age and the factors that led the individual to commit the offense. Society believes that a juvenile should be tried as an adult because it will help them understand the consequences of their actions, however, children and teenagers that commit crimes are too young and they don’t have the mental ability to understand the consequences of their actions. These juveniles are not aware of what they are going to face behind the adult’s prison bars. According to the National Juvenile Justice Network, it states, “ 200,000 youths are tried, sentenced, or

I was extremely convinced of this after reading the article “kids are kids- until they commit crime” by Marie Lundstrom. She claims that juveniles are really are just children however we continuously push for harsher sentencing on them (Lundstrom Par. 5-6). It’s honestly disgusting how harsh society can get pushing life sentences on twelve year olds Lundstrom and many others have stated that their reasoning has not fully developed yet (Lundstrom Par.14) . We see juvenile offenders as monsters and try to lock them up for the rest of their lives when they haven't gone through even a quarter of it. Gail Garinger is a juvenile court judge who was appointed by the governor said something very relevant to this case. Garinger believes that we cannot place these juveniles into the system with fully fledged adult criminals (Garinger Par.7) . This is the worst thing we can do for them, instead of giving them a chance to correct their wrongs we place them among societies worst influence and leave them to the animals in prison. This is truly giving up on the juveniles because here they are exposed to the negative influences for the rest of their lives.