Jury duty is one of the many obligations subjected on the adults within the American population. It is our social contract to uphold the responsibility of making the unbiased decision of finding someone innocent or guilty. Yet, would your decision on the punishment be altered based on the defendant’s age. The truth of the matter is cases like these are very common and poises a difficult decision for any party involved. Is that evil that lurks within the child’s eyes or ignorance of the value of life? So many question come to mind, but the most prominent question is how accountable is minor for crimes even as heinous as murder? The issue of whether minors should be tried as adults is a groundbreaking issues that consist of many different …show more content…
This scenario is one all too familiar to kids today or anyone who remembers being a kid for that matter. During your years of childhood you are continually reminded of the fact that you have no real control over your life. In a case like Timmy’s, a minor would not get to reap the reward of a material reward, therefore why would it be logical that he is able to receive maximum punishments for actions under law?
By law a minor in the U.S is classified as anyone being under the age of 18. Under the law minors are to be cared for by a legal guardian (Adult) that makes decisions that the minor cannot make by themselves. Minors have no control over the environment they grow up in or the things they are exposed to. Within the U.S it is common to find cities that have significantly higher rates of crimes compare to other cities. When examining the statistics of crimes in the U.S there is always a correlation with the economic status of the city and the rate of crime. Impoverish area are often found to be the areas with the most crimes and domestic disturbances. The fact that the minority groups often live in impoverish areas also correlate to what many see as a target on the back for minorities. Can a minor that lives in a crime filled city be blamed for being consumed by the crime they grew up with?
One of the strongest arguments for trying
The fact that the kid had no remorse shows that he did not feel bad about his violence act and would not hesitate to commit another violent crime. If a juvenile is old enough to commit a serious crime they are also old enough to understand what they did was wrong. Age is not reason enough to justify or dilute the intensity of crime committed. There must be strong actions taken for such violent crimes no matter the age.
The one thing that those people won’t understand is that minors don’t know the typed of crime they had committed until they received adult consequences for their adult decisions they make. “In the Los Angeles two teenage sisters allegedly killed an elderly neighbor while another sister allegedly played a stereo to drown out the screams. They have denied all charges” demonstrates how even though they were committing adult crime they didn’t get adult consequence for what they had done. At that moment they probably didn’t realize the decision they were making but by getting adult consequences they would learn from there
It has been one hundred years since the creation of the juvenile court in the United States. The court and the juvenile justice system has made some positive changes in the lives of millions of young people lives over the course or those years, within the last thirteen years there has been some daunting challenges in the system.
Every process has room for improvement, but the juvenile justice system can be altered by adding in possible solutions of what can be done to help this problem in American society. About 100 years ago, juveniles were always tried as adults. Now, that the government has altered the system for the better, the government knows that trying juveniles as adults is not always justified. It depends on the crime, but the majority of the time, juveniles are often always tried as juveniles, based solely on their age. Not only that has changed; the process of juvenile justice has changed as well to better help the juveniles in the system. The rights of juveniles in the system have changed so that the children can improve their lives once they are out of the system. Even though the process has changed and the rights have improved for the juveniles, there are still many improvements to be made. Studies show that recidivism rates are in fact going down, but the rate can always be better so that juveniles do not return to a life of crime.
Mistakes or murders? Children or criminals? Answering these questions requires much deliberation. Trying juveniles in adult court cases isn't orthodox. But such incidents are increasing in America. In 2014 two Wisconsin girls stabbed their classmate 19 times. The state found the twelve-year-olds guilty without considering psychological imbalances (Hanna, Jason). Natural instinct urges one to comply with the decision. However, certain circumstances change perspectives, but only when presented. Trying minors as adults isn't sensible and overlooks many conflicts. Juveniles aren't mentally developed, risk harm in jail, and don't receive adult rights.
Today’s juvenile court system handles most cases involving those under the age of 18-year-old. This was not always the case and the ideal of a separate court system for adults and children is only about 100 years old. When looking at the differences that set juvenile courts apart, it is important to study the history and see how it developed over time.
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
Through the court systems in the United States there is a major distribution of probation between the juvenile court system and the adult court system. More than 70,000 juveniles were incarcerated in youth prisons or detention in 2010. Case studies show that more than 500,000 juveniles are taken to confinement centers every year. Not including the juveniles who by pass the detention center and make their way into the adult court system where they are later tried. Juveniles stand out of any prison that they may be asserted to because most acts are created by those younger than the age of 18 those juveniles are allowed to be trialed under the administration of the juvenile court until age 21. Prison is not a place most juveniles while be able to with stand. So the juvenile judges process a variety of different legal options to incorporate both the safety needs of the juvenile while also dealing with the well-being of the community and the rehabilitant needs of the juvenile. In some cases, the state will even pay jails to not allow juveniles to be accepted into their facilities. Juveniles are adequately still labeled as children no matter how grown they may think of themselves as. The mind of a person does not mature appropriately until that person reaches their premature twenties. An Arkansas study documented that juveniles who were formerly imprisoned for a crime were about 15 time more likely to constrain another crime. Probation has been a more efficient route when dealing
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
When thinking of reforming the juvenile justice system one has to think; what can we do to make this better for everyone involve? There are some programs that can be implemented when trying to make a change in the juvenile system. The main thing is getting parents or the guardian more involved in the child’s whereabouts. Secondly the community where the youth will have a place to go and have something more constructive to do to keep them out of trouble. Law enforcement can get involved in giving ride along and having visits to the local jails or prisons from the youth to talk to some of the inmates. Crime in life isn’t racist at all it has a no age limit, no certain gender and no social status for most of those whom decide to partake in a criminal activity. From the beginning juveniles have been an issue with law enforcement, the question has always arisen of whom will take control without cruel and unusual punishment and assist with the rehabilitation and prevention future crime actions.
Millions of juveniles are processed through the juvenile court system, and the number has been growing for years. Judges and court officials have been looking for many ways to come up with alternatives to incarceration. There are several different alternatives to incarceration for juveniles currently that will be discussed. Incarceration has an impact on the society as well, even for those who have not been in trouble with the law before which is one of the reasons why alternatives have been evolved. Tensions between the established principals and the proposed methods determined the way in which early incarceration alternatives were introduced into legislation.
As a contrast, there are many differences between the adult and juvenile justice system. These differences consist of the right to a jury, the right to post bail, leniency of evidence, different court proceedings, the right to a public trial, and rehabilitation efforts. As for the purpose of this paper, we will dissect the differences of the two systems. Many appeals have been filed under the notion that a right to a jury should be upheld for juvenile offenders. The courts have voted against this action time and time again. These appeals are made on the assumption that, as noted earlier, adult crimes should be tried as adult crimes. However, the court rules on this matter while keeping the rehabilitation efforts of the juvenile courts in mind, as opposed to the more punitive measures. Their desire to see kids treated as kids are defined with their upholding of the law, and pushing rehabilitation to its max. But should rehabilitation be the prime focus when the act is of adult capacity; even in a child’s body? I do not think so. What are the percentages of rehabilitation success with adults for committed capital offenses? How are they going to differ when a child partakes in them? I think there is a
Juveniles committing crimes is not a new issued being introduced to society; actually, it has been an issue for centuries. However, the big question is, should juveniles be tried in adult courts? Before answering, take into consideration every possible scenario that could have led them to commit the crime. For instance, were they the leader in the act? Did they participate in the crime? Was the juvenile even aware of what was taking place? Were they peer pressured? Did they have any other choice at the time? There are so many other questions we could consider when making a decision here.
The juvenile justice system is similar to the criminal justice system. This system is where juveniles are processed, and may be arrested after referrals for juvenile delinquency. Juvenile justice is very different in every state and can be very similar as well because every system has limited jurisdiction and that most focus on the offenders and not their offenses. Therefore, there are 51 juvenile justice systems in the United States. The United States has the juvenile justice system because children are very different than adults – in that they can be better receptive for change and also being easier to rehabilitate. Moreover, the main goal of the juvenile justice system is rehabilitation (Juvenile Law Center). The juvenile justice system is made up of police, courts, corrections, probation and parole services, as well as community-based programs to name a few (book).
In today's society juveniles are being tried in adult courts, given the death penalty, and sent to prison. Should fourteen-year olds accused of murder or rape automatically be tried as adults? Should six-teen year olds and seven-teen year olds tried in adult courts be forced to serve time in adult prisons, where they are more likely to be sexually assaulted and to become repeat offenders. How much discretion should a judge have in deciding the fate of a juvenile accused of a crime - serious, violent, or otherwise? The juvenile crime rate that was so alarming a few years ago has begun to fall - juvenile felony arrest rates in California have declined by more than forty percent in the last twenty years. While