In today's society juveniles are being tried in adult courts, given the death penalty, and sent to prison. Should fourteen-year olds accused of murder or rape automatically be tried as adults? Should six-teen year olds and seven-teen year olds tried in adult courts be forced to serve time in adult prisons, where they are more likely to be sexually assaulted and to become repeat offenders. How much discretion should a judge have in deciding the fate of a juvenile accused of a crime - serious, violent, or otherwise? The juvenile crime rate that was so alarming a few years ago has begun to fall - juvenile felony arrest rates in California have declined by more than forty percent in the last twenty years. While
Crime and punishment seems to be the hot topic in modern society. People from different age ranges go to different levels of prison, depending on what they have done. Sometime juveniles are tried and sent to prisons suited for adult crimes if it’s serious enough. Should we tried juveniles as adults if the criminal act is severe enough? What impact does it have on the juveniles? Would juveniles being tried as adults than being tried as juveniles yield a better outcome? Is there a benefit from juveniles being tried as adults?
Teens should be spent to adult jail for the crime they committed! In the late 1980s juveniles have been committing crimes during the period of this time, many of them were getting in trouble more often, crimes were getting more violent by this time. On June 25, 2012 The Supreme Court justices who agrued to abolish mandatory sentences to life in prison for juveniles who commit murder or any crimes reflecting the will of Americans society should be punished as an adult . Justice Alito noted that , “Even a 17 ½ -year-old who set off a bomb in a crowded mall or guns down a dozen students and teacher is ‘child’ and must be given a chance to persuade a judge to permit his release into society…” In other words I agree that teens should be sentenced to life in prison, if I did the same crime I should be punished the same way as an adult who has committed the same crime because during this age I know what I am doing wrong and right. I believe that teen should be sentenced to life in prison because the victim's family reactions, rehabilitation, they should understand the consequences of their actions, mental health issues, and heinous crimes.
The truth of the matter is a "kid", "teens" or however you want to call it; are not a grown ups we aren't given the same rights as grown-ups and majority of the time are ignored because we ar not grown-ups; however when it come to crimes we are most definitely taken into considerations. After considering both sides of the debate on juvenile justice, it is clear that juveniles should not face life without parole for the reason that we aren't taken in consideration most of the time as well as our immaturity.
Knowledge deters youth from committing offenses because youth will not want to be tried in the adult justice system. However, this should not happen because teenagers are not equipped to handle situations in the same methods at adults. According to the Juvenile Justice Center “The evidence now is strong that the brain does not cease to mature until the early 20’s in those relevant parts that govern impulsivity, judgment, planning, for the future, foresight, of consequences, and other characteristics, that make people morally culpable.” Juveniles cannot process or plan a crime in the same manner as an adult. The teenage brain is undergoing tremendous amount of growth in its ability to reason, make decisions and delay gratification. The teenage brain cannot be held responsible for actions like an adult
For years may people have debated whether or not juveniles should be tried as adults for serious crimes. The juvenile justice system was established in the year 1899(Long). Laws were first created to handle small cases such as truancy, shoplifting, and vandalism (Estudillo). Since 1993, at least 43 states have passed laws making it easier for children to be tried as adults (Estudillo). Juveniles should be tried as adults because by the time they’re about 12 they know that murder is wrong, if they’re grown up enough to kill someone then they’re old enough for adult consequences, and a lot of kids see the juvenile justice system as a way to get away with crime.
Throughout the years i think adolescents are old enough to distinguish right from wrong but I think they are too young to make right decisions. If adults go to jail for killing or making violent crimes than adolescents should definitely face the consequences and serve time. When juveniles are serving their time in jail and getting rehabilitation and they accept the fact that they did wrong and have overcome their mistakes I think that they should get a second chance.
Should Juveniles be Tried as Adults? Violent crimes are committed in the United States everyday. Almost one-half of them are committed by teenagers ages 13 through 17 ("End of Line" 484). After the crimes have been committed and the lives of these children have been radically changed, society often demands that those who commit violent crimes be tried as adults, rather than as adolescents. Juveniles should be given light sentences and a second chance to return to the streets. Trying these teens as adults unjust and unfair, there other alternatives that our society can turn to, to help make our communities better places to live. We need to realize that children are our future, and we
Today’s court system comes with many crucial outcomes. The most questionable outcome is whether teens should be tried as adults. Many people are against the idea of teens being tried as adults in courts and argue that they are immature but, most teens had the mental capacity as an adult to plan a murder. Crimes that teens have committed have been in the felony level which is the type of crimes adults have made. Juvenile delinquents should be treated as adults in courts because they have committed unforgivable felonies; therefore, they should not have any leniency while in court because of their age.
As adolescents, we have all made mistakes, some big some small but it never crossed our minds that one of these mistakes could change our lives forever. In this day in age, it's ludicrous to hear youth suspects receive harsh sentencing; being forced to go to an adult jail or prison, or in rare cases getting put on death row. “The practice of charging young people as adults gained momentum in America in the 1990s, as youth crime spiked” ("Children in Adult Jails"). Some argue that these pre-teens and/or teens should receive harsh sentencing regardless of their age because they were old enough to know right from wrong. Others believe juveniles should be tried as adults in certain circumstances, depending on the crime and its severity. On the other hand, many people believe youth offenders should receive a higher juvenile sentence as opposed to an adult sentence. This
We live in a society today, juvenile justice is a concern for law enforcement. One thing is for sure and that whether or not to try teens should be tried as an adult and be given adult sentence. In all of the states there are juvenile justice systems where teens are tried and put into juvenile jail . The main focus of these jails are to help them thru rehab t and make them better it just not a punishment . The thing is there so many teens out there being tried as an adult.. Although some people want the death sentence for teens there still doesn't exists only teens get life sentence instead but these juveniles do not deserve to be treated this way they should be treated better; they deserve a chance for a better life, a chance to change, and they are not going to have this chance in prison. Juveniles should not be tried as adults.
People claim that during adolescent years, teens lose brain tissue (Thompson). They claim that this is the cause of their criminal behavior. However, if all teens go through this change, then all prisons would be filled with teenagers, which they are not. I believe that teens are just looking for something to do. That is when justice comes in, and shows them consequences for their
In fact, recent research has found that adult and teen brains work differently. Adults think with the prefrontal cortex, the brains rational part. This is the part of the brain that responds to situations with good judgment and awareness of long-term consequences. In teen’s brains, the connections between the emotional part of the brain and the decision making center are still developing and not necessarily at the same rate. That’s why when teens experience overwhelming emotional in put. They weren’t thinking as much as they were feeling. However, Punishment should fit the crime? No, because teenagers they are still learning and them brains are still developing. Most the time teens make foolish mistake. For example murder someone, rapping, and steal. Court need to give second chance, they shouldn’t be placed in a jail for the rest of their lives but instead they should be helped through their trouble, not punish for a
In my own opinion, I consider juveniles as immature because they lack the ability to recognize the long term impact of their actions as they have decreased levels of responsibility. Therefore, the justice system should not charge juveniles in adult legal system and sentence them as adults.Trying juveniles as adults exposes the young offenders to state penitentiaries up to life in prison without parole and even sentenced to death. This raises a question on how truly effective treating juveniles as adults are to the young offenders. As the crimes committed by juveniles increase, there has been an outcry from the public and affected to prosecute juveniles accused of serious crimes as adults. It is true that juveniles do
Many young adolescents who have committed horrendous crimes have been a huge topic amongst the Supreme Court. Whether young adolescents are viewed as innocent, naive children to the public, this not changed the fact they can commit brutal crimes. In spite of the fact that adolescents have committed brutal crimes such as murder, one needs to understand that their brains are not as fully developed as an adult brain would be. Adolescents should not be trialed to a life sentence or attend adult prisons; however, they should be punished for their actions and undergo rehabilitation programs to help them be prepared to fit in with the rest of society.