Juveniles should not be tried as adults

Essay by rainbowmoon67University, Bachelor'sA, December 2003

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Juveniles Should Not Be Tried A Adults

Should juvenile offenders be tried as adults? This question has become a hot topic recently in this country. Nearly everyone from lawyers and judges, to politicians has expressed their opinion on this subject, and while everyone seems to be talking about it no real conclusions have been reached. When talking about juveniles being tried as adults there are no easy answers, but when all the factors have been weighed, with the exception of murder, the negative affects of juveniles in the adult system outweigh the positive. One of the key reasons for this is because before one can answer the question of youths being tried as adults they must first answer many other questions; some of which go deep into the core fundamentals of the American legal system. Juveniles should not be tried as adults.

It cannot automatically be assumed that such a young offender could grasp the serious consequences of their actions.

Underage offenders, being anyone under the age of 18, should not be subject to criminal punishment in adult courts because they are not mature enough to be fully responsible for their actions.

A movement has taken hold of our nation to change the juvenile justice system, and erases any distinction between young offenders and adult criminals. Almost all fifty states have changed their juvenile justice laws allowing more youths to be tried as adults and scrapping long-time efforts to help rehabilitate delinquent kids and prevent future crimes. The current debate over juvenile crime is being dominated by two voices: Elected officials proposing quick-fix solutions, and a media more intent on reporting violent crimes than successful prevention efforts. Minors should not be tried as adults in our society today. This is obvious through looking at propositions by our government such as...