Why Shouldn T Juveniles Be Tried As Adults?

The cases of Lionel Tate, and brothers Derek and Alex King bring into focus the problems that society has in addressing how to handle criminal cases involving deadly violence by under-age juveniles. Lionel Tate, a 12 year old in Florida was convicted of killing a 6-year-old playmate while Alex and Derek King, 12 and 13 years old respectively, were convicted of killing their father. Interestingly, Lionel Tate, who happens to be black, was sentenced to life in prison while the King boys, who are white, both received minimal terms.

Whether juveniles should be tried as adults in the justice system or not, has been an ongoing debate for many people. There has been many cases throughout time where people under the age of 18 have been tried as adults in the justice system. Information about this debate can be found in articles, novels, and podcasts. Typically people who are under the age of 18 are identified as a juvenile delinquent and go through different procedures after committing a crime. There is many examples and evidence of why juveniles should not be tried as adults. A juvenile is typically considered a person who is under 18 years of age.

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.

Other people argue that Juveniles may not have the mental capacity to know that this is wrong. This is, in fact, wrong in most cases. A child no matter what the age should know that killing or performing other atrocious acts on others is wrong.There are some exceptions such as mental illness and adverse effects from medications. According to https://flowpsychology.com/10-pros-and-cons-of-juveniles-being-tried-as-adults/, “because teenagers have full control over their thoughts and actions. If they do not have the moral compass instilled in them by that time, then they are very likely to commit more crimes.” This implies that, should teenagers not be tried as adults, they may never learn their lesson.Even if they don’t from harsher punishments; at least they will

Kenzie Houk had everything going for her. She was twenty-six, engaged to the love of her life, and was eight-and-a-half months pregnant. In the late winter of 2009, her four-year-old daughter waddled in her bedroom, hoping to surprise her mommy with a good morning smile. Instead, she found her mother with a bullet through her head. Eleven-year-old Jordan Brown, the soon-to-be stepson of Kenzie Houk, was arrested and charged with homicide, pulling the trigger before he went to school. There were two counts of homicide, one for Kenzie Houk and the other for her baby. Brown was tried in juvenile court and sentenced to a residential treatment facility until the age of twenty-one. To Kenzie Houk’s family, Brown’s sentence would never live up to that her four-year-old and seven-year old daughters would have to serve. “The day Kenzie was murdered, the whole family was served with a life sentence,” said Debbie Houk, the victim’s mother. “[Her daughters] are serving life right now. They are never going to see their mom” (Chen). Serious juvenile crimes, similar to this, cannot be properly justified in the juvenile justice system. Juveniles should be tried in the adult criminal court system for serious crimes because of the lack of severity in the juvenile court system, increased youth crime and recidivism rates, and the mental maturity of juvenile offenders.

Juveniles should be tried as adults because they only serve a few years in prison for doing harsh things. Manuel Sanchez and John Duncan committed a bloody murder by shooting a man several times in the chest, and John and Manuel were only twelve years old at the time. For example, “ It was a brutal, callous, bloody murder. But what is even more shocking to people in the small Washington town of Wenatchee is that John Duncan and Manuel Sanchez are only twelve years old.” I found this information in the article “ Rethinking Juvenile Justice” ( John, 1). Instead of the boys

When a person is charged with a crime, many people don't think that the age of said person is important because in their minds a criminal should be charged according to the law and not according to his or age. I believe that juveniles should not be tried as adults because trying them as adults affects them in ways that it does more harm than good for them and their community. The first effect of juveniles being tried as adults is that it “alters the legal process by which a

Other sources, such as USA Today, states that the murders got what they deserved by going to prison for the rest of their lives, with a possibility of parole. To conclude, It is clear to see that although people should believe that even if a very young child commits a crime, they still should have to pay the price for their actions. Having the justice system choose the fate is fairer to the victim’s family because they can rest easier knowing that they are paying for what the child

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.

Did you know that 16% of the crimes committed, were between the ages of 13-15 years old? Kids within that age limit, and any age limit should be tried as adults because they should be aware of what is good and what is not. An estimated 59% percent of the crimes made were under the of 18. That is over half of the crimes committed. That is why they should be tried as adults. In certain states most juveniles have to be 16 years of age to be eligible to be able to sign a adult court waiver. Also in a number of states minors from the ages 13 and above can also be subjected a waiver. However, in order for a minor to be charged as an adult they have to have a partially lengthy record amongst them. Another reason they would end up being tried, would be if the went to rehab and it didn’t work and they did something bad again. Next, laws will be addressed.

For example, in the Slender Man Case two young girls that society pictured as innocent attempted three types to kill their victim. The first two attempts failed as they were afraid someone would hear their victim’s cry. This proves that “it is clear that developing adolescent brain does not prevent deliberate, thoughtful actions” (Weir 12) of juveniles as “her murder was thoughtful, deliberate and cunning in its planning and execution” (Weir 8) as they didn’t want anyone to hear their victim’s scream as they stabbed her nineteen times throughout her body. Brain development is not the the issue “if brain development were the reason, then teens would kill at roughly the same rates all over the world” (Jenkins 6) which is true “it cannot be an excuse for unspeakable behavior” (Weir 12) this why we should sentence juveniles a sentence they truly receive even if it’s an adult

Over the last few decades there have been more and more violent crimes committed by children and young adults. Some of these children are under the age of 15, committing violent crimes such as robbery, rape, murder, gang violence. Some of these children are being tried as adults while others are tried and punished as juveniles. A juvenile offender may receive a slap on the wrist being sentenced to house arrest or parole while others are being sent to adult prisons without the possibility of parole. An adult committing these same crimes would receive a more sever sentenced.

Imagine yourself as a teenager rotting away in a jail cell your whole life. More importantly, imagine that the reason your are there is because your were trying to protect yourself. Erik Jensen, 17, and Nathan Ybanez, 15, were sentenced to prison for life without parole. Nathan struck his mother with fireplace tongs; then he, Erik, and their friend, Brett Benson, destroyed the evidence. Brett took a plea bargain. Some say they deserve life because of their crime, but they were not in the right place of mind. Therefore, justice was not served in either case.

First, Juveniles should be trialed because at any age people know what they are doing. The quote “since 1965, the number of twelve year olds arrested for violent crimes has doubled, and the number of thirteen and fourteen year olds has tripled” (“The Juvenile system is too lenient on violent offenders” 2) illustrates that juveniles are starting to participate in more violent crimes, and it also shows that if thirteen and fourteen year olds are capable of doing violent crimes they are capable of understanding it is wrong. Another example, “an offender who lived in the eighteenth century and was seven or older would in all likelihood have been treated as an adult by the courts”

This has successfully freeing or providing possibility of parole for juvenile delinquents. But, when considering if the offender should be released or not, the motive behind the murder should be taken into account as well. If the child had a motive behind the murder of the victim, for example in Phillips’ case, it was claimed that Madison was found with her underwear and pants down (Guarino 4). This is a valid sign to the police that Phillips’ motive behind the murder of Madison was that Madison would tell someone that he tried to rape her. It is also presumed that the only reason Madison was killed was because she wouldn’t stop crying. Though the new law will help in regaining the lives of individuals that could be perceived as victims themselves, there are also killers that do not deserve the right to walk freely. For example, in the example of Alyssa Bustamante, she took the life of young Elizabeth Olten while she was walking home from school. When asked what her motive was behind killing Olten, she told police she wanted to know what it felt like to kill someone. Bustamante was arrested and charged with first degree murder in the case of Elizabeth Olten. When she appeared in court, the judge insisted she be tried as an adult. When tried, Bustamante changed her plea to guilty in