Should Juveniles Be Tried As Adults Steinberg Analysis

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. In Steinberg’s article “Should Juvenile Offenders Be Tried as Adults”, Steinberg himself writes “this age range is an inherently transitional time. There are rapid and dramatic changes in an individuals’ physical, intellectual, emotional, and social capabilities”. In other words, Steinberg believes these juveniles are still developing, and their mentality is far more different than an adults. If a young teenager is still developing in

It is very easy for a young teenager to get influenced by what other individuals around them are doing, and by how their behavior is. It is simple for an adolescent to say ‘well if he’s doing it then it’s all right and I should do it too’. In “Should Juvenile Offenders Be Tried as Adults” by Steinberg, Steinberg also states that, “adolescence is a period of potential malleability. Experiences in the family, peer group, school, and other setting still have a chance to influence the course of development”. So, since these teens are being influenced in the mistaken way, their judgment is deprived. They essentially do not know any better. They are still growing and because they see it all around them, then they believe it is acceptable, proving that their judgment is