Should Juveniles Be Tried as Adults?

While the debate and argument over the carry on campus law continues, more and more concerns are surfacing about the jeopardy it could put our nation in. Are students even mature enough for the handling of weapons? Students are not to be trusted with guns and college campus should stay a gun-free zone. Carrying a gun in general requires responsibility that people of a young age sometimes tend not to have. The handling a firearm and a lack of responsibility within a person can be a very dangerous situation. Judgement and maturity of such a young group are things to consider when thinking about the carry on campus law and a student’s capability to make smart choices when handling a weapon can’t be trusted.

Juveniles by definition are not yet adults. They are incapable to speak in their own defense because studies have determined the emotional and psychological immaturity of juveniles makes them unable to speak in their own defense (McArthur 69). They have lawyers that speak for them and are appointed or hired to defend them. Children are less likely to control their impulses to guide their behavior than adults. They are still at the point of “growing up” (Human 77).

The continuous question officials have been contemplating is whether or not juveniles should be tried as adults. Although it seems as easy to say if they do the crime they should do the time, it’s immorally incorrect. However, what types of crimes must juveniles commit to be charged as an adult? Juveniles from the age of 13 to 18 have the possibility to be transferred to an adult system if they commit serious crimes, such as murder, aggravated sexual assault, and robbery with a firearm. However many negative results prosper from juveniles being put into the adult system.

Juvenile Crime says, “As a society, do we really want our teachers to be prepared to shoot children, perhaps even kill them?”After the tragedy at Dene Building of the La Loche Community School, schools are asking that teachers be allowed to carry guns to protect themselves and their students. As a high school student this is a mixed feeling for me. This subject truly speaks to me, because I firmly believe that if someone comes at you with a gun

Society views minors as immature and naïve. Until they reach adulthood, they are incapable of thinking through their decisions. This is certainly what Greg Krikorian believes as he makes his argument in his article, “Many Kids Called Unfit for Adult Trial…”, that minors are incapable of defending themselves during trial. Krikorian states, “The study… found that one-third of the eleven- to – thirteen year olds studied and 20 percent of those fourteen to fifteen years old had levels of reasoning comparable to those of mentally ill adults judged not competent to stand trial.” It is important to remember that these teens are not mentally ill, and it must be

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,

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.

Under most state laws, juvenile offenders do not commit "crimes". They commit delinquent acts, some of which are acts that would constitute crimes if committed by an adult. The trial phase of a juvenile case is an adjudication hearing.(Should juveniles be tried as adults? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://malaysia.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120602234650AAayOa2)

Children as young as 7 can be prosecuted and tried in a an adult court in 22 states and the district of Columbia. Juveniles should be convicted and tried as an adult for violent crimes because if they want to act like an adult and make adult decisions they should be punished as an adult.

In this research paper the topic of “Should Teens Be Tried as Adults” will be discussed. Many teens that are under the age of 17 have committed many if not almost all types of crimes, whether it is rape, murder, robbery and etc. However, most teens that have committed such crimes do not face any type of jail sentence; as a matter of fact they only go to rehab centers or any other correctional facility. Furthermore, people often debate whether or not teens should receive the same punishment as adults. The reason that they should be tried as adults is because they commit “adult” crimes and they should be full aware of the types of consequences that committing crimes has. Teens are already old enough to understand the concept of right and wrong and they should know what happens when they make the wrong choices. However, many would also bring up on how these “teens” are not fully and mentally developed and if they are not mentally developed, than they will not be mentally ready for what they see in prison. There are teens that go to that need to go to prison, however prison does not have to be the only way they can be punished, there are also things such as community service that can also be a consequence. The idea is that just because they are minors it does not mean that they have in all access pass to do whatever they want, just because they know that they cannot be sent to jail. There have been many stories on how some teens have committed suicide because they could not

That was the case at Mountain View high school in Orem early Tuesday morning. A ‘straight A’ student was said to have pulled a knife with a blade of about three inches from his locker and stabbed five other students who were in the locker room with him. After stabbing these five students, giving them stab wounds mostly to the neck and the upper torso, the teachers were said to have stopped him from stabbing other students after which he stabbed himself on the neck. The resource officer arrived minutes later after which he jolted him with a Taser.

The juvenile justice system is a network of agencies that deal with juveniles whose conduct has some conflict with the law. However, when young offenders commit a series of crimes and constantly being in trouble with the law, they are brought into the adult court where they will be subject to be punished for their crimes. In some cases, they are waivered into the adult system automatically such as in homicide cases. In the justice system, one question still stands for debate: Should juveniles be treated or tried as adults even though they have not reached the age of adulthood? I think it would be fair that juveniles be tried as adults, but only depending on the crime they committed.

Violence in schools is a big social issue that occurs almost everyday throughout the United States. There is no way to tell when it is going to happen, but when it does, people need to be prepared. This violence leads to devastating effects on the students, teachers, and families of these kids. Some violence that occurs within the schools across the United States include physical, mental, or sexual abuse, theft, vandalism, and, the most common form, fighting and bullying. One form of violence within schools that doesn’t come to mind right away though, is gun violence. Going to a smaller school in a smaller community, this wasn’t a big concern, but it can happen within any school, anywhere.

Juveniles being tried as adults has been a major topic in the Criminal Justice system, for many years. The controversy primarily focuses on the brain development, safety, and rehabilitation of the juvenile versus an adult punishment towards them. These opinions have continuously produced outburst in the Criminal Justice system. Some argue juveniles should suffer the same consequences as an adult if an adult crime was committed. Others reason juveniles are not mature enough to be kept in the same facility as adult offenders. A former inmate, Gary Scott, and co-founder of the Juvenile Law Center, Robert Schwartz have both written articles on why juveniles should not be tried as adults. Although they both have the same opinion on the topic, Gary writes a more persuading article.

Second of all, students in the United States schools are threatened or injured with a weapon has been increased every year. It is a most horrible and dangerous aspect of school violence because it can end students’ life. There are about 526,000 violence incidents each year reported by student age 18-24. Nevertheless, 128,000 of those included a weapon to the victim (Violence on Campus). It is a very large number that the society really needs to pay attention to. The percentage of students who are threatened or injured with a weapon varied between seven and nine percent during 1993 through 2009 (Robers et al. 18). Carrying weapon to schools is not a new topic in the United States since it has been happening for more than 10 years. However, weapon carrying among youth is totally unacceptable and it is associated with criminal activities. Base on the number data the author states, it is absolutely right when saying carrying weapon is the most hazardous issue happens in schools because youth brain’s immaturity has not grown fully. They not only do not have developed consciousness to be able to get access weapons but also are not responsible enough to take care of the problem. According to Benbenishty and Astor, half of the study see students with a knife in school (72). The authors’ point is logical because a knife is clearly a dangerous weapon that students can find it everywhere and bring it to school. It is surprising that carrying a knife to schools seems often to students.