Kent V America

The Kent v. United States Should teens be tried as adults? Furthermore, would it stop teens from committing a crime if they were thrown in adult institutions? There are teens who commit crimes that could be judged as adults “On September 2, 1961, an intruder entered the apartment of a woman in the District of Columbia. He took her wallet. He raped her, the police found in the apartment latent finger prints. They matched the fingerprints of Morris Kent” (Kent). Morris is one of those teens. This intruder was a teen who was later tried as an adult. Due to the importance of trying teens as an adult, one must understand the background of the Kent v. United States case, know both sides and the impact the decision had on the future. If one looks at the background of juvenile crimes, they would find that there has been much development on the trials of adolescents and how they were viewed. Children have been described as the future, the greatest resource, and the hope for a better tomorrow. Children have been viewed as lacking in self-control by many Americans. “ Juveniles in adult institutions are five time more likely to be sexually assaulted, twice as likely to beaten by staff, and fifty percent more likely to be attacked with a weapon than minors in juvenile facilities” (White). They are usually beaten or harassed by hardened, adult criminals. For centuries, criminal youngsters have been on the wrong side of justice. In the 1800’s, the belief was shared by the public that juveniles and adult offenders should be prisoned