Why Juveniles Should Be Legal

Life without parole is a waste of life. Juveniles have been sentenced to life without parole. Juveniles are never given second chances. I believe that rehabilitation is necessary it gives hope to them. In juveniles Don't deserve life by Gail garinger she states ¨nationwide, 79 young adolescents have been sentenced to die in prison. These children were told that they could never change and that no one cared what became of them¨. In on punishment and teen killer by jenifer jenkins she states ¨The juvenile death penalty was abolished here years ago and a life sentence still allows a great deal of good living to be done even from behind bars¨. After considering both sides

Juveniles should be tried as adults when they commit serious crimes as opposed to rehabilitation or various forms of lesser sentencing. The rate of juveniles in prison has increased over the years. Many young adults and children often seek for attention which leads them to cause trouble out in the streets. There are risk levels that officers have to make in order to help the juveniles or if committing a serious crime, they should pay the consequences. Many may oppose and think that young adults and children are not adults, but they should be punished for the crimes they have done.

One of the most debatable topics in today’s justice system is whether or not juveniles should receive waivers to adult court. There are three methods that are used to transfer a juvenile to adult court. Juvenile waiver, statutory exclusion, and Concurrent Jurisdiction are the three different methods used to transfer a juvenile to adult court. Statutory exclusion is when the juvenile is transferred immediately to the adult court. Concurrent Jurisdiction is when the juvenile may be tried as an adult and a juvenile at once. Throughout all three methods juvenile waiver is the most common one that is used throughout juvenile courts and used in mostly all states. The only states that do not provide judicial waivers are Nebraska, New York, and New Mexico. When a judge transfers a juvenile to adult court, he or she is denying the protections that the juveniles receive. The judge makes the decision of whether or not the juvenile is tried as an adult. Double Jeapordy laws protect the juvenile from being tried in juvenile court and then adult court because of the fact that a juvenile would be tried twice. Most times 17 or 18 year olds are the youngest age limits that can be waived to adult court, but in some states ages low as 13 or 14 can be waived. It depends on the crime that a juvenile commits on whether or not he or she is transferred to adult court. Once the juvenile is tried as an adult, he or she will be affect in the community for a lifetime versus having his or her records

Juveniles should be charged as adults in cases of extreme crimes, such as first-degree murder and rape. This is so that Justice can be delivered, the punishment can be proportionate the crime(s), it acts as a deterrent against future crimes

Juveniles should be tried as adults because they only serve a few years in prison, they deserve a harsher punishment, and they are committing crimes at a younger age.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 10,000 juveniles are confined in adult prisons and jails rather than in juvenile facilities that were built for them. Josh Rovner reports in his article “Juvenile Life Without Parole: An Overview” that 2,100 child offenders are serving life in prison without the possibility of parole before the age of 18. In 26 states, a life without parole sentence is mandatory for first degree murder – regardless of age. Juveniles housed in adult prisons face a disturbing number of dangers such as physical as well as sexual abuse, assault, and high rates of suicide. While juveniles should be held accountable for their actions, they should not be prosecuted as adults because they are incapable of exercising the same judgement and maturity as an adult, housing them in adult facilities leaves them vulnerable to their surroundings, limits their educational growth and giving out a harsh sentence will not rehabilitate them nor deter other juvenile crime.

In today's society, there are many crimes going on. Adults are not the only ones that commit crimes. One issue today is that juvenile offenses and whether juvenile offenders should be tried as adults in criminal court. A common phrase that is often used in this case of young juveniles committing crimes is "Old enough to do the crime, old enough to do the time." This phrase should be cleared to people that juveniles are not adults, and with this being said it will not make them one. "It has redefined juvenile offenses by treating most of them as delinquent acts to be adjudicated within a separate juvenile justice system that is theoretically designed to recognize the special needs and immature status of young people and emphasize rehabilitation over punishment" (Steinberg). While juveniles should be responsible for their actions, and should be held accountable for the crime, then the juvenile justice system is design to determine the consequences. Youths are still minors and are less mature. They often face a lot of negative peer pressure. Therefore, juveniles should not be tried in courts as adults.

The brain is considered undeveloped until one is in their mid-20s. At the age of 13, youths are known to have an undeveloped sense of responsibility, and lack a great deal of maturity. Which causes them to have little control over their environment. The two girls at age 13 accused of attempting murder on a classmate show them to be two dangerous individuals. But, for them to plan this to impress a fictional internet character shows their decisions are made due to their immature psychological level of their age.

Juveniles should be allowed to receive rehabilitation for crimes they have committed in order for them to correct their mistakes and be prepared for the real world once they become adults. Juveniles should be given the chance to rehabilitate no matter how serious the crime, so that they are able to reenter society and become functioning adults. The first reason why juveniles should not receive adult sentences for their crimes is because it will never allow them to rehabilitate and reform to go back into the real world. Trevor Jones, 17 at the time of the crime, enlisted the help of a friend to help him sell a handgun. However, when Jones was showing the gun to his friend, he accidentally discharged the gun and killed his friend.

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.

Most of the time, the system has proven itself to be unsuccessful in dealing with juvenile crimeMost often, the system is unsuccessful. “There are kids who are five times more likely to be raped or otherwise sexually assaulted in adult prisons than in juvenile facilities. The risk of suicide is likewise much higher for juveniles in adult jails.”(How to reduce crime Pg 3). When juveniles are sent to jail, they are still relatively impressionable from people in the prison, and may go back into crime after they’re released, hindering rehabilitation and just creating another violent criminal in the world. The court sentencing the criminal is also at

There are articles or news reports every once and a while about juveniles committed heinous crimes, but not serving any real time for the crime. Juveniles or even adults should not serve a few years for murder or rape. Murderers, rapists and other criminals are being released from jail every day after serving only very short sentences for their heinous crimes. (Source #1) Who are these criminals and what makes them so special? The criminals are juveniles who commit these awful adult crimes. Juveniles are being tried every day in juvenile courts and are receiving shortened sentences, and they are being released and given new identities to continue to live in peace. All while their victims and their families are left to suffer forever. Because the juvenile rights and courts believe that second chances should be given to youth that commit crimes. In my opinion that is half-true, if it is a minor crime then yes. If the crime is very serious or heinous or harmful. They should not get a second chance and be tried fairly as adults.

Juveniles should be considered as adults at courts because they need to learn from their mistakes, they are old enough to know what they do, and they have to be considered as adults on how bad the crime was at court. Juveniles should be considered as adults so they can learn about what they did wrong.

It is often said that Americas justice system is out of control by becoming too harsh on the offenders. This leads to an increasing number of our incarceration rate. More and more young adults are being sent to prison when they may not even be fully developed yet when it comes to understanding their actions. This system has led to young teens being sent to adult prisons where they are abused as well as people committing small crimes that are tried unfairly and sentenced to a lifetime of prison. the current justice system as a matter a fact, increases incarceration rates by providing ridiculous accusations of crimes and intense terms of punishment.

I do not think it is a good idea to lock juveniles up in prisons with adults. For a child to set down and plan a murder for instance, there would have to be some kind of deep emotional problem. On the other side of this, if the child knows right from wrong and he can sit down and plan a murder, then you could say if he is old enough to kill someone then he is old enough to die. The juvenile criminal is rooted much deeper than right from wrong. It starts back from when they are small children. Most of them are usually outsiders or outcasts. Who can you hold fault for that other than society? If juveniles don't fit in with the popular kids in school they are considered an