Are young offenders truly capable of understanding the consequences that their actions might cause? Sometimes the crimes that juveniles commit are horrendous, but does that mean they are no longer a child anymore? There are ways to investigate a child mental development. However, we must ask questions like how is the child raise? Who are their guardians? Is there any structure in their home? Is there any neglect and abuse? These questions can help us understand the history and upbringing to configure the state of mind of the child. When these question are answered we find out majority of the young offenders come from dysfunctional families, where there is no type of structure in their home. However, juvenile offenders should not be tried as adults because they have not fully matured and such as they will suffer physical and psychological damage. Young offender’s brains are not fully developed yet until they reach their mid-twenties. Scientist has identified the region of the brain that is called the amygdala which is responsible for instinctual reactions including fear and aggressive behavior. (AACAP) The frontal cortex is the area of the brain that controls reasoning and help us think before we act, this develops later. (AACAP) …show more content…
(Lamm, 2009) Such as voting, serving on juries, and purchasing alcohol. (Lamm, 2009) These laws recognize that children do not have the emotional or maturity level like adults do for good judgment and certain decisions. (Lamm, 2009) Such laws were put in place both to protect children and for the food of the citizenry as a whole. (Lamm, 2009) Vice versa, laws should protect children who make impulsive, criminal decisions from being exposed to irreversible life sentences. (Lamm, 2009) According to the American Medical Association, adolescents as a group are prone to engage in risky, impulsive and sensation-seeking behavior. (Lamm,
If we do not try juveniles in adult court for serious crimes, what is the alternative? We need to have a building just for juveniles tried as adults. If juveniles who commit serious crimes do not get tried in adult court they won't completely understand the consequences of their actions. Juveniles should be punished like adults are for serious crimes.
According to research, "[There is a massive loss,] gray matter, which brain researchers believe supports all our thinking and emotions, is purged at a rate of 1 percent to 2 percent a year during this period.... These frontal lobes, which inhibit our violent passions, rash actions, and regulate our emotions, are vastly immature throughout the teenage years (Thompson, 7)." This means that scientifically, only stating facts, juveniles are not ready to be equal to adults. Similar questions arose in Marjie Lundstrom's article, "Kids Are Kids- Until They Commit Crimes." Lundstrom states how ironic it is that society perceives juvenile-aged children as such immature and untrustworthy human beings until they commit crimes (Lundstrom, 3). Suddenly, their rights as kids are taken away and they are left to be fully responsible for their actions, which they were never used to doing. They suddenly lose their rights to be protected by their parents and they are put in a situation where they cannot support themselves, they have no experience being self- reliant, but they have to
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?
The main reason for this is to learn more and have a better understanding of how Juvenile Courts work and about there Juvenile Court Sentencing Options. Kent Scheidegger, legal director, of the criminal justice legal foundation, states that “Most teenagers, know enough to be tried in adult court,” "Minors aren’t fully capable of understanding what is going on, I find not credible in the case of intellectually normal teenagers." he said. Research on the youths brain development shows that teens have a different understanding and common sense from adults. There are discussions among the juvenile courts whether
When do children lose their innocence? It’s a question that has been pondered by many throughout the years. Especially, by criminal psychologists when it comes to whether to try a child as an adult or as a minor. Obviously, this is an argument that involves two sides. The two articles presented had very different views as to whether or not children should be tried as adults or not. The article written by J. Steven Smith “Adult prisons: no place for kids” addresses how children should not be tried as adults because of various reasons. Meanwhile, Jessica Reaves “Should the law treat kids and adults differently?” believes in that it should be the crime that matters not the criminals age. The two
Minors accused of committing serious infractions should be tried as adults and given equal sentences for equal crimes. It does not make sense that a different age would require a different system to prosecute a lawbreaker, minor or not. The design and goals for the Juvenile System is different from our criminal justice system. According to Juvenile vs. Adult Criminal System, it states, “If the juvenile is found to be delinquent, appropriate action in the form of rehabilitation will be taken. In the adult criminal system, action is taken that is intended to punish the defendant”, The approach of an adult court is justice, and giving appropriate consequences for people’s actions.
When a child commits a violent crime, are they automatically considered an adult? Or is the child incapable of fully understanding their actions? Studies suggest that the prefrontal lobe of the brain, which many scientists believe plays a crucial role in inhibiting inappropriate behavior, may not be fully developed until the age of twenty. Many experts also believe that children do not possess the moral or intellectual capacity to fully understand the consequences for their actions. They argue that youth lack the capacity to be defendants at an adult trial. Many experts contend that rehabilitation in a juvenile detention center is more beneficial for the youth and for society compared to releasing someone who has spent their childhood and young adult life in the prison system. A youth coming out of the juvenile rehabilitation system is less likely to commit a crime than someone coming out of the adult prison system.
The controversy and debate of whether teen criminals should be tried as adult criminals has developed into a huge controversy in our nation. There has been various situations where teens who have committed a crime or have been a part of a crime, have been sentenced to life in prison without parole. Do you believe it is just for a teen to be sentenced to life without a second chance? When answering this question you have to consider many things such as the teen’s age, the way they were nurtured, and the crime that was committed as well as their part in the crime. Teen criminals should only be sentenced to life in extreme cases and also should be given a second chance to rehabilitate and change their life around for the better.
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.
Should young offenders be tried as adults? Statistics have been recently formed about due to age that young offenders should really be tried as adults or is Rehabilitation really the solution for these young criminals? When it comes to the young offenders and “punishment”, rehabilitation over criminalization has been a shaky situation.so most young offenders who cannot afford rehabilitation receive the only other possible option: Jail time for their actions. Because the cost of Rehabilitation, not everyone can receive the help they need and the young offenders still need to do the time for the murder. Overall young offenders should be treated as adults for committing these crimes .
People 10-17 are still considered juveniles by law but, some of these “kids” commit some of the worst crimes such as murder. Most of these juveniles commit serious crimes but, they are not tried in adult court because of their age, if they are not tried in adult court they go to juvenile court and sent to juvenile detention until they are 18 and then no one even keeps track of these kids. And most of the time they will commit other crimes when they get out of juvie, so what’s the point of sending them there if most of them commit a crime get sent to juvenile detention and are out in a year or two. Recent research shows that the brain continues to develop throughout adolescence and you are not fully mature until your mid twenties. And also
Kids seem to be growing up earlier as the years go by. Serious crimes committed by juveniles have stayed pretty much the same in the last twenty years, but that is not to say people have not concluded differently. A thanks to laws passed in the ninety’s and more specifically between ninety two and ninety seven, It is easier to try juveniles as adults in the court system. There are multiple pros and cons to juveniles being tried as adult. These arguments range from a crime is a crime to they are not mentally developed enough to understand completely. These are just a couple of the things to consider when asking if a juvenile should be tried as an adult.
Juveniles are not children. Juveniles are teens who commit crimes knowing the consequences but commit them knowing the flawed juvenile system will give them a free pass of a punishment because they are still children. Mary Estudillo, a writer for the University of California San Diego student newspaper, advocates that, “Violent, preventable crimes by minors have long plagued America's larger cities but have scarcely been punished because of the age of the perpetrators” (Estudillo, 4). She argues that these juvenile offenders are, “Protected by a lenient and highly outdated juvenile justice system, violent youth have taken advantage of such benefits and
Should Juveniles be tried as adults in the Justice System, or should they have to endure the same punishment.