Why Do Child Soldiers Go To Jail

These children have no choice but to fight if they want to stay alive. These child soldiers shouldn't be persecuted because they are just innocent children who had their families killed, their homes destroyed, and now have nowhere to go. Even if these children wanted to leave, they couldn't because if they did, they would just be killed. These children didn't really have a choice to leave or not, but they got the benefit of food, water and shelter but were forced to kill other innocent people. But overall these children were drugged if they didn't fight so that

They lack the mental maturity and judgement to express consent or to fully understand the implications for their actions…”. This quote from “Should Child Soldiers Be Prosecuted for Their Crimes?” By JOHANNESBURG perfectly explains why child soldiers should not be persecuted for their crimes. They were not yet mature enough to comprehend what they were doing when they were killing people. Take the not yet mature mind of a child, and mix it with the awful drugs they had to take, and there is no way that the child soldiers were thinking on their own. Once the child has gone through treatment and is free of drugs and a bit more mature in the brain, they are nowhere near the mindset that they were in while they were fighting. It is almost like the child during battle, and after battle, are two totally different people. Therefore, this clean and more mature person should be granted amnesty, and not be persecuted for his or her

Child soldiers were kids that were forced to kill americans. They shouldn’t be send to jail. Why? Because what they did they had no other option , they’re too young many soldiers were scarf for life & they have a life ahead of them.

For instance, people may say they should be prosecuted for their crimes. The article, “Should child soldiers be prosecuted for their crimes?” demonstrates how these crimes can be developed to becoming a habit to the child soldiers. It says “‘If minor children who have committed serious war crimes are not prosecuted, this could be an incentive for their commanders to delegate to them the dirtiest orders, aiming at impunity.’” (JOHANNESBURG, 2011). Even if they’re committing a crime, what do you expect from children that have been torn away from their families and have nowhere else to go? These child soldiers don’t know any better. Something you should consider thinking about is how they feel about all this and having their childhood taken away from them just to survive. Like any other children, child soldiers just want to have a family and have a shelter. Moreover, others may argue saying allowing child soldiers immunity from prosecution denies victims justice. In the debate “ Child Soldiers Should Be Prosecuted”, many people argue whether child soldiers should be prosecuted. It says “ It is unfair to victims that will have to live side-by-side with their attacker and see them walk free without any punishment.”. It may seem wrong to let a child go for committing a crime just because they're a child, however child soldiers are ordered to

I believe that child soldiers are victims and should not be punished by their actions.

In many war-torn countries, seeing children on the war front is quite common. Some believe that these child soldiers should be punished for their actions. These people believe that the child soldiers should be treated as criminals. Others believe that child soldiers should not be punished for their actions, instead treated fully as victims. However, while the child soldiers can be committing crimes, they are also victims.

My first piece of evidence comes from debatewise. According to someone on debatewise “Child soldiers rarely have the same understanding of their decisions and actions as adults and therefore should not be held responsible for their actions.” Why should these kids be held responsible? They don't even understand what adults do. These kids are too young to understand the consequences of their actions. my next piece of evidence comes from the article armed and underage. According to armed and underage “These kids can be so easily brainwashed” How are you suppose to be aware of what you're doing when you have been brainwashed? It is not child soldiers fault for these crimes if they were not fully capable of understanding what they were doing because they were brainwashed. Now for my last piece of evidence which comes from a summative essay. According to a summative essay on child soldiers “They lack the mental maturity and judgement to express consent or to fully understand the implications of their actions.” Like I said before, these child soldiers are not mentally capable of understanding the consequences of their actions. They may not fully understand the meaning of death. That is the evidence I have found for this idea. Now some of you people out there may be thinking they at least know bad from wrong. Well let me tell you, when you're young, scared, and confused from being

Child soldiers should be given amnesty for what they did in the battlefield. Usually they are all drugged up by their commanders to know what they're doing is wrong.

For some of the people in the world you might think that child soldiers are criminals I think different. Why I think different is that they are not criminals they are victims not criminals. I will give you five reasons and these are kids getting brainwashed,kicked off sports,clearing minefields, parents selling them and resist going to help in the wars. The first most important reason from the article “Armed and Underage” is when they get brainwashed.

First of all, child soldiers should be given amnesty because almost all of them were forced or kidnapped. Do to the lack of knowledge at such a young age the ones who joined had no idea what they were getting themselves into. Hundreds of the children were forced into being a child soldier

Because of that, the child soldiers are not morally responsible for the actions they perform. As said before, the children are easily brainwashed through alcohol and mainly drugs, so it’s not like they can say yes or no if they are asked if they are willing to be recruited into the

The government doesn't need to prosecute child soldiers; the children had no choice. Child soldiers don't deserve to be prosecuted, when you prosecute one child soldier you have to prosecute them all no matter the deed. Ruining one child's life just so another child doesn't have to do worst deeds is incomprehensible, children don't need to be prosecuted for something that wasn't their fault. If a parent grabbed a child's arm and forced them to shoot a gun and kill a man, would you prosecute the child that didn't even understand what he was doing or why his parent was making him do it, or the parent that didn't want to get their hands dirty.

In conclusion, I think that child soldiering has negative effects on a child's development and emotional/mental wellbeing. Whether the child was forced to join or volunteered, they are still a victim. Even if they volunteered the circumstances that they faced forced them to join to try to make their lives better. Their roles, whether combat or noncombat, are harmful because the child witnesses and experiences things that no child should experience. From carrying injured soldiers and weapons, to being used as cannon fodder, to being sexually violated on a regular basis, all of these things lower the quality of well being of a child and turns them into insensitive robots with no compassion for other human beings. The terrible things that child soldiers are forced to witness and do are

One injustice facing the world today is the use of child soldiers. According to child-soldiers.org, a child soldier is “any person below eighteen years of age who is, or who has been, recruited or used by an armed force or armed group in any capacity…” Child soldiers do not only include the combatants. There are also child soldiers in noncombatant positions. The most dreadful injustice is having child soldiers, because of the amount of children involved, the recruitment they face, their war experiences, and post battle feelings or events.

The side that argues prosecuting the child soldiers says kids were given the option to stay or leave, and most chose to stay. That is only partly true. It is true that they are given the option. Yet, the children indirectly forced to stay. Because they have become addicted to the drugs the warlords gave them, they are now dependent on them for those drugs and simply cannot leave, as it reads on debatewise.org. Also, Ishmael Beah points out that through the war, they have gained a connection to their commanders and fellow soldiers. For some, including Ishmael, it is the only family they have left. So, they may, indeed, choose to stay, but not for the reason the many believe. Instead of staying for the fighting, the stay for of family. Those who argue that child soldiers should be considered the perpetrators also say that if we grant amnesty to the soldiers, there would be no justice for the victims they killed. This is completely agreeable and understandable. It is agreeable that there should be punishment given in order to fulfill justice for the victims. However, in order for justice to be fully satisfied, the children should not be the ones punished, but rather, the warlords who wish to come to the US from their country of origin. The warlords drug the child soldiers and kill those who do not follow orders. They also force some to join. If child soldiers were