Why Do Juveniles Commit Crimes

“Punishment is not for revenge, but to lessen crime and inform the criminal”(Elizabeth Fry). Now, more than ever, juveniles are committing crimes that are becoming more and more violent as time progresses. There is much indecision when it come to giving a “child” a sentencing in prison, whether that means they have to serve life, or years at a time. The states cannot make a permanent decision on how to deal with sentencing juveniles after they commit the crimes they do. Juveniles that commit crimes like murder should not have a mandatory life sentence. There are many questions and concerns that come to mind when you hear about a teen that has committed a crime like murder. Thompson states,”In terms of cognitive development, as research on the human brain has shown, Brazill-and any other young teen-is far from adulthood” (3). A teens brain and decision making is far from that of an adult, and makes thoughts very rash and harsh during bad times. Teens brains are also still in the developing stage, so they still do not have full control of what they think and the actions that they carry out. Overall, the under-development of juveniles brains make it hard to give them a just sentence to serve, because of how young they still are.
In an article written by Marjie Lundstrom, she explains “It’s a glaring inconsistency that’s getting more glaring by the hour as children as young as twelve and thirteen are being charged as adults in America’s courts” (6). Even the courts in America do not know how to deal with sentencing a juvenile. For there to be inconsistency in sentencing kids to a sentence, then it may take a long time to figure out and establish a way to sentence teens. If a juvenile is not looked at as an adult before he/she commits a crime, then they should not be looked at as one until they are the actual age of an