”Too many of todays kids have straight teeth and crooked morals...”(Anonymous). Today, there is so many kids that end up in some sort of trouble, or in a terrible situation, because of their misbehavior. The kids are mainly misbehaving in their household, or in school. In my opinion, enough is enough, we must take control of this big problem. Young kids are constantly in trouble at home, and especially with the law. In 2005 while striking down the death penalty of juveniles, the Supreme court declared that because of their youth, their brains is less developed which makes the more impulsive to get in trouble. What does this mean? While they are young, children are very liable to get in trouble. They are more subject to peer pressure, which makes them focus more on temporary happiness and less on the long-term consequences they could face because of their behavior. …show more content…
Forty-two states are currently have laws stating that the kids who commit crimes with get life without parole. This shows that these states want children with behavior issues to stay in jail, and not be included with other children especially in the school systems. I agree with the idea that bad behavior should not be tolerated, or spread anymore than what it has already spread to. For the children who create crimes at such a young age should be punished, because if they are not punished, they will never learn. This will cause them to repeat their bad behavior if there is no consequences set in place for them. So when will we wake up to this issue? We have more children with bad behavior than children who have good behavior. Will we take control? Or will we let this situation control our society? I believe that if we all stand together and battle this issue, the task will be completed in the matter of
The juvenile court was founded on the belief that juveniles just don't posses the cognitive capacity to fully understand the repercussions of their actions. The juvenile court used to use all its resources to focus on how to rehabilitate juveniles, now all the court proceeding are to establish the legal guilt of a juvenile offender and a small percentage of the legal process establishing adequate punishment. Research on the brain over the last twenty years gives us more knowledge about how children develop and think. Until recently scientists believed the brain was fully developed by age 12. With brain imaging research we now know that this is not true(4 walker). The May 10, 2004 issue of Time Magazine discusses the development of the teen brain in great detail. Dr. Ruben Gur, a professor and director of the Brain Behavior Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania states that impulse control is the last area of the brain to develop and the first to fail as we age(4 walker). Teens do not think like adults due to the lack of impulse control and raging hormones. Hormones fuel emotional responses in teens. Drug use during these formative years damages brain development. How teens spend their time may affect the development of the brain(4 walker). Other research at the National Institute of Mental Health suggests that full
Helping children realise which behaviours are appropriate and responsible gor is paramount. Good, strong teamwork between adults will encourage good behaviour in children There are two ways we help teach children good behaviour, through positive reinforcement of good behaviours and negative reinforcement of bad
Juveniles are being treated as adults when it comes to crimes, and are receiving higher sentences than adults. Furthermore, juveniles do not fully understand the consequences of their actions. Juvenile’s brains are not fully developed and experience loss in gray matter. According to the article Startling Find on Teenage Brains by Paul Thompson, he states, “gray matter, which brain researchers believe supports all of our thinking and emotions, is purged at a rate of 1 percent to 2 percent a year during this period” (Thompson). Gray matter makes up of people’s critical thinking and awareness. Juveniles are losing gray matter and are therefore forgetting the consequences of their actions. In addition, juveniles are coddled way too much by their parents and grow up without any discipline. Why is it that juveniles are segregated from adults in society in every aspect except when it comes to crimes? Juveniles do not deserve to be tried as adults when they commit heinous crimes because it is not constitutionally correct and
Juveniles should not receive severe adult sentences for the murders they commit due to their underdeveloped prefrontal cortex not allowing them to fully process decisions and consequences at a young age. In fact, the prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain where decision making originates and does not fully develop until the age of 25. Furthermore, sentencing a juvenile as an adult while they are at an impulsive age and subject to peer pressure is resulting to cruel and unusual punishment as defined in the eighth amendment of the United States Bill of Rights. Eventually, imposing an adult verdict over a juvenile would inhibit a proper rehabilitation for the convicted juvenile. Hence, it is recommended that states that currently have life without parole or the death penalty laws, ratify a new law for juvenile convicts for proper sentencing and rehabilitation.
Considering the behaviors of an adolescent in the same manner as that of an adult is unfair. Juvenile brains are still developing, which means that they perform differently than adult brains (AACAP). Adolescents are more likely to act on impulse, get involved in fights, and engage in risky or dangerous behavior. They are less likely to think before they act or consider the consequences of their actions (AACAP). Weighing this scientific fact, it is unfair to assume that a juvenile committed a delinquent act with the same forethought of an adult. The mental development of a juvenile makes it difficult to prove that they established the mens rea equal to that of an adult guilty of the same offense.
In the US today there are 3 different standard procedures for issuing a concealed carry license in the US, “Shall-Issue”, “May-Issue”, and no permit required. Which one of these policies would be most effective on college campuses? I do not think any of these policies alone will work the best, I feel a combination of them in needed. It is important to ensure that no one is allowed to carry a firearm on campuses if they are using it to sell drugs or commit other crimes, but it is also important to allow students to protect them selves without having too go through to much “red-tape” to receive their license.
Regardless of age, a killer is a killer. A killer can be the daily customer you have at your job or the child you’re babysitting. “The Supreme Court justices would be wise as well as compassionate to strike a balance: Make juvenile offenders responsible for their actions but don't completely rob them of hope. And this should apply not only to the inmates who were 14 at the time of their crimes but to the remaining 2,497 who were 15 to 18 years old,” (Ellison 19). Kids make mistakes all the time, that doesn’t mean we should take their life away from them. With overlooking the listed factors in court when sentencing a juvenile, this will improve the number of children in prisons. Not all of these children partake in the act because of evil, but merely because of
Another solid point would be in our own communities. Especially in the urban communities. All kids, but especially kids of color are most likely to have parents that are barely there or even in trouble with the law. They are doomed to deal with drugs, violence, and many other things
A person’s mind is developing from the start of their life all the way up to when they are in their twenties. Yet the criminal justice system thinks, or thought, it was right for kids to be treated the same as adults when it came to committing serious felonies. A fifthteen year old can spend life in prison for killing someone alongside an adult
The court decision was influenced by Graham and Roper cases that established for sentencing reasons children are different from adults under the constitution. Children lack maturity and have no developed sense of responsibility. This leads them to be impulsive and reckless. In Roper it was held children are exposed to outside pressure and negative influences from friends. Therefore, they have less control of their environment because the child’s nature is not2 well informed. Graham and Roper emphasized distinguishing traits of children weakening justification for inflicting harsh sentences to juveniles even when they commit outrageous crimes.
One of the most controversial questions in the juvenile justice system today is, "Should the death penalty be applied to juveniles?”. A lot of people think that the death penalty for juveniles is cruel and unusual punishment and should only be used for adults. The crimes that juveniles commit are as dangerous and as violent as adult crimes. People argue that the adolescent brain does not mature until the late teens or early twenties, and that death penalty should not be the resolution. Some studies show that childhood abuse or neglect can causes the child to commit crimes when they grow to adulthood. Debate about the use of the death penalty for juveniles has grown more intense because of the crimes they are
This is not to say that the parents are bad parents or stupid, they just do not realize that children can pick up on things at a young age as they watch them. As parents they should monitor what they do around their children, so that the child does not have to learn bad habits. If the children does happen to do something bad they should take the necessary course of action to make sure that the child knows that the act is bad and should tell them the right course of action. Showing your children the way of life and how it should be lived could positively affect their growth as they mature into teenagers and eventually adults. Now I know everyone is not perfect and we may fail to be a perfect role model, but at least try to keep the negativity to a bare minimum around the child. Parental guidance is always necessary in life. As parents you have experienced the things that the child may be going through and can relate to them on matters because you have been there. I believe if more parents were to talk to their children and try to blend it into being their child’s best friend the problem with aggression can seize itself because every learned action can be unlearned.
Capital punishment for juveniles is one of the most controversial topics to ever be explored in society and in the criminal justice system. The death penalty is a rare occurrence amongst juveniles since it is so arguable as to whether they should be tried as adults. Lynn Cothern from the Juvenile Justice Resource Center suggests that “the primary purpose of the juvenile justice system is to hold juvenile offenders accountable for delinquent acts while providing treatment, rehabilitative services, and programs designed to prevent future involvement in law-violating behavior” (Cothern). The juvenile death penalty has been argued over for centuries and has stirred enough people to still be around today. While juveniles have been known to commit heinous crimes, sentencing a juvenile to death is an inhumane and cruel fate to serve someone who is incapable of making rational lifelong decisions, and should not be allowed in the juvenile justice system.
A surprisingly large majority of young offenders outgrow crime. According to Gail Garinger, a Massachusetts juvenile court judge, “it is impossible at the time of sentencing for mental health professionals to predict which youngsters will fall within that majority and grow up to be productive, law-abiding citizens and which fall into the small minority that continue to commit crimes” (94). Everyone is bound to make poor decisions in their lives. More than the other there are just good people making bad choices. Children should be given the opportunity to demonstrate that they can mature and rehabilitate. They deserve a chance to prove that they can become different people. The best time to decide if someone is deserving of spending most to all of their life in prison is not when they are a child. If placed in juvenile correction systems, teens can be given the support and needed help to change their ways and prove that they will not always be the immature criminal they once
It may seem shocking that America has one of the highest crime rates per capita compared to other similar industrialized nations. Over the years, there have been many discussions and efforts in order to reduce this problem. Perhaps one of the more sensitive issues when discussing crime in America is the problem of juvenile crime. Recently, juveniles make up 3% of all felonies committed each year and 6% of all violent crimes (criminamerica.net). These statistics have troubled politicians for decades as they have worked to find a solution. Starting in 1994 the Clinton administration started putting stricter punishment on juvenile offenders, but it was quickly realized that this harsh punishment may not be the best solution. Various studies and programs put into action have shown that early prevention in a child’s life is much more effective and more cost efficient in reducing crime. Because of these efforts, juvenile crime has reduced 68% since the violent boom of the 1990s. In light of these discoveries, it is important for states to focus on these results in order to reduce crime.