Juveniles Should Be Tried As Adults Essay

Currently, in America, there is a debate about whether or not juveniles should be tried as adults. When it comes to trying teens in court as adults. Some say stop trying them as adults and try them as juveniles, others say they must be tried as adults when they commit adult crimes. I believe that teens should be held accountable for their actions and tried as adults. If minors who commit violent crimes were tried as adults and punished the same way as adults are, the number of violent crimes committed by the youths of our generation would decline dramatically.

There are certain instances of juveniles being tried as adults and sometimes ending up getting a life sentence without a chance of parole. I find that pretty harsh because there have been some cases where the juvenile meant no harm, they were either confused or brought along by gang members and they end up being charged along with the gang members for just being with them when a crime goes down. I believe that juveniles do not deserve to be given a life sentence because for one they are still maturing, they can learn from their mistakes and make amends, we still have to combat crimes like intended murder committed by a juvenile with extreme punishments especially if they are well over the age of 16. In the article published by the New York Times on March 14, 2012 “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences”, Garinger discusses that juveniles deserve a second chance since their brains are still developing.

In the article " Boy, 13, charged 'wrestling ' death of girl,5" by Kennedy ryan, he states that the 13 year old boy killed his half-sister. The boy should know whats good and bad but in this case it wasnt his fauly. Because he thought he was just playing with the 5 year old girl. The victimed moms just left the boy to babysit his half-sister but instead she should of took them with her to the store, if thats where she was going. The boy didnt want to kill the girl but to him it was a wrestling game but he didnt know that by playing like that he was gonna killed the 5 year old girl(Half-sister).

The juvenile had the mindset to inflict pain upon on another person, therefore there is no plausible reasoning to excuse his crime. He murdered innocent people to feel a sense of satisfaction with himself and fulfil his demonic needs. The A&E Documentary presents another case in which the perpetrator intended to kill an innocent life was Nathaniel Abraham who was 11 years old at the time when he killed 18 year old Ronnie Greene with a gunshot wound to the head. Abraham, having a disruptive path, stole the rifle he used to kill Greene from a neighbor. While shooting at trees, Abraham claimed to have allegedly missed the intended tree as it hit Greene in the head.

In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that it is immoral to give juveniles life sentences, even if they commit a crime as serious as murder, because it is a cruel and unusual punishment. This has been an issue in America as teenagers are often treated as adults in court due to a belief that their crimes warrant a harsh punishment. Many believe that these kids should not be given such major sentences because they are still immature and do not have the self control that adults do. I agree that juveniles do not deserve life sentences because they put less thought and planning into these crimes and they often are less malicious than adults. The article “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains” explains that the teenagers lose brain tissue that is responsible for self control and impulses (Thompson 7).

In spite of them being able to commit the crime their brains are not fully developed. Juveniles should be charged as adults in murder cases. Most of the time teenagers who commit crimes such as murder get a much shorter time in jail just because of their age. It's not right that they have less time for something as big as murder. By giving them a shorter time they don't learn anything and will most likely go back and do it again.

When people commit crimes, there should be disciplined no matter what. Juveniles need to learn that their behaviors have consequences. Why should kids be given any less of a punishment for committing the same crime? According to one author, “Taking a life is murder regardless of the age of the offender, and the penalties to be imposed must not discriminate. After all, the victim’s life will never be returned, and the family will permanently lose their loved one” (“7 Top Pros and Cons of Juveniles Being Tried As Adults”).

Juveniles should be tried as adults due to being aware of their crimes and having an intention to kill, however, brain development and maturity can play a role into the reason why teens kill. With being tried as an adult juveniles should be granted the opportunity of freedom pending on their rehabilitation status and if requirements are not met, convicts will have to complete the remainder of their sentence. People have long argued that juveniles who commit a murder should not be tried as an adult due the juvenile not being aware of their crime. Awareness, as defined by the Webster Dictionary, is “the knowledge and understanding that something is happening or exists”. Having the perception to comprehend the occurrence of an event is not a dumbfounded characteristic.

Those in favor of trying juveniles as adults believe that it deters and minimizes crimes being committing by all minors. That trying juveniles as adults will bring the greatest good to the most amount of people. According to an article posted by the American Bar Association by Nicole Scialabba, “the increase in laws that allow more juveniles to be prosecuted in adult court rather than juvenile court was intended to serve as a deterrent for rising youth violent crime.” It is no secret that youth commit crimes in our society. In 2014, law enforcement agencies in the U.S. made an estimated 1 million arrests of persons under age 18 (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention).

Juveniles should be convicted as adults for violent crimes because it is not fair for juveniles to commit big crimes and get away with it so easily. If they want to act like adults, they should be treated. Some teens commit crimes and don't have a really good excuse on why they do it. In the article “On Punishment and Teen Killers” by Jennifer Jenkins she explains how the teenager that killed her sister, husband and her unborn child excuse of killing them was that he just wanted to “see what it would feel like to shoot someone”, which is no good excuse for what he did to this family. Another example from Jennifer's Jenkins article she states how “undeveloped brain” has nothing to do with teens committing these crimes.

Juveniles should not be tried and condemned as adults because they do not have the capacity to perceive what is good and bad. There has been a lot of controversy towards the subject of juveniles in the Court Justice System because many feel that juveniles are to young to be entangled with the law. People need to consider the possibilities of what the Juvenile Justice system can do to help and rehabilitate these delinquents instead of sending them off to an adult court to be tried as an adult, even though they are minors. When Juveniles are tried as adults, people do not know what type of person is being sent to jail and what type of person they are going to release into society later on. In the end Juveniles should not be charged as adults.

When children and teens commit a violent crime such as murder, courts convict them as adults. This means that children as young as eight have been tried as adults in court. Eventually, these convicts will be housed in jails with adults. Despite the federal law stating that juvenile and adult inmates must be separated, most states do not comply with these rules. Furthermore, a law that varies throughout the states is the age in which courts send the children to adult or juvenile prisons.

Juvenile Justice Should juveniles get treated as adults that’s one of the biggest controversy in our nation now days, with many juveniles committing crimes that are inconceivable according to their age. Judges have the last word on how to treat this young people. Many people argue that “the teens that are under eighteen are only kids, they won’t count them as young adults, not until they commit crimes. And the bigger the crime, the more eager this people are to call them adults” (Lundstrom 87). This is why people can’t come to a decision as how these young people should be treated like.

Yes, juvenile offenders commit the same crime as an adults. So, I guess people feel as they should get charged just like adults without any exception. I'm in the middle about what I think how the court should do adolescent. I do believe they should be treated a little different. Then, I thought about how these young people having children under the age of eighteen and they have to take responsibility of their actions.

The consequences may affect the minors negatively. Minors have a higher chance of rehabilitation if they are tried through juvenile court so that they can become better members of civilization. Despite that, some people think that minors may not learn their lesson if they are put through juvenile court, but minors should not be treated the same as adults. Minors should be treated for their age, not their crime so that they have the opportunity to change and become a better member of