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Limit to Punishment of Children Who Commit Violent Crimes

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Submitted By Danycarlos
Words 919
Pages 4
Danielle Carlos
Kirsten Mashinter
Level 5 – Writing
02 November 2013

Limit to Punishment of Children Who Commit Violent Crimes
The numbers of violent crimes committed by children have greatly increased in the last 7 years. “According to the U.S. Department of Justice, approximately 10 percent of the murders that occurred in the United States in 2006 were committed by juvenile offenders. The Department of Justice also reports that the older the juvenile, the more likely he is to commit a violent crime; juveniles aged 16-17 are most likely to commit a violent crime. While the number of male juvenile violent offenders continues to outnumber that of female juvenile offenders, the number of female juvenile offenders is on the rise” (Baker). Children who commit violent crime have common characteristics such as “Narcissism, (the feeling that you are special and superior to everyone else and that other people have no rights), a history of animal cruelty and cruelty to other children, social isolation, repeated defiance of authority and a history of minor juvenile offenses, and unhealthy obsessions with death, violence and starting fires’” (Baker). However, when dealing with minors, it must be taken into account if children should be punished as adults. While many people think that children who commit violent crimes should be punished as adult, I disagree.
Jessica Reaves, writer for the Times US, states, “Harsh sentencing acts as a deterrent to kids who are considering committing crimes. Trying children as adults has coincided with lower rates of juvenile crimes. Light sentences don't teach kids the lesson they need to learn: If you commit a terrible crime, you will spend a considerable part of your life in jail” (Reaves). Although these children have committed serious crimes, that should not be ignored, the duty to punish them does not belong to the government, but

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