Society has become a place filled with so much tragedy, from natural disasters to bomb threats, to school shootings and a massive amount of murders, resulting in an increase in deaths and paranoia. The first thing in such event, is an official should try to figure out the cause of the incident. Such example, could be the Orlando Night Club Shooting where a man named Omar Mateen killed innocent people due to his hatred towards homosexuals. In most cases, those found guilty have tended to be an adult and have had a “reason” for provoking the crime, but, now what if the person convicted of such crime were a child? Questions then arise as to, if a child should be convicted as an adult for committing crimes like homicide and if their logic of doing …show more content…
In the article, written by Paul Thompson, “Startling Finds on Teenage Brain”, states “In terms of cognitive development, as research on the human brain has shown, Brazil-- and any other young teen-- is far from adulthood”. This is implying that Nathaniel Brazill’s incident was an act of immaturity and had no justified reason for shooting his teacher in which he considered to be his favorite (Thompson 89). Yet the article clearly states next that prosecutors argued that by this child bringing a gun to school was a planned act. Planning deals with the conscious level of the brain and being aware of what is going around you. Therefore this shows the capability the child has in being aware of what he was going to do. In addition, “..juvenile justice systems have already lowered the age at which children could be transferred to adult courts sooner” (Garinger 93). This may have occurred due to many kids being tried as adults with first-degree murder due to planned events. Convicting a child to adults signifies that a child has done things compared and similar to adult action. Once a child is tried as an adult they are isolated and do not receive the attention they need. Trying them as adults will only make matters worse due to their inability to interact with society once set free. The opposing side displayed that research suggested adolescents squeezed through the adult system are more likely to come out as violent career criminals than similar kids handled on the juvenile side (Lundstrom 88). This is false, due to researching more about each child it has came to my knowledge that a majority of kids released had a tendency to go back in to jail for committing other crimes such as theft or assault. Speak of Alex King, whose’ story of “Angels of Death”,
If the child committed a crime that can be tried as an adult, such as murder, should be punishable by law. In juvenile records/history, there were some that challenged the Juvenile System or even made some lawyers, judges, and maybe even juries questions some laws such as the Brandon McInerney case. The McInerney case was on February 12 that Brandon McInerney had brought his father’s handgun, which his father was, ex-military, to school and shot Lawrence King in the head twice. This did
The author points out that “Brain imaging studies reveal that the regions of the adolescent brain responsible for controlling thoughts, actions and emotions are not fully developed.” Brain imaging studies have repeatedly shown that the brains in younger people are still developing well over the age of 18. Garinger states that
What if your loved one was savagely killed by a teenager with no remorse? Juveniles should be convicted as adults for ferocious crimes because even though they are “kids” they kill innocent people and should get punished for the crime they committed. Teenagers commit gruesome crimes like murder and knowing what they are makes the situation far worse. In the article “Kids are Kids-Until They Commit Crimes” the author Jennifer Jenkins talks about the teenagers that committed gory murders against innocent people that didn’t deserve to die like a road animal. For example, a 13 year old shot to death an english teacher.
The girl's alleged attackers have been charged as adults with first-degree intentional homicide. The girls each face up to 60 years in prison if convicted as adults although if the case moves down to juvenile court the girls could be out by 25. Due to questions regarding the girl’s mental heath condition and their young age defense attorneys argue both girls would receive better mental health treatment in the juvenile system. This is a controversial decision by the court because many studies show that children are not fully developed in their teenage years. Studies also show that juveniles who receive harsher penalties due to the fact that they are when they are tried, as adults are not "scared straight" or go on to have a stable life and become a model citizens.
Not only does Berstein call for an overall reform of this nation’s juvenile prisons, she goes as far as saying the practice of locking up youth is in need of a “more profound than incremental and partial reform” (13). The fact that Bernstein outlines the numerous failed strategies and goals of this practice with her compelling use of studies and statistics is enough to promote an audience to reject the practice of locking up youth. The statistic she shares that “four out of five juvenile parolees [will be] back behind bars within three years of release” as well as the studies she conducted on numerous instances when a guards abuse of power lead to the death of a child work to further prove her point: being that “institution[s] as intrinsically destructive as the juvenile prison” have no place in a modern society (13, 83). Bernstein refutes this false sense effectiveness further by sharing her own ideas on what she believes works as a much more humane solution to rehabilitating
Paul Thompson in the article “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains” , claims that 14 year old Brazil, charged in last May’s shooting of middle school teacher Gunrow, was found guilty of second degree murder. Paul Thompson supports his by first explaining that Brazil was only 12 when the incident happen. He then says since he was only 12 , his brain was and still is not fully developed. Lastly the author says ,” teenagers are not yet adults , and the legal system shouldn’t treat them as such. Thompson’s purpose is to get the world to know , if children are not yet adults, why are they being treated like one in the legal system in order to stop it.
The article “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences” argues that children in prison need to be given a chance to mature and be rehabilitated (Garinger 9). Because these killers likely committed these crimes on impulse, they would often realize after the fact that they were wrong to do such an action. Therefore, when they are released, they will be more careful and think about their actions before committing. If they are given a life sentence, they will never be given this chance to fix their life. Older people who commit murders are less likely to learn from their mistakes since they put more thought into the killing than adolescents
Less than a week after the Minnesota mall stabbings, a man in his 20s walked into a mall in Washington on September 23 and killed five people with a rifle. The man walked into the Cascade Mall in Burlington, which is 45 miles south of the border from Canada and began to shoot people around 7 p.m. The attack took place in a Macy’s department store at the cosmetic section where four women were killed in the attack and one man later died at a hospital due to his injuries. When the police and rescue workers arrived, they swept through the mall and evacuated the shoppers, some of whom hid in the dressing rooms. A manhunt went underway on Saturday to search for the man, who was last seen walking by an interstate highway, and a grainy picture of the
My uncle says his grandfather remembered when children didn’t kill each other. But that was a long time ago when they had things different. They believed in responsibility…’” As you can see, this society lacks the idea of responsibility and law enforcement concerning children. The kids grow up thinking that killing others is something they can do for fun.
If an adolescent were to commit a horrendous crime such as murder, should they be convicted as guilty or not? Kids at the age 12 should realize what is right from wrong. They obliviously know that if they were to be in a position where they were killing another human, that is just a murderous crime and should be guilty for their actions. In the book Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, a boy named Jack had committed two murders on the island where everyone was stranded. Some people agree that if adolescents were to do something irresponsible and regretful it's because “their brains just haven’t physically matured yet.
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.
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.
Even children have the capability to act and think the way as an adult would. Juveniles need to be held accountable for their actions because it was their actions that caused for them to be put in such a situation. 13 year old Derek King and his 12 year old brother, Alex, were being charged of bludgeoning their father, Terry King, to death. In the book, “Angels of Death,” by Gary C. King stated, “I hit him once and then I heard him moan and then I was afraid that he might wake up and see us, so I just kept on hitting him... I threw the bat on the bed, lit the bed on fire because I was scared of the [evidence] and everything.
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.
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.