Preview

Should Juveniles Be Tried as Adults.

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1218 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Should Juveniles Be Tried as Adults.
Should juveniles be tried as adults? Some people disagree and others agree. Juveniles can be tired as adults committing crimes such as a DUI,minor in possession,robbery,rape,murder and any other crimes committed by an adult. The juveniles can be punished under the juvenile law. The juvenile law states that although most states try juveniles crime cases in juvenile court when the offenders is younger than 18, a few states have younger cutoffs (Juvenile Law). The treatment and successful reintegration of youth into society are the primary goals of the juvenile justice system, along with overall public safety (Juvenile Justice System). There are eight steps the juvenile justice process generally goes through which is arrest,intake,diversion,detention,transfer/waiver,adjudication,disposition, and aftercare. Decisions that consider the interests of both the juvenile and the state must be made up every step (Juvenile Justice Case). The Juvenile Justice System was created in the 1800's to reform United States policies regarding youth offenders. The Progressive Era in the United States was a time of amount social reform. Prior to the Progressive Era, child offenders over the age of seven were imprisoned with adults. Juvenile offenders in adult prisons are more likely to be sexually abused and commit suicide. The state assumed the responsibility of parenting the children until they began to knowledge positive changes, or became adults. Youth was no longer tried as adult offenders. Their cases were head in somewhat informal court designed for juveniles, often without the assistance of attorney's. Some people still argue that teenagers don't know what they are doing when they commit adult crimes or any kind of crime. Some are too young to comprehend right from wrong. In my own opinion I disagree; I disagree because I'm a teen myself and I been knowing right from wrong, but I do have to realize others teen were raised differently. I do believe all teens know right from wrong,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Granted, juveniles should be prosecuted in the same court as adults, assuming that teenagers understand the law like adults but this isn’t exactly true because juveniles are more likely the criminalize themselves by accident. This is because teenagers don’t know the law and they are more likely to say something without thinking because their brains aren’t fully developed.…

    • 503 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Don’t let the innocent looks and actions of kids and teenagers fool you. Never under estimate the knowledge of kids and youths due to their first impression, the way they look, dress and act. I believe teenagers should be tried and sentenced as adults. If teenagers believe they could get away with cruel crimes, then I believe they are capable of being able to handle the consequences of an adult act and behavior.…

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A teenager should not be tried on the same level as an adult, if they can not do things an adult does. Juveniles are too young and know little about the world; therefore, they should not receive the harsh punishment that adults are being given. Since we are the parents of our kids “It’s why they can’t smoke, or drink, or go to R movies without our OK” (Lundstrom). Adults are lot older, intelligent, mature than teens; therefore, they should not be tried on the same level as adults. Although minors have some knowledge their brains are not matured like adults to make right and wrong decisions. It goes far as beyond to saying teens will not know what they did wrong until they are told. In the article “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences” Gail Garinger states, “Brain imaging studies reveal that the regions of the adolescent brain responsible for controlling thoughts, actions and emotions are not fully developed. They cannot be held to the same standards when they commit terrible crimes.” This shows that teenagers are not capable of making decisions and they can not control what they do, even if it is wrong they will not know. Teens should not be charged as adults for the crimes they…

    • 1229 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Dr. Allison Burke stated, “Adolescence is a tumultuous time, full or change and transformation... The adultification of youth (or waiver to adult court) is unduly harsh for youth whose brains have not fully formed” (Should Adolescents). Many facts point to the conclusion that juveniles should not be tried as adults. Although some believe children should be punished for what they have done, it should not be done in such a harsh and permanent method. Juveniles make bad decisions, but they are somewhat not responsible for doing so. Excluding the case of violent crimes, such as murder and rape, children should never be tried as adults.…

    • 1400 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    For the people who said that they should be tried as adults, they believe that juveniles should be held responsible for their actions, that juveniles are not kids that they are young adults, and that by forgiving the juvenile for the crime they did, would just make them think their actions are okay. For the people who think that juveniles should not be tried as adults, they believe that juveniles are physically incapable of thinking like an adult, therefore should not be treated like one. Both sides have valid points in backing up their reasoning’s. I think it is important to look at both sides of the arguments before deciding if you think juveniles should be tried as adults or…

    • 2034 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many laws that specifically prohibit teen and adolescent under the age of 18 from doing many things and are there to “protect” us. There is always a punishment when they are broken. The same should apply, if a juvenile is to commit a heinous crime like homicide or first-degree murder, they should be tried and sentenced for the crime. Therefore, I do agree that juveniles should be tried as an adult when they commit the same crimes as that of an adult.…

    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Juveniles Tried as Adults

    • 455 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Over two hundred thousand juveniles are tried as adults every year. Yes, the saying “You do the crime, you do the time,” may evidently need to be set in stone for every criminal, but a child? To make this country fair the United States of America needs to stop prosecuting and putting teens on trial as adults. Ignorance of not knowing the law is not an adequate excuse, that may be necessarily true, but if the country wants to be considered “fair” then the court system needs to understand that children and teens are not adults.…

    • 455 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imagine spending the rest of your life in prison for a crime you either committed or…

    • 878 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Kentucky, and in many other states as well, after the age of 18 you are considered an adult. This is the level of majority. If someone were to commit a crime at this age or older they would be tried as an adult. Children under the age of 18 cannot be sentenced to death or to life without possibility of parole. This is because children are physically incapable of making mature, responsible, well processed decisions. Opinions from one person to the next differ as there are several reasons concerning juveniles how they should be treated and tried in criminal cases (Southerland). The issue may be more of a debate as some people would say that kids do not have enough reasoning and lack common sense. Others, on the other hand, would say that juveniles have plenty of brains and common sense. There are strong reasons as to why juveniles should not be tried as adults and should not be eligible for life without parole.…

    • 1256 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ten year old boy murders his family. Does he get out when he turns eighteen, because he knows not what he did? Or does he spend the rest of his life in prison? Sometimes teenagers are tried for crimes as adults and face equal penalties that are subject to adults. This is a controversial issue among americans. There are two groups of people. Those who believe that teenagers under the age of eighteen who commit serious crimes should be held responsible as adults for their actions. Courts are said to be too lenient and the young juveniles are evolving into violent youth criminals; And there are those who suggest that teenagers are less likely to understand the consequences of their actions and more likely to become productive citizens if the criminal justice system continues to treat eighteen year olds as juveniles. Juvenile death penalties and life sentences without parole have increased at an estimated rate of three times higher today than fifteen years ago. The youth are still growing to become fully developed, like an adult. There are many cases where tough decisions have to be made and choices must be made by officials. In my opinion all youths at the age of eighteen or younger should be tried as juveniles and all our juvenile courts need to focus more on rehabilitation for the lost of youth to criminal acts. Age should be a factor, not a determinant on how these youths should be tried.…

    • 2098 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Should minors who commit crimes be prosecuted as adults? That is indeed a topic you have to really think about twice. All crimes committed by juveniles should and must be treated in the same regard as adults. These kids go to juvenile court and get shortened sentences because of their age, thats not right. They commit big boy crimes, they have to do big boy time.…

    • 1198 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I will view both sides to whether children should be tried as adults. The rate of murders by juveniles and children has skyrocketed across the country. There are many people who feel that children should be tried as adults due to the popular saying “If you do the crime, you must do the time”. According to many sources it is believed that it will make them understand the consequences of their actions and deter them from committing any further crimes.…

    • 387 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    On the topic of Juvenile offenders being tried, sentenced and jailed as adults, Researcher and Journalist Mike Allen claims that “report after report have concluded that trying teens as adults does nothing to deter crime -- and that sending teens to adult prison makes them more likely to become repeat offenders”. While I agree that sentencing a youth offender to a term of punishment to be carried out with adult offenders may continue the devastating cycle of violence in our culture, I do not agree that juvenile offenders should receive a smaller sentence or easier punishment on the basis of the affects of cross imprisonment. Instead I would argue that the justice system of America must evolve to adequately evaluate and implement punishment and reform that is conducive to the development of juvenile offenders. Youth crime in America is becoming an unavoidable circumstance that is poisoning our culture and hindering many of our youth from the ability to pursue fulfilled and successful lives. Just as Derrion Albert was an innocent bystander who loss his life to reckless and senseless acts of violence, our world has lost its viable claim of goodness to acts of hate against humanity.…

    • 588 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Juvenile Justice: Should children be tried as adults? Are youth capable of fully understanding the consequences that their actions may cause or are they mentally incapable of processing that information? Juveniles commit crimes just like adults. Sometimes the crimes they commit are heinous, but does that mean they are no longer a child? I believe there may be special cases when a youth should be tried as an adult, but in most cases, they need to be processed through the juvenile justice system.…

    • 3987 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Due to sudden increase in youth crime rate in 90’s, many states started to put juveniles to the adult court believing that this could bring down the crime rate. Some studies showed that starting to put youth in adult prisons helped the crime rate go down, but had no effect on violent crime rate. Many voices came up for easing the law for juveniles to not to be sentenced as adults due to decrease in youth crime rate from 2000. On the other hand, some people say that sentencing juvenile criminals as adults can make citizens feel safe from those criminals. I believe that the people under eighteen years old should never be tried and sentenced as adults, because not like the adults’ brains which are known to be fully developed, juveniles’ brain…

    • 1274 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays