Have you ever thought a about what actually goes on in Juvenile Detention Centers? How the young teens are treated by the guards and other cell mates? If you really think about it, most people in this generation don’t understand how bad it is getting. Being a teen doesn’t mean you are an adult and every teen makes mistakes. From the point of view of the young prisoners in those detention centers, when you get in trouble or you make a mistake in the “outside world” people get over it. At the age they are at, it is just like getting grounded for a week and that’s it. However, in the world of the Juvenile Detention Centers, if you make a mistake, you will may get beaten up by other cell mates.
The article, “The Steep Costs of Keeping Juveniles in Adult Prisons” written by Jessica Lahey states, “Juveniles constitute 1,200 of the 1.5 million people housed in federal and state prisons in this country, and nearly 200,000 youth enter the adult criminal-justice system each year, most for non-violent crimes.” Minors should not be tried as adults because their brains are not developed, they may come from bad backgrounds, and they have their whole life ahead of them, and their life should not be determined by the mistakes they made as a child. Juveniles who are usually 14 or older who have committed serious crimes are tried as adults and are put into adult-state prisons. This is inhumane and unsafe for the child’s physical and mental health.
The reasons for this is that a lot of these kids are committing adult crimes therefore, they should be tried as an adult. Furthermore, if they were not tried as an adult the violence that these kids bring to our society would be an outrage. They would be out here killing kids of their own age as well as adults. There’s also the possibility of them going out doing other dangerous and violent crimes because they would figure that just because of their age they could not be tried as an adult but in fact go to juvenile court where they will have a hearing by just a judge and not be tried by a jury which could possibly give them less time then what the crime carries. Now some people would argue that they are kids but we have to remember that these are kids that are considered super predators which means they are very violent in nature and have committed violent crimes. However, once tried as an adult they could still be placed in a juvenile detention center until they reached the age in order to be transferred to an adult prison and then and only then be placed in an adult prison to carry out the rest of their
If a teenager were to commit murder, most people say that they should be sentenced to life without parole. If a teen is sentenced to life without parole, they are also sent to adult prisons. In adult prisons, teens do not “have access to any education” (Caitlin Curly), therefore, they cannot learn anything from prison. Even if some prisons have educational services, teens in adult prisons are “36 times more likely to commit suicide than those in juvenile facilities” (Caitlin Curly). Consequently, these teens won’t live with being in jail their whole lives. Although, some teens commit offenses at age thirteen and fourteen. “Approximately 79 individuals who committed offenses at age 13 or 14 have been sentenced to LWOP” (Charles Stimson, Elizabeth
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”). When teen felons choose to act without thinking, they are putting other people’s lives at risk. They need to be charged as adults because the victims of the crimes will not be given the justice they deserve when they have to worry about that criminal harming them again. Although some people think that sending a juvenile through adult court gives them no hope, they should have given this a little thought before committing the crime. Teens need to think about the consequences and how their actions affect others before they act. When choosing between putting a violent adolescent in prison and taking the chance of letting them commit that crime again, it is most suitable to let the teen be tried as an adult and to place them in prison. Similarly, trying teens as adults will hold them accountable for their actions which will reduce the crime
In the article “Remember the Victims of Juvenile Offenders” Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins explains how the killer of her 26 year-old pregnant sister got away not only with that crime but others as well (Bishop-Jenkins 1). Bishop-Jenkins agrees how some teens need long term evaluation before they are able to rejoin the public, as a result should be tried as adults. If these criminals are shown there are no serious consequences for crimes then they will continue their antics. Teens should be tried as adults for felonies if they are unfit for juvenile detention centers for which they can not rehabilitate. Not only will it put criminals behind bars but will allow the victims to experience some
Many people have disregarded the fact that children too can commit despicable crimes; crimes that not even adults would think about committing. Juveniles have had their era in in being able to manipulating courts to give them a lighter sentences for their so-called “mistakes”. These juveniles have made puerile excuses to try and exonerate their actions by blaming their impulses, rather than taking accountability for them. 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
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. These cutoffs range from 7 to 14 years old. At any rate, the current situation is one that has sparked many moral and ethical beliefs to surface, resulting in debates that have yet to be resolved. Children who commit violent crimes should not be tried as adults, because proper educational services are typically not affordable, children are more susceptible to harming themselves
If you are a parent, how would you like to watch your child grow up behind bars? If you are the child, imagine growing up behind bars for a mistake you once made. A courtyard in a college or high school differentiates a huge amount from a courtyard in a prison. America should raise the minimum age a juvenile can be tried as an adult to twenty-one because the prefrontal cortex in ages twenty-five and under is still developing, the behavior of young adults is not completely mature, and prison or jail has a tremendous amount of negative effects on young adults.
Some people believe that minors shouldn’t get life in prison because they are “just kids”, others believe that minors should get life in prison if needed to. I highly believe and agree with those who believe minors should get life in prison,because if they had the courage to commit a big serious crime then they should also have the courage to accept the consequences given to them. If you really think about it,if one doesn’t give them a serious consequences due to their action they’re going to think that it’s okay,that the court system will take it easy on them because just because they are “just children”, which it shouldn’t be like that.
There is no segregation between adults and children within the system. Children are entirely different from grown adults, they have different needs, wants, they need to learn and find themselves. When placed in an adult prison they have lost all those needs, and wants, and are expected to act like an adult. Adolescents placed in jail for drug use need restorative action, rehabilitation for their actions. If these children placed in adult jails for drugs get released they are most likely to be apart of the recidivism rate and end up back in jail for drug use once again. Juveniles need rehabilitation instead of lifelong sentences their deviance could be factors of conformity to how they grew up, and we need to help them grow out of their old ways to become a new person instead of sitting in a cell for the rest of their
Should juveniles get treated as adults that’s one of the biggest controversy in our nation now days, with many juveniles committing crimes that are inconceivable according to their age. Judges have the last word on how to treat this young people. Many people argue that “the teens that are under eighteen are only kids, they won’t count them as young adults, not until they commit crimes. And the bigger the crime, the more eager this people are to call them adults” (Lundstrom 87). This is why people can’t come to a decision as how these young people should be treated like. As adults or as juveniles, according to how serious is the crime they committed.
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.
In today’s world there are countless crimes committed every single day. “In 2015, there were 1.42 million total arrests, at a rate of 3,641 arrests per 100,000 residents” (State of California, Department of Justice). Grown adults are not the only people being arrested every year, there are also juveniles, children, being arrested every day. One topic of controversy today is whether or not juveniles who commit these crimes should be tried as adults in criminal court. There are many differences between the justice system for adults and the justice system for juveniles. If a juvenile is defined as a person under the age of eighteen can we justify trying them in as an adult? Is convicting juveniles as adults a better solution?
First of all, juveniles should not be sentenced with life in prison like adults because scientific studies confirm a strong difference between an adolescent