Why Children Commit Crimes Have Been Going On For Over Decades?

Going back to the early days of American history, there were very little made to distinguish criminal responsibility of children versus that of adults. During this time, juveniles, some young as seven years old could be tried and prosecuted within an adult criminal court. Children would have to stand for trial in court based on the offenses they committed, and could then be sentenced to prison and sometimes possibly even capital punishment. Is this form of justice beneficial to minors, or does it just obstruct their futures?

The one thing that those people won’t understand is that minors don’t know the typed of crime they had committed until they received adult consequences for their adult decisions they make. “In the Los Angeles two teenage sisters allegedly killed an elderly neighbor while another sister allegedly played a stereo to drown out the screams. They have denied all charges” demonstrates how even though they were committing adult crime they didn’t get adult consequence for what they had done. At that moment they probably didn’t realize the decision they were making but by getting adult consequences they would learn from there

If we simply send juveniles through the adult justice system it might make them worse individuals. For instance, since their minds are still growing, by being around worse criminals they may pick on their criminal traits.

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

Nothing should be done with the young children of violence-prone criminals because they had no say so in being conceived. If research could prove that the tendency to commit crime is inherited, then the criminal parent(s) should be required to take some sort of birth control. It would be an invasion of privacy to monitor the children’s behavior at any early age. Besides, Siegel (2016) states, ”Why would these killers, most of whom at one time had attended college, gone out on date, and had friendships…People who knew them claimed they seemed to have gone through a significant personality change just before the murders took place” (p. 127). This quote provides evidence that not all criminals begin at a young age, so why keep an eye on them when

How would you feel if the police arrested kids all over our country to jail for just crossing the street the wrong way or pushing another kid on the playground? That is what is happening to many underage juvenile all over the United States; they are being sent to adult prisons for crimes that do not deserve such severe punishments. Why they were tried as adults is an enigma and we will explain why this is a terrible injustice. In 1899 children in between the ages of 7-14 were believed they were incapable of committing criminal intent. The court system back then believed that if enough evidence could be gathered to convince a jury, the underage person would be convicted and sent to an adult prison. Currently in our state, persons as

While in the article“Kids are Kids- Until They Commit Crimes” by Marjie Lundstrom (2001), tries, but fails to show to most Ethos. Lundstrom asserts that all minors be tried through the juvenile justice system and not through the adult system because they are only kids. The article shows barely if any credibility of where the facts came from that are constantly shown through the entire article. A line from Lundstrom says, “Hey, they're only kids” (4). In the mind of Lundstrom, it is safe to assume that there is not much ethos in this article rather than the author's opinion to persuade the reader using pathos. While in the article, Lundstrom brings a few trials attempting to help the argument, but does not show any credibility of her resources.

There are times where a juvenile may be eligible for transfer to adult criminal court. There are certain criteria that must be met for this to happen, and there is a strong belief that juveniles who commit serious offenses would be more appropriately dealt with by criminal (or adult) courts (Elrod & Ryder, 2011). Juveniles are capable of committing the same serious offenses that adults do. Therefore, with the requirements of a transfer being met, there are times that juveniles should be placed in the adult criminal court system and tried through here, rather than the juvenile court system. The juvenile court system may not have the same consequences or sentencing guidelines as the adult criminal court; therefore, the proper punishment may

Today, the juvenile system primary goals are crime reduction and rehabilitation. The juvenile officials must assess whether youthful offenders are likely to commit crimes in the future and whether they can benefit from interventions. If these kids cannot benefit, then they will most like end up a delinquent. In most states delinquency is defined as the commission of a criminal act by a child who was under the age of 18 at that time (Virginia Rules). Most states allow youth to remain under the supervision of the juvenile court until the age of 21, but this depends on the type of crime that was committed. There has been many times where a juvenile case was transferred to an adult criminal court. This would have to be done thru a process called a waiver. A waiver is when a judge waives the protections that the juvenile court provides (Larry J. Siegel). Cases that

The juvenile justice system has gone through many transformations and changes in sentencing guidelines since its inception. These guidelines were put in place to establish a process through which juveniles are guaranteed resources for a chance at rehabilitation and integration back into society as a law-abiding citizen. Juvenile courts have a wide range of sentencing options which they can impose on juveniles or youth offenders found guilty of a criminal offense. The automatic transfer law is the policy that is used most commonly, in regards to transferring a juvenile to criminal (adult) court.

Depending on which side you view the transfer issue from, the consequences can be positive or negative. On the positive side the juvenile is afforded more constitutional rights in the adult system, such as a trial by jury. For some juveniles it could mean a chance of having their charges dismissed (Seigel & Welsh, 2011). By transferring juveniles into the adult system you are more likely to have violent offenders taken off the streets and given tougher sentences for violent crimes than they would have

By law adolescents are not able to vote, purchase tobacco or alcohol, join the armed forces, or sign a legal contract. Children are not permitted the same rights and responsibilities as adults because the law recognizes their inability to make adult decisions. The law acknowledges that children are unable to handle the consequences that come along with the rights that adults have. By allowing them to be charged as adults is holding them to a double standard. Telling them that they are not old enough to enjoy the same luxuries as adults, but they can experience the same punishment as adults if they commit a crime. The law acknowledged the inability of children to make decisions but still allows them to suffer the same consequences as adults. Research demonstrates that transferring children from juvenile court to adult court does not decrease recidivism, and in fact actually increases crime. Instead of the child learning their mistake they are more likely to repeat it. Juvenile detention centers have programs that help reconstruct young minds and help them realize where they went wrong. Prison does not offer this same opportunity. (Estudillo, Mary Onelia)

However, the transfer laws do not lower the juvenile crime rates. For example, in New York a law that sent violent juvenile offenders to criminal courts did not have an effect on violent juvenile crime. Serious crimes presented before the adult criminal court included murder, assault, burglary, rape and arson. In other cases, young offenders become aware of the consequences once tried in the adult courts. When committing the crimes, they think that they will receive light punishments imposed by juvenile courts but when referred to adult courts, the youth tend to become more responsible. Therefore, prior knowledge of resultant punishment plays role in crime reduction among the youths. Subjecting the young offenders to face adult courts brings to their attention the seriousness of the matter at hand (Jeff, page 8).

Child abuse and neglect are considered a social phenomenon that plays a crucial role in American society as well as in the American criminal justice system. All types of ages, genders, ethnicities at some point or another are represented as victims or perpetrators of child abuse or neglect. Child abuse includes physical, psychological and sometimes sexual abuse to a person who is below the age of 18. Child abuse or neglect victims tend to grow up with long terms consequences such as low self-esteem, depression, and other major consequences such as engaging in criminal behavior as adults, teen pregnancy and not to mention the severity of physical child abuse consequences can end up in a death of an innocent victim. This literature

For example, in 1996 the legislature in the state of Missouri lowered the minimum age for transfer from fourteen to twelve (Zierdt, 1999, p.419). States in favor of this kind of shift justify the transfer because chronic juvenile offenders in rehabilitation centers will likely disrupt the reformation of other juvenile offenders as they are considered as a bad influence on them. It is thus, considered that in not transferring the juveniles in adult prisons, these chronic juvenile offenders disrupts the growth and development of other teens undergoing rehabilitation.