Delanie Okenfuss LA 2/3rd hour Word count 683 Argumentative Essay Wednesday 16, 2016 They’re Still Criminals Under age crime has got out of control!Juveniles are becoming more violent as the days go on. Should juveniles be tried as adults in court? Many say that would help the crime rates and would keep them off the streets.There are also people that say they're still kids, no matter what and should not be tried as adults. If they would get tried as adults, they would still get a judge's input.This could be a way to decrease the crime rates. It is a shame that people at young ages decide to turn life into juvenile criminals. For young ages there is a Juvenile Justice Department.That deals with the juveniles after committing a crime …show more content…
Under the common law states that a child could not commit a crime if the defense was able to prove infancy or in other word immaturity. If the teenager is old enough to commit the crime and then they are definitely old enough to put in the same amount of time as an adult would. There would be a criteria for sentencing, based on the type of crime of offense, the age of the offender and the number of offenses he/she has committed (Quantz 197). To make the young offenders understand what's right and their wrong doings they need to have punishments. If you would try them as adults the crime rates would surely go …show more content…
They know at the time of doing the crime that it is wrong and they still go through with they're are doing. If it is a parents problem, then they should have their children taken away from them for not teaching them the right values and not setting a good example. If we start trying our teenagers as adults then in time we will see a decrease in the amount of parents that mistreat their kids. Those parents will have learned that they have to take responsibility, even at a young age for their actions and they will teach their children that. This will cause those teenagers to know what it wrong before they ever have to learn by going to prison. If we change the laws and have juveniles tried as adults the crime rate in the United States will greatly decrease. The parents will start teaching their children responsibility and the teenagers will know that their actions will have consequences. There would also be less people in rehab centers as adults because they will learn as teenagers and not need to still be in trouble as adults. There is no reason to give the same crime different penalties because of a person’s age. If they can commit the same crime as an adult then they should pay the same price as an
People argue that some juveniles are “too young and they don’t understand” but either way, they still broke the law and should be fairly punished. A fact stating “There are approximately 6,000 juveniles in adult jails and prisons in the United States” shows that people who have broken the law with felonies have been confined by law, no matter the age. People need to learn before they act in a similar manner, again. A similar case is a boy named Craig Price from Rhode Island who had committed multiple felonies, such as four murders and was charged as a minor, meaning he was arrested around age 16 and would get out and have his criminal record sealed at age 21. Because of this, a law was changed so that juveniles could be tried as adults with serious crimes.
According to, “Should Juveniles Be Tried as Adults?” it states that,”Most young offenders do not become adult criminals. But when we punish them as adults, we change those odds.” This tells us that the young offenders learn their mistakes but if tried as an adult and punished as if the minor was an adult, then the outcome of it could be much worse. The article also states that their education and future employment chances are marked worse.
Juveniles take up a large percentage of prisons in the U.S. every year with some having long adult sentences. According to njjn.org 250,000 juniors under the age of 18 are charged in an adult court and sentenced to prison with an adult sentence. Many states still allow kids as young as ten to be tried in an adult court with a jury rather than be in a juvenile court without one. Adult prison sentences are too harsh for juveniles. There are many different crimes that can put a junior in an adult court.
So, teenagers will make stupid mistakes at that young age. Instead of giving the teenager life in prision they should be sentence to centain years in prison like 40-50 years maximum years that way they served their time in jail and still can enjoy the rest of their life. Also, children that are sent to adult prison are at great risk for being abused. If adolescdents suffer horric abused when sent to adult prison, then children are five times more likely to be assaulted as well. A child will not be able to protect his or her self
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.
The criminal justice system was created in order to punish people who choose to break the law. Some people believe they are above the law and decided to do whatever they like regardless of the consequences. Children and adults are both responsible for the actions they commit. The criminal justice should tried children as adults for committing felonies because a crime is a crime regardless of the age of the individual. This can be fulfilled by punishing juvelives with the correct sentence, by seeing that they know their actions lead to consequence and they have the proper process for a teen to be tried as adult.
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 with life without parole but only in certain cases: depending on their motive or modus operandi, their crime, and criminal background. Motivation Scandalous kids who commit crimes for unreasonable motives should most definitely have life without the possibility of parole. In some cases, they’re just doing what they think is best. Jacob Ind, a 15 year old from Colorado, was beaten and sexually molested by his step father. His mother abused him as well.
Juvenile Justice Essay In the United States, there have been many cases where a juvenile would be found guilty and be tried as an adult. There are other cases where those juveniles are tried as adult forever. I am against charging juveniles as adults when they commit violent crimes, the juveniles lose many educational opportunities and the adult system is far too dangerous for the young juveniles. Juveniles are also young kids but only the fact that they do not get the same amount of education or experience that other teens gain.
In our society, crimes are being committed not only by adults but by juveniles as well. By law as soon as a person turns 18 they are considered to be an adult. So what if an adult and a juvenile were to commit the same crime yet were sentenced differently simply based on the fact that one is a child and one is an adult? Juveniles are committing violent crimes just as adults and should be given the equal treatment and sentencing as adults receive. Juveniles aren’t completely ignorant as everyone seems to think.
The ones in the juvenile system often reoffend and end up back in the same place. If the juveniles aren’t tried in adult court for serious crimes their punishment won’t be as long and they will commit the crime again and again. The crimes that the children commit would probably go down if they are tried in the adult court. Some of the children that were transferred to criminal court were more likely to be convicted and receive periods of incarceration. If juveniles aren’t tried in adult court they get off of the crime they committed easier.
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.
When an adult commits a crime the criminal justice system is set on punishing them. While if a young offender commits a crime the criminal justice system understands the needs of these offenders and wants to find a way to deal with them in a way that will protect their best interests. Adults are given punishments depending on the type of the crime committed. A few of these punishments would be incapacitation, deterrence, retribution, rehabilitation and restoration. When a minor commits a crime the juvenile system is designed to rehabilitate young offenders and protect them from harm.
In conclusion as to how to treat teens who commit crimes I would say that it really depends on how serious is the crime they commit, but I believe that juveniles that are 15 and older should be convicted as adults because they have taken some responsibilities at that age and are old enough to know the difference between right and wrong in certain situations. Being a teen myself my parents have taught me to be held accountable for my actions, and what I do is for a reason. With teens committing crimes it should be the same. Become older only increases your knowledge and capacity to learn what is right from
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