Imagine witnessing your parents’ brutal murder right in front of you. Your father is forced to his knees and shoot in the back of his head, execution-style. Your mother’s teeth lie on the floor from the bullet propelled through the side of her head. The fiend proceeds to move forward and shoot her brains out. For Carroll, this was a reality. Robert Acuna barbarically murdered James and Joyce Carroll. What do you think this savage deserves? In America, adolescents can be tried as adults at ages as young as 10. They can be sent to an adult prison with adult cellmates, trapped in an adult environment that they just are not ready for. The prison environment is very influential and may change adolescents for the worse. Exposure to adult criminals …show more content…
They could easily be assaulted and left with both physical and emotional scars. One in five victims of sexual violence in jails or prison are under the age of 18. Youth in adult prisons are thirty six times more likely to commit suicide than those in the juvenile system. Not to mention, they are allowed only very strict and monitored social exchanges, if any. This is detrimental to their social health. When released, with much of society despising former inmates, it will be hard to start over and get a new life. If sending teens to prison actually taught them a lesson, it would be all in vain. Moreover, if they are sent to prison, they will be exposed to adult criminals, who can plant ideas into their minds. When they are released, they might commit more violent crimes because of this. “Research suggests that 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 “Kids Are Kids- Until They Commit Crimes”). Twelve year old Lionel Tate was convicted to life in prison without parole for the murder of his six year old playmate, Tiffany Eunick. Eunick was brutally beat to death by Tate as he was imitating wrestlers on WWE. However, due to his mental incapabilities, he was released on probation for 30 years. Shortly after, Tate performed armed robbery on a …show more content…
Minors cannot smoke, drink, or vote, but as soon as they commit a crime, they are suddenly adults. Adolescents as young as 12 are being charged as adults. According to the legal system, citizens are not adults until the age of 18, so why should we not treat them as such? They are mentally incompetent compared to adults, and are unable to fully understand the judicial system to defend themselves. “When compared with young adults, children ages eleven to thirteen were more than three times as likely to be found ‘seriously impaired’ in understanding the judicial process and aiding their own defense. Similarly, it found those fourteen or fifteen years old were twice as likely to be "seriously impaired" in such awareness and reasoning” (Krikorian “Many Kids Called Unfit for Adult Trial”). It is unconstitutional to force adolescents to defend themselves when they are inept in doing so. Jordan Brown was only 11 when he was arrested for the murder of his stepmother, Kenzie Houk, and her unborn child. Houk was shot in the back of her head. Brown had in possession, a 20-gauge shotgun that he claimed he used for hunting. However, he claimed he never did it and was walking to the school bus with his sister. Even though there was insufficient evidence, Brown was left unable to defend himself, and charged with two counts of first degree murder in an adult
In Contrast to Bryan Stevenson’s “Just Mercy” stories of juveniles being tried as adults, Jason Zeidenberg in the article “The Risks Juveniles Face When They Are Incarcerated with Adults” strongly emphasizes the dangers and consequences that juveniles face when they are tried as adults. Zeidenberg states the consequences of juveniles being raped, assaulted, committing suicide and the effects of being victimized. Children who are housed in the same facility as Adults is not a good idea nor a good mix, according to Zeidenberg a “15-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in Ohio by a deputy after she was placed in an adult jail for a minor in
In August of 2004, Robert Acuna was sentenced to the death penalty. His crime? Shooting his two elderly neighbors, James and Joyce Carroll, "execution style" and then proceeding to steal their car (Liptak). This heinous crime only adds to the current debate: should juveniles be sentenced as adults? The answer is yes, there should be no leniency displayed towards minors who commit the same serious crimes as adults. Although young, juveniles should be capable of understanding the serious extent of the crime they commit. Sentencing juveniles as adults will prevent perpetrators of major crimes, such as mass murder, from walking free. Furthermore, judges have enough experience to know whether to try a minor as an adult or not. Juvenile sentencing as adults is not a wrong but rather a form of justice in the face of rising teen violence.
Between 1990 and 2010 the number of juveniles in adult jails went up by nearly 230%. Now about a tenth of confined young people are in an adult prison or jail. Minors shouldn’t be charged as adults, but it does make a little sense.
However if we take a step back and look at how incarcerating youth is hurting them. According to the risks juveniles face when they are incarcerated with adults written by Jason Zeidenberg "juveniles are more likely to be targeted for rape five times more than the adult prisoner and suicide rates among juveniles are 7.7 times higher than those that are in juvenile detention centers." Those two statistics alone explains the reason juveniles should not be placed in prison with adults. Another reason juveniles should not be locked up with adults is because "juveniles are twice as likely to be beaten up by staff." This statistic is very sickening because in the prison the people the juveniles should trust are also bringing them
Approximately two million adolescents a year are arrested and out of that two million, 60,000 of them are incarcerated according to the American Journal of Public Health. The 60,000 incarcerated adolescents each year are being tried as adults in court because of the serious crimes they have committed. The crimes they have committed are anything from armed robbery to murder. Some juveniles might be first time offenders and others might be repeat offenders. Crimes have always been a major issue in the United States and can cause controversy in the criminal justice system. Charging a minor as an adult in criminal court varies from state to state based on each state’s jurisdiction. Some states consider anyone up to the age of 18 still a juvenile and would not be charged as an adult in criminal court, but other states may charge a juvenile as an adult at the age of 16 or 17. Jordan (2014) states, “Although states already had methods for transferring youth to the adult system, as a result of the growing fear of juvenile violence, most states implemented new laws to increase the number of youth entering the adult criminal system’ (Bernard & Kurlychek, 2010; Torbet et al., 1996)” (p. 315). While it sounds beneficial to incarcerate more adolescents in the adult criminal justice system to avoid juveniles from committing crimes in the future, that is not always the case. Incarcerating these juveniles can be life changing in a negative
Regardless of age, a killer is a killer. A killer can be the daily customer you have at your job or the child you’re babysitting. “The Supreme Court justices would be wise as well as compassionate to strike a balance: Make juvenile offenders responsible for their actions but don't completely rob them of hope. And this should apply not only to the inmates who were 14 at the time of their crimes but to the remaining 2,497 who were 15 to 18 years old,” (Ellison 19). Kids make mistakes all the time, that doesn’t mean we should take their life away from them. With overlooking the listed factors in court when sentencing a juvenile, this will improve the number of children in prisons. Not all of these children partake in the act because of evil, but merely because of
Adults, on the other hand, are fully developed and fully conscience of their actions and the consequences that follow. However, because teen brains are not fully developed, this allows their brains to grow and learn from mistakes and experiences. In the article, “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences”, author Gail Garinger talks about her first hand experience with juveniles in the justice system. She has seen the potential for them to grow and change over the years, and how being tried as adults and serving life sentences has had severe impacts on many. Gail believe adult prison is not the place for a teen. Placing juveniles in adult prison substantially inhibits their potential for
As more minors are committing violent crimes, the question of whether they should be tried as adults has arisen. Children as young as 13 or 14 are committing violent crimes such as murder, rape, and armed robbery. Some of these children are being tried as adults while others are being tried as juveniles and receiving milder punishments. A juvenile offender may receive a few years in a juvenile detention facility and possibly probation following his release at age eighteen. An adult committing the same violent crime will receive a much harsher penalty, often years in jail, possibly a life sentence, with little or no chance of parole. The only difference between the two offenders is the age at which they committed the crime. Juveniles over
The victim's family, of course, won’t be comfortable around the offender especially if a loved one is hurt. Now, some crimes are truly so inhumane, people would be extremely afraid to know if one of them is with them. I dislike the idea of having those very kids, in the juvenile prisons where they don’t belong. The victim’s family may want them in the adult prison as well and so would others. There is only justification for violent crimes and not that, means what they did is right. While, yes, there are those under the age of eighteen unable to be help. Now, there are even fewer kids who never was ‘broken’ and was always like that. A crime so inhumane and not even a single remorse or regret. No one wants someone like that to be along themselves.
This debate topic is dealing about whether juveniles should get adult prison treatment, or not. This topic is not entirely related to the book, Ghettoside, but does come up in a part of it. In part of the book, Bryant Tennelle, a recent high school graduate, was murdered by another teenager, Devin Davis, aged 16 years old. He had been in juvenile camp for other offenses, but had always gotten of effortlessly. Even though he explained that the murder was unintentional and he was forced to, he was sent to jail. “Devin Davis had become thickset during his six months in jail, and his hair was an unkempt bush growing down the back of his neck. His eyes roved around as he entered the courtroom, looking for his mother.”(Ghettoside,
In addition, think about how they will be affected if tried as an adult and convicted. Let us remember, the United States has the Juvenile Justice System, which is solely for juvenile delinquents. This is supposed to protect them from receiving longer sentences, and harsh punishments, which is the opposite of adult courts. Also, the Juvenile Justice System is supposed to help rehabilitate the juvenile. Luckily, for juveniles, the “court had recognized that even homicide does not warrant a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole if the offender is less than 18 years old at the time of the crime” (Holt p.1395). However, in “Nevada, Mississippi, and Utah, lawmakers now leave it up to the juvenile courts to decide whether to transfer a juvenile to adult court” (Brown p. 21). Unfortunately, juveniles sent to adult prison suffer physically, mentally, and emotionally. With that
“If you can’t do the time don’t do the crime!” a phrase many say about jail, prison or a Juvenile Program. Basically what it means is don’t commit something against the law if you don’t want to spend the time. If you do, you ill either go to prison jail or a juvenile justice center. Some children in the juvenile center don’t think it’s close to a punishment, some think its torcher, and some stay till they are 18 and transfer to prison. But the point is, is juveniles beneficial for children? Well my claim is, they are.
Many young adolescents who have committed horrendous crimes have been a huge topic amongst the Supreme Court. Whether young adolescents are viewed as innocent, naive children to the public, this not changed the fact they can commit brutal crimes. In spite of the fact that adolescents have committed brutal crimes such as murder, one needs to understand that their brains are not as fully developed as an adult brain would be. Adolescents should not be trialed to a life sentence or attend adult prisons; however, they should be punished for their actions and undergo rehabilitation programs to help them be prepared to fit in with the rest of society.
“I used to believe are our future but now I realize that this, sadly isn’t the reality. Through laws that treat kids like adults, the government is throwing away the future of children in this country.” (D. Lee) An estimated 200,000 juveniles are tried as adults. The term juvenile refers to any young person under the age of 18. For most states in the United States, the age of majority is 18. While there are many things that juveniles are unable to do until they reach the age of 18, being charged as an adult for a crime is not amongst those things in some states. Juveniles are not allowed to vote, drink alcohol, or sign a legal contract, yet they can be charged and treated like adults when it comes to them being
A deep look into juveniles in adult prisons. Touch bases on several smaller issues that contribute to juveniles being in and effects of adult prisons. The United States Bureau of Prisons handles two hundred and thirty-nine juveniles and their average age is seventeen. Execution of juveniles, The United States is one of only six countries to execute juveniles. There are sixty-eight juveniles sitting on death row for crimes committed as juveniles. Forty-three of those inmates are minorities. People, who are too young to vote, drink alcohol, or drive are held to the same standard of responsibility as adults. In prisons, they argue that the juveniles become targets of older, more hardened criminals. Brian