Can you imagine waking up behind closed walls and bars? Waking up to see your inmate who is a 45-year-old bank robber and you are a 14-year-old minor who made a big mistake. This is why minors who have committed crimes should not be treated the same as adults. Some reasons are because the consequences given to minors in adult court would impact a minor’s life in a negative way. If a minor is tried through a juvenile court, they have a greater chance of rehabilitation. One reason why minors should not be treated the same as adults when committing crimes is that the consequences given to minors in adult court would have a negative impact on their life. One example is because prison may be an unsafe place for minors to rehabilitate in a way that they would be able to do …show more content…
They say this because if the juvenile courts are accommodating than the minors may not understand the severity of their actions opposed to if they were to be put through a one-size-fits-all method that they may respond better. However, if minors are tried in juvenile court it may be more effective. They should do this because there they can be given methods of rehabilitation that may help them. In conclusion, juveniles should not be treated the same as adults when it comes to committing crimes so that they have a better chance to rehabilitate. Minors should not be treated the same as adults when it comes to committing crimes. 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
Statistics have shown, “In a study of 1,042 juveniles prosecuted and sentenced in Pennsylvania adult criminal court showed that juveniles received harsher sentences in adult than did young adults, even controlling for legal factors such as offense seriousness and prior record” (Whitehead 212). Statistics have also shown when a juvenile is in an adult facility; he or she is more likely to become a reoffender because he or she is treated as an adult rather than a child. (Whitehead 213). The brain function of a child is not mentally capable of understanding the punishment he or she receives if he or she is able to see the harsh crimes which go on behind the bars of an adult correctional
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.
The immaturity of children, harshness of adult prisons, and the ability of juvenile prisons to efficiently rehabilitate child offenders are a few reasons why young children should not be sent to adult prisons.
The Roper Court identified three general differences between juveniles and adults that justify the conclusion that juveniles are less culpable for their criminal behavior, and therefore undeserving of the harsh penalties we reserve for adults. First,
Doing away with juvenile courts would “assure greater procedural regularity in the determination of guilt” and eliminate the immense amount of subjectivity involved (Feld). Although this may assist in assigning guilt among juvenile offenders in more serious crimes, it may be slightly extreme to try minors in criminal court for petty offences. Feld addresses the apparent problem of subjectivity and trying minors in criminal court would help diminish that bias, yet he only considers the application of more serious crimes that would have mandatory sentences of five years or more, not both the serious crimes and the approach to smaller-scale crimes. Although he remains somewhat blind to part of the overall argument, the information provided is well researched and knowledgeable. Feld himself is also highly
Juveniles being tried as adults in the justice system face the same penalties as adults, including life without parole, will receive little or no education, mental health treatment, or rehabilitative programming. Transferring adolescents to the adult system is counterproductive and even harmful because adult facilities cannot meet the special needs of the juvenile offender. Trying juveniles as adults they will obtain an adult criminal record that may significantly limit their future education and employment opportunities. This choice to try juveniles as adults put them at greater risk of assault and death in adult jails and prisons with adult inmates. The ultimate outcome of transferring juvenile offenders to adult prisons is overwhelmingly
Juvenile court has come a long way from not giving juveniles rights in the court system, but now juveniles have rights, and society should understand and learn that even though juveniles are young at committing crimes, or even a part of the crimes they must have rights even away from adult offenders who could hurt them, and the court system who has to go by the law should give them the appropriate punishment based on the state law.
When it comes to the topic of trying juveniles as adults for serious crimes the majority of people will say yes; however, it is not a simple of an answer as it seems. In “Should Juvenile Offenders Be Tried as Adults” by Laurence Steinberg, Steinberg points out different reasons why this would not be as simple decision as it appears to be. Therefore, juveniles between the ages 13 and 17 should not be tried as adults because, their development is still incomplete, their judgment is less mature, and transferring them to a criminal court is a complicated process. For example, although the majority of peoples argument is ‘if you can do the time you can do the crime’, in reality, the situation goes far beyond the age of the juvenile.
Why should teen felons get to spend their jail time in juvenile detention centers for committing the same crimes as adults? In today’s world, teens are increasingly committing violent crimes and being put in juvenile detention centers. Teens need to be tried as adults because it helps to bring justice to families of victims, and it also teaches the teens accountability. Charging teens as adults will also help reduce crime in the United States. Although many people feel that teens should not be given severe punishments because they are immature and innocent, they have not considered the problem teens are creating by committing these crimes..
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.
The current state of the juvenile justice system is one which has created an immense debate between a variety of people in the United States. The main question in this debate boils down to the issue of whether children should be able to be tried as an adult with no regard to their age. The juvenile court system is a separate entity from adult court which is used to handle the criminal cases of the youth in America. In the present, some children have their ability to fall under the jurisdiction of the adult courts revoked due to the gravity of their crimes. This should not be the case as the juvenile court should be given the ability to treat juveniles the way they should be.
Some people may think that kids are just kids, no matter what they do, they are just too innocent to actually mean it. Many kids committing crimes such as murder resulting of life threatening decisions. Not knowing whether to trial these kids as adults or as the kids that they are. Kids are being claimed to be “adults” once they commit a crime but are being treated as kids when otherwise. Juveniles are being accused of violent crimes to be trialed and sentenced as adults with life in prison.
Crime is defined as an act that violates the constitution such as theft, assault, drugs/alcohol offense, curfew violations, and murder. Despite being punishable by law, many people still commit these crimes including teenagers. Teenagers should be punished for their crimes because they have the capability of recognizing their responsibility as a good citizen in the society. They are old enough to know the consequences of every action they make.
However, in the juvenile justice system, the aim is to rehabilitate rather than to punish as these individuals are often believed to be unaware of the full extent of the consequences of their actions and in need of aid and thus, given parole, probation, or made to serve through other programs such as community service. And lastly, the two differ in formality as the adult justice system contains more formal procedures and regulations when concerning individuals who have committed crimes, yet in the juvenile system, as mentioned on page 379 of our textbook, each case is aimed to be viewed individually