Should Teens Be Tried As Adults?

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

In America on any give day, approximately ten thousand juveniles are housed in adult prisons and jails. Approximately two hundred thousand juveniles enter the adult criminal justice system each year and most have non-violent crimes. Juveniles in the adult jails lose out on the educational and psychological benefits offered by juvenile detention facilities and

In adult prisons, children who are underage are more likely to be sexually harassed and be raped and beat by not only the other cell mates but the staff members too. Children who are underage are more likely to follow the crowd and to be tempted to do the stuff that other people are doing. If children who are underage are placed in adult jails they lack education and also have a hard time learning the right way out and the right way to do things in life. Children who are under a certain age do not fully understand their consequences for their actions. Children who are under a certain age also are more vulnerable to peer pressure.

Juveniles need to be held accountable for their crimes, however, they should not be sent to life in prison. With an increasingly growing amount minors being trialed as adults for heinous crimes, people would ask “why would they commit it?” The answer lies within each juvenile's background, mental health, age, immaturity, and morality. Therefore, it is my belief that juveniles should not be trialed as an adult. Juveniles such as Manny, Shawn, Marquese, and José interviewed in PBS’ “Frontline” were involved in gangs, familial neglect and abuse, or drugging.

Should teenagers be tried as adults? Many people say that they should be try as adults because they are teenagers doing adult crimes. The bigger the crime, the more eager they are to call them as adults. Many of the teens that have commit crimes killed someone. The family of the victim would want justice, so they would demand the court to send them to life in jail for killing the person.

Teens should be tried as adults because they’re committing the same crime. No matter what age they are, they should be punished, whether they’re over eighteen years of age or not. If they are not punished this will become a bad habit because they know they’ll be able to get away without any consequences. Teenagers should know right from wrong or at least have an idea of it and should expect punishment if they do the wrong thing. By punishing juveniles this will make the world a safer place because not only will they learn their lesson but other teens will see or hear about the punishment and know what to expect if they do the same.

Approximately two million adolescents a year are arrested and out of that two million, 60,000 of them are incarcerated according to the American Journal of Public Health. The 60,000 incarcerated adolescents each year are being tried as adults in court because of the serious crimes they have committed. The crimes they have committed are anything from armed robbery to murder. Some juveniles might be first time offenders and others might be repeat offenders. Crimes have always been a major issue in the United States and can cause controversy in the criminal justice system. Charging a minor as an adult in criminal court varies from state to state based on each state’s jurisdiction. Some states consider anyone up to the age of 18 still a juvenile and would not be charged as an adult in criminal court, but other states may charge a juvenile as an adult at the age of 16 or 17. Jordan (2014) states, “Although states already had methods for transferring youth to the adult system, as a result of the growing fear of juvenile violence, most states implemented new laws to increase the number of youth entering the adult criminal system’ (Bernard & Kurlychek, 2010; Torbet et al., 1996)” (p. 315). While it sounds beneficial to incarcerate more adolescents in the adult criminal justice system to avoid juveniles from committing crimes in the future, that is not always the case. Incarcerating these juveniles can be life changing in a negative

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.

The environment in adult facilities is immensely different from juvenile facilities. Rehabilitation options are limited in adult facilities. It is hard for children to fit in with adults, or even be respected. Lack of attention and bullying are both major problems for juveniles in prison (Human Rights Watch). Juveniles in prison have a 18x greater risk of committing suicide, due to lack of supervision (Juvenile Forensic Evaluation Center) However, juvenile facilities provide higher quality education, adequate health care, and better security. 70% of juveniles are held under locked situations, rather than staff secure settings (Juvenile Forensic Evaluation Center). This decreases the amount of violence between juveniles and the staff. Since depression is a common health issue, juvenile facilities often have treatment available. Giving a juvenile the resources to help, can really benefit them at this

I went to websites including Southern Poverty Law Center, 10 Pros and Cons of Juveniles Being Tried As Adults, University of Rochester Medical Center, and many more. When I went to these websites I found that many people think that youths should not be tried as adults. I found research proving that the brain is not fully developed until the age of twenty-five. I based my research on the fact that youths do not have fully developed thought processes, they do not understand the full weight of their actions and consequences, and they are capable of

The article “Inside the Teenage Brain” by Marty Wolner states that recently, brain researchers have been able to do a great quantity of detailed studies on the human brain. Despite previous thoughts about the teenage brain, development of the brain through the teenage years is very dynamic. The teenage brain is still learning how to process certain information properly in the thinking part of the brain, so often teens may not process all the information necessary to make responsible decisions. Nevertheless, the teenage years can be very stressful for both parents and for teens. Getting through the teenage years can be difficult, but with the right amount of healthy communication, discipline and support the road ahead won’t be so rough. At this

Teenagers’ crime is one of the biggest problems that the United States is facing these days. We are living in a society where teenagers easily has access to firearms where their parents do not give the education they need or simply they grow up in an unsuitable environment This is the case of many teenagers who became murderers at an early age. Juvenile offenders should not be tried as adults because there are differences between a teenager and adult. Juveniles do not have the well- development cognitive skills that an adult possess.

While some individuals feel that exposure to an adult sanction will have a negative effect on the health of juveniles, the major crimes committed by these minors are the same as those committed by their surrounding adult inmates. The threat of adult incarceration will also repel juveniles from committing serious crimes. According to Professor Morgan Reynolds from Texas A&M University, “Between 1980 and 1993 juvenile crime rose alarmingly, and as the states toughened their approach during the 1990s, it declined just as steeply” (2005). In addition, incarceration lowers the chances of reoffending (Schneider cited by Reynolds, 2005). Enforcing laws that discourage juveniles from executing major crimes are effective in reducing crime rates and implementing public safety. Also, those that have already committed severe crimes are less likely to reoffend after exposure to adult sanction. Like Christopher Simmons, juveniles are aware of the crimes they are committing, and may even be proud of their actions. Regardless of the motive, teens committing major offenses should be placed in adult sanctions because their actions are no different than adult offenders. The intimidation of adult detention is successful in both deterring juvenile crime, and appropriately holds minors accountable for their severe offenses.

When one compares the structure of the adult brain and the teenage brain, there will be several differences between the two. Adults have stronger connections from one nerve cell to another, and they all have essential communication skills. However, teenagers have more synapses and have weaker nerve connections. Also, their frontal lobes aren 't fully developed. This causes adolescence to have impulsive behavior and they typically do not recognize consequences in a situation. In the early twenties the brain becomes fully developed, so people are very good at making decision and they are able to think abstractly. There are many factors that contribute to the construction of the brain; some things help the brain develop normally, other things interrupt the process. There is a substantial amount of distinctions between the adult brain and the adolescent brain, and these includes behavioral and structural differences.