Should Juveniles Be Tried As Adults
Joseph Tesmond
Justice and the Law paper
Spring 2010 Should Juveniles Be Tried As Adults? In today’s society, there is a national debate about what to do with juveniles in the criminal justice system. This debate is a result changes in practice throughout United States. The United States made it possible to try juveniles as adults in court after the case of Kent vs. the United States in 1966. The change in legislation is relatively new due to the fact that juvenile courts have "for most of the past century, treated youngsters between 7 and 17 not as criminals but as delinquents." The United States choose to treat the kids as delinquents because there was a major focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment.
According to an …show more content…
These harsh conditions are cruel and unusual. Juveniles should not be treated as adults because their safety is at danger. Not only is their safety in danger, but they are also more likely to commit more crimes when they are released. Studies have shown that juveniles have a 30 percent higher chance of committing more crimes when they are released than kids who are kept in juvenile detention centers. According to a National Research Council panel, “About 80 percent of juveniles admitted to prison are released before their 21st birthday, and being jailed with adults does not seem to discourage them from returning to a life of crime.” This is unjust because the purpose of treating a juvenile as an adult is to show the individual the severity of his crime, yet punishing him as an adult is putting his safety at stake, and not helping the individual rehabilitate into a person who is capable of reasoning. A juvenile is not fully mentally developed as I said before; therefore, he has the opportunity to develop into a law-abiding adult. Compared with youngsters in juvenile detention centers, youth housed in adult jails are nearly eight times as likely to commit suicide. This is unjust because it is exposing an individual who is not mentally developed to cruel and unusual circumstances. The research paper also reported that juveniles “are five times as likely to be sexually assaulted, and twice as likely to be beaten by staff members. And they are 50 percent more likely to be attacked with a weapon.” I believe that it is inhuman to expose a juvenile offender to these circumstances. Justice is not being served if juveniles are exposed to violence and come out of jail worse than when they
Justice and the Law paper
Spring 2010 Should Juveniles Be Tried As Adults? In today’s society, there is a national debate about what to do with juveniles in the criminal justice system. This debate is a result changes in practice throughout United States. The United States made it possible to try juveniles as adults in court after the case of Kent vs. the United States in 1966. The change in legislation is relatively new due to the fact that juvenile courts have "for most of the past century, treated youngsters between 7 and 17 not as criminals but as delinquents." The United States choose to treat the kids as delinquents because there was a major focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment.
According to an …show more content…
These harsh conditions are cruel and unusual. Juveniles should not be treated as adults because their safety is at danger. Not only is their safety in danger, but they are also more likely to commit more crimes when they are released. Studies have shown that juveniles have a 30 percent higher chance of committing more crimes when they are released than kids who are kept in juvenile detention centers. According to a National Research Council panel, “About 80 percent of juveniles admitted to prison are released before their 21st birthday, and being jailed with adults does not seem to discourage them from returning to a life of crime.” This is unjust because the purpose of treating a juvenile as an adult is to show the individual the severity of his crime, yet punishing him as an adult is putting his safety at stake, and not helping the individual rehabilitate into a person who is capable of reasoning. A juvenile is not fully mentally developed as I said before; therefore, he has the opportunity to develop into a law-abiding adult. Compared with youngsters in juvenile detention centers, youth housed in adult jails are nearly eight times as likely to commit suicide. This is unjust because it is exposing an individual who is not mentally developed to cruel and unusual circumstances. The research paper also reported that juveniles “are five times as likely to be sexually assaulted, and twice as likely to be beaten by staff members. And they are 50 percent more likely to be attacked with a weapon.” I believe that it is inhuman to expose a juvenile offender to these circumstances. Justice is not being served if juveniles are exposed to violence and come out of jail worse than when they