Ethical Issues In Juvenile Justice

There are many children in the world who are being put behind bars and detained for alleged wrongdoing without protections they are entitled to. Throughout the world, children are charged and sentenced for actions that should not be considered as adult crimes. Here in the United States, the minimum age of criminal responsibility is age 12. Law enforcement officials and those in the juvenile justice system nationwide tend to mistreat underage individuals by trying cases while working through the lens of an adult. Unfair punishments are still handed down domestically, which is in violation of Supreme Court law. The following articles specifically address the idea that juvenile justice is unethical. In the article, “Juvenile Justice & Adolescent

In the article, “Greg Ousley Is Sorry for Killing Parents. Is That Enough?” Scott Anderson exemplifies that juveniles may be living in a toxic home environment, which leads to potential murder. In “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentence,” Garinger speaks about juveniles that are mistreated and were subject to life without parole sentences. Lastly, the article that also justifies that juvenile justice is solidified would be, “Report: Juvenile justice system schools “do more harm than good,” Frey argues that the juvenile system may be harmful, in that some juveniles suffer from disabilities and behavioral issues. Based on strong textual evidence and corresponding research it is clear that mandatory life sentence for juveniles who commit murder is unfair because juveniles are immature, cannot remove themselves from a toxic home environment, and is

In the article, “Greg Ousley Is Sorry for Killing Parents. Is That Enough?,” by Scott Anderson proves that some young individuals may act violently for certain matters because of how their parents treat them. It is unclear as to why juveniles and adolescents automatically go into extreme measures, however, this may be caused by lack of support from their parents. Anderson asserts, “What Phillips couldn’t see was that Greg’s behavior masked a rapidly deteriorating home life, where he was now the sole focus of his mother’s rage. Almost daily, Greg told me, his mother would rip into him about something- his grades, his appearance, his choice of friends- ferocious tirades that often culminated in her telling him, “I know you’re going to leave me just like your sisters did.” Once her anger passed, Bonnie would usually apologize to her son, but after a time, Greg didn’t even hear it anymore” (Anderson 42). This quote identifies that the life he has at home is never the way he expected it to be and he always got into fights with his parents. When Anderson said, “his mother would rip into him about something- his grades, his appearance, his choice of friends,” it helped me understand the reason why Greg acts the way he does. His mother would constantly find a reason to make him feel less of himself; not being