The Age 18 Sounds Enchanted Right

In the United States, “an estimated 7,100 juvenile defendants were charged with felonies in adult criminal court in 1998” ("Juvenile Defendants"). These numbers portray how there were a lot of juveniles being charged. In addition to a large increase in the amount of crime, there was a change in the severity of the crimes that were committed, “the number of violent crimes committed by young people declined substantially from the 1990s to 2003, but then surged again that year, with the estimated number of juvenile murder offenders increasing 30 percent” (Kahn). These numbers show how juveniles were committing more crimes that were serious in the face of the law. These numbers are a brief snippet of

“In the late 1980s, Robert Sampson and John Laub stumbled across the files from a decades-old research project conducted by Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck of the Harvard Law School. This study that followed young boys from childhood into early adulthood and led them to question previous criminological research practice and develop their age-graded theory. It has been said that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Therefore, it is no surprise that, when criminologists study adult offenders, they discover almost all of them committed crimes as an adolescent. However, it is not logical to assume that everyone who engages in crime as an adolescent will commit crimes as an adult. Moreover, if one continues this faulty line of reasoning

In 2009, 18% of all offences were committed by juveniles, with most of these offences being for minor crimes such as graffiti, vandalism, theft, fare evasion, and road traffic offences. (Qld Police Service, 2009.) Most of these offences were “unplanned and opportunistic, and occurred when the juvenile was under the influence of alcohol and drug use, and affected by peer pressure.” (Cunneen and White 2007). Research also shows that juveniles are often victims of crime , with young people aged 15 to 24 years of age being at higher risk of assault than any other age group ( Eikelhor et al, 2009 ), and that this sometimes leads them to offending

There’s an old saying, “don’t do the crime, if you can’t do the time”. Our youth is doing the crimes, not realizing the true consequences of their actions; hence their immaturity. “Per a 2011 report on the National Institute of Corrections, 250,000 minors wind up in the adult criminal justice system each year.” (Hannum, 2016). But that does not mean, they should be tried as an adult for their crimes. Nor should they get off easy because they are under the age of eighteen. You can pick any day of the week, about 10,000 of our children are being put in adult prisons and jails. (Hannum, 2016). Nearly every year, the FBI arrest more than 33,000 young adults under the age of eighteen for offenses.” (Khan, 2010.). It’s time for society and our

Turning 18 years means that a person has become a responsible adult. Thus one receives the rights and responsibilities of an adult which includes; taking responsible of life and death, be prosecuted as an adult, can join the army, sign contracts and the right to vote amongst others. All these shows that at 18 a person can do all the things that a 21 years person can

Minors are a diverse group that varies in terms of the severity of criminal acts they commit, the frequency with which they commit criminal acts, how early they begin their criminal career, and how long they commit these crimes for. For many minors, juvenile lawlessness is a short-lived flirtation that disappears as quickly as it emerges. It is common and even normal for minors to engage in trivial forms of misbehavior and delinquency as they mature through adolescence and enter adulthood. However, for some minors, juvenile lawlessness has a more troubling meaning.

Unfortunately, in a society dominated by material wealth and status, young individuals often make drastic errors in judgment. Many young individuals, attempting to mimic their role models, pursue endeavors that are as unprofitable as there are detrimental. Activities such as theft, assault, burglary, and vandalism are all common mistakes that young individuals in society make. The reasons for such activity are as varied as they are bizarre. However, society must account for these infringements on individual rights with proper correctional initiatives. One of these initiatives, geared primarily towards young adults, is centered on juvenile court. Juvenile court provides services and support to youth between the ages of 10 and 17. The primary goal of this supervision is to monitor and assist children in hopes of returning these individuals back to society in a productive manner. The Juvenile Court Services unit of Kenosha Wisconsin is no different in this regard as it attempts to aid its youth by preventing destructive behavior from occurring (Dishion, 1999).

Juvenile delinquency has become a controversial issue within the Criminal Justice system. In the United States, juvenile delinquency refers to disruptive and criminal behavior committed by an individual under the age of 18. In many states, a minor at the age of 16 to 17 ½ can be tried as an adult. Once the individual reaches adulthood, the disruptive and criminal behavior is recognized as a crime. However, the criminal justice system has divided juvenile delinquency into two general types of categories that has brought upon controversial issues of inequality and corruption. Yet, putting young individuals in juvenile detentions facilities seems to open the door for them to commit more crimes in the future. Therefore, under certain circumstances juveniles should be tried as an adult.

not be sentenced to life in prison because it violated the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Both sides of the argument have credible evidence on why their opinions are swayed, however each side has inconsiderate repercussions. There are juveniles who are under the age of eighteen, who are at many times given life in prison with parole for murder because of the Supreme Court ruling. Yet, there is no black or white answer that will solve whether we should punish minors with life in prison with parole. Cases should be determined on the murderer’s maturity, impetuosity during the situation and his failure

Many adults come up with many reasons why youth involve themselves with acts of violence, there is never an actual answer to why they committed the crime, but the question of why they are being tried as an adult. Vicious misconduct is well-defined by the Division of Juvenile Justice as “murder, rape, severe attacks, and theft. These are all actions that sound terrible and cause for harsh consequences. Unluckily, there is an increasing development of adolescent violence; even “kids” under the age of sixteen are engaging in these vicious acts. When a child comes of age, they advance to being able to enjoy but not abuse adult liberties. Adolescents attain a

To the degree that flexibility is likely, moving adolescents into a criminal equity framework that blocks a rehabilitative reaction may not be extremely sensible open approach. Be that as it may, to the degree that young people's agreeability is restricted; their exchange to the grown-up framework is less troubling. At long last, pre-adulthood is a developmental period amid which various formative directions turn out to be solidly settled and progressively hard to adjust. Numerous juvenile encounters have a huge combined sway. Awful choices or inadequately figured approaches relating to adolescent crimes may have unexpected and hurtful results that are difficult to fix. It is not out of the question to ask whether or for what valid reason

Linda J. Collier’s “Adult Crime, Adult Time” is quite an interesting article, one that brings attention to a problem I had not even thought about before reading it, but it also left quite a bit to be desired. She makes her beliefs quite clear in the second paragraph; the juvenile law system is out of date, and needs to be updated. Adolescent crimes have evolved in the last few decades. Rather than truancy, vandalism and petty theft, “juveniles now are more likely are more likely to be the perpetrators of serious and deadly crimes.”

Over twenty five thousand people have been violently killed this year in America, and while the US has an amazing criminal justice system, many of those crimes were committed by juveniles. It is noteworthy, however, that many of those, in turn, were not truly guilty, but simply made a bad choice. The truth is, an adult’s sentence makes finding housing and jobs harder, and juveniles may receive a sentence similar to an adult’s, despite their age. In addition, even the juvenile justice system, not to mention the adult one, can increase the odds of breaking the law again in life, and teenagers’ brains simply have difficulty in decision-making, for no fault of their own. It follows that children should receive less punishing sentences than adults.

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.

Research has continuously shown that youth is physical, socially and psychologically different from adults. Youth is less mature, are more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviors and are more impulsive than adults. “Although adolescence is a phase during which some youth engage in unlawful conduct, there is substantial evidence that most adolescents involved in criminal activity will stop when they reach young adulthood.” (Allen, Trzcinski, & Kubiak, 2012, p. 2).