Youthful Offender Research Paper

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

The age of the offenders continually decreases, and the brutality of the crimes seems to be increasing. Cameron Williams, age sixteen, celebrated his 16th birthday behind bars (Khan). This young man had been convicted of shooting a police officer who was chasing him around after he had been pulled over by the officer. Williams previously had charges of robbery and assault, also. “Even though he is a minor, Williams was charged in an adult court because of his troublesome history and the "serious nature of the crime," the county attorney's office said. (Khan). Brenda Beadle, chief officer of the county, made a statement saying, “Anybody who pulls a gun and aims it at a police officer is a very serious threat, and I would consider him a very dangerous individual.” (Khan). Williams, being tried as adult, added fuel to the fire of the big debate whether juveniles should be tried as adults. The Justice Department estimates that about 10 percent of all homicides are committed by youths under the age of 18. About every year the FBI will arrest more than 33,000 young adults for offenses. This number is too high. America should not have this many juveniles acting out and committing horrific acts. Trying these adolescents in adult court should instill fear in them, and hopefully make them think of the consequences before they act out. “The number of violent crimes committed by young people declined

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 reality, if teens are old enough and mature enough to commit violent and vicious crimes, they should

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. In fact they are quite clever. If juveniles are capable of committing heinous crimes who knows what else they are capable of. Yet not all crimes juveniles execute aren’t evil crimes and should not be treated in such a harsh way. Juveniles should be tried as

Juveniles are also young kids but only the fact that they do not get the same amount of education or experience that other teens gain. According to the article The Steep Costs of Keeping Juveniles in Adult Prisons by Jessica Lahey, the author states that the juveniles “lose more than their freedom when they enter adult prisons; they lose out on the educational and

Juveniles should be charged as adults in murder cases. First of all, the juveniles know exactly what they're doing in a situation like that. The second reason is, because they are able to commit a crime like murder, they are considered very dangerous. A third reason is, most of the time teenagers who commit crimes such as murder get a shorter time in jail just because of their age.

More states are considering to raising the age for juvenile crimes before being tried as adult because young offender's mental capacity. The idea is to cut the cost of incarcerate young offender in adult prison and ensure offenders to receive proper education and specialized care to change their behavior. Putting children in adult prison does not deter crime. It has an opposite effect on young offenders. Hence, raising the age for juvenile crimes allow young offender have more time to focus on rehabilitation.

Typically, when a judge decides to waive the protective rights the juvenile court has on a youthful offender it is for more serious crimes. This can also be applied to minors who have been in and out of the juvenile justice system. Fagan (2008) states that in some instances, transfer decisions made by juvenile courts to try juveniles in adult criminal court was primarily based on the severity of the offense. Some juvenile cases depending upon the severity or nature of the offense are transferred to adult criminal court through a process called a “wavier”. Essentially, a judicial waiver to criminal is the most common transfer mechanism according to Fagan. In his research, Fagan (2008) states that forty-seven states and the District of Columbia distribute discretion to judges of the juvenile justice system to waive certain youth offenders to criminal court. “In 1966, in Kent v. U. S. the Supreme Court articulated both procedural and substantive

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

There are five ways in which a juvenile can be prosecuted in adult court. One way is through a judicial wavier, this is allowed in most states, where judges have the discretion to have a youth’s case tried in the adult criminal court. The second way is through statutory exclusion, twenty-nine states automatically require a juveniles’ case to be tried in the adult court based on the age of the youth and/or the alleged crime. The other three ways are allowed in fewer states and include direct file or “prosecutorial discretion” where juvenile court judges the decision to have a youth 's case tried in the adult criminal court. There also mandatory waivers in few states which require juvenile court judges to automatically transfer a youth 's case to adult criminal court for certain offenses or because of the age or prior record of the offender. Lastly, in some states; there are age of majority statutes which automatically prosecute sixteen and/or seventeen years old depending on the state as adults (Campaign for Youth

While the courts were ensuring that the Bill of Rights applied to young people as well as adults, juvenile crime was rising in America, making it a serious national problem. Between 1960 and 1973, juvenile arrests for violent offenses and other crimes rose by 144 percent (Roth, 2011). Youth 18 and younger accounted for 45 percent of the arrests for serious crime and 23 percent of arrests for violent crimes (Jones and Krisberg, 1994). Burglaries and auto theft were found to be committed overwhelmingly by minors (Jones and Krisberg, 1994). The peak age for arrests for violent crime was discovered to be 18, and the peak age for property crime was 16 (Jones and Krisberg, 1994).

This particular article talks about a Connecticut Governor by the name of Dannel P. Malloy wanting to get the state approved to consider treating young offenders as juveniles until they are twenty-one. Mistrett made a comment stating, “Here they go asking for 21. It makes sense, it aligns with what brain science tells us and I think it 's a good path forward” (Mistrett). It seems like she agrees with what Malloy is trying to get across to the state, but young offenders should have that psychological sense to want to stop committing crimes before things get worse. The adult age starts at eighteen and continues on; sometimes, you have to consider a young offender as an adult depending on what crime was committed.

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.

In an age where juvenile crime has escalated from simple truancy to more serious crimes such as mass school shootings some would agree it is time to abolish juvenile courts or modify the system at the very least. Because of the seriousness of juvenile crime in this day and age, most states have already lowered the age limit for juvenile court jurisdiction from 17 years and are prosecuting more children as adults depending of the seriousness of the crime. Some criminal justice and child welfare scholars argue that younger children do not have the mental capability or experience to weigh the consequence of committing a crime and much less understand the implications of a criminal record in their future. Furthermore, they note that most juveniles grow out of criminal behavior as they mature out of the system and in

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.