Should Sixteen Year Olds Be Tried In Adult Court Essay

The judicial system was created to protect and hold stability in society which is why two systems were put in place, the juvenile system and the adult system. However, recently the boundaries for these two systems are growing weaker as serious juvenile offenders are getting tried in adult court. Juveniles are not authorized to drink alcohol, sign a document, gamble at a casino or vote till they are an adult. Regardless to the crime they have committed, a juvenile is a juvenile and an adult is an adult, therefore sixteen year olds should not be tried in adult court. Sixteen year olds being tried in adult court is wrong because they are able to effectively reform, their brains are not sufficiently developed and they are vulnerable to adult prisons.
Sixteen year olds are at a point in their life where they can effectively reform. They are essentially still young and not obstinate with their ideals and mindset. Similar to how parents always give children lectures when they participate in something immoral, allowing sixteen year olds an opportunity to reform would take its course in the same manner. In Massachusetts, this ideology was adopted and was proven effective.
“The studies conducted of violent juvenile
Second, because the frontal lobe is less developed, 17-year-olds rely more heavily on the amygdala… to make decisions than adults do. The amygdala… is one area of the brain associated with strong negative emotions, including impulsive and aggressive behavior… These two findings are supported by imaging studies that show teens struggling to reason through a dangerous scenario, while adults identify and react to a bad idea with considerably less effort expended in the later-developing frontal lobe.” ("Findings: Why Should 17-Year-Olds Be In Juvenile