...an Adult In the United States there are a lot of crimes being committed by youth, most of these crimes are serious enough for these children to be charged as an adult. These children are being over charged. They are still children just committing adult crimes. When these youth are tried as adults it exposes these juveniles to state prisons without parole and even execution. In addition, it is over 2,500 child offenders serving life without parole in United State prisons for crimes committed before they 18th birthday. Therefore, youth should not be tried as adults because they are being over charged for these crimes. One reason that youth should not be charged as adults is that it’s just a double standard on these children. These juveniles don’t have full brain development to even know the outcome of the crimes committed. The thing about youthful offenders is that no one seems to care about them. Most people don't like the youth of America, even the good ones can be unpleasant. Combine the feeling they have toward the average teenager with the fear inspired by youth violence, and you have a population that no one wants to deal with. There is a disturbing trend of increasing violence among young people. "Uniformly in our communities, more young people are engaging in dangerous behavior. As a result of that, more prosecutors and the citizens generally seem to be exerting more pressure to charge these youths as adults. (Judge...
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...Should Juveniles Be Tried As Adults Hope Penson Effective Essay Writing/ Com 150 March 28, 2010 Instructor: Brandy W. Kreisler Should Juveniles be tried as Adults? The United States is the world leader in convicting children as adults. Unfortunately once a child is charged as an adult the likelihood of a fair trial is very small. Over the past 30 years there have been changes in many states laws which have led to a dramatic increase in the number of juveniles tried as adults and housed in adult jails and prisons. These get tough laws have made it easier for more and younger juvenile offenders to be prosecuted in criminal court. The purpose of juvenile court is to treat, not deter. Changing the social environment in which juveniles live is a more effective way to reduce juvenile violence than punishing the juvenile offenders in adult courts. The premise of the juvenile court is sound since children have not filly matured, they shouldn’t be held to the same standards of accountability as adults. In some states certain juvenile offenders are automatically tried as adults. Even though juveniles are committing serious crimes at an alarming rate they are not being reformed because juveniles being charged as adults do not comprehend the nature of their crimes. What is America to do? Is charging them as adults reforming them or contributing to the problem once they return to society. The Illinois Juvenile Court...
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...303 Prof. Jeffrey Cudworth April 15, 2013 DEALING 2 There is a clear difference between adult offenders and juvenile offenders when it comes to the criminal justice system. There are different ways to handle each type of offender. In this paper, I will discuss the types of situations that criminal justice officials face when dealing with juvenile offenders. I will cite examples from different sources and explain them. When it comes to adult offenders, the criminal justice system has a clear cut way on how to handle them and what actions need to be taken for each and every case and every offense. When it comes to juvenile offenders, some people want to treat them just as they would adult offenders. Other people realize that these offenders are just children and should not be punished like an adult, but rather need to be rehabilitated back on the right path to becoming a model adult citizen. “The juvenile justice system was originally created to deal with delinquent acts committed by individuals under age eighteen (in most states), in a separate system designed to deal differently with juveniles then with adults. Over the years, however, the juvenile justice system has suffered from a lack of consistency and agreement on the mission and the approach” (Seiter, 2011). Juveniles today are different from those whom the original system was...
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...When an adolescent commits a crime, should that make them an adult in the eyes of the law? Or should their age be considered and acknowledged as a shortcoming of a undeveloped mind, impacting their capacity for not fully comprehending their actions? These questions have plagued the juvenile justice system both in our current time and its history. The choice between harsh punishment or attentive rehabilitation as convictions for youth offenders I think the best choice is rehabilitation because it gives juveniles to another shot. Youth offenders are different from adult offenders biologically and this should pose a greater impact in the sentencing made on the adolescents in the juvenile justice system . Punitive punishment have...
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...system The first juvenile court was established in Chicago in 1899. Leading up to this point children over the age of seven were tried in the regular criminal court which lead to many problems in the rehabilitation of juveniles. According to United States Courts (n.d.), “Gerald (“Jerry”) Gault was a 15 year-old accused of making an obscene telephone call to a neighbor, Mrs. Cook, on June 8, 1964. After Mrs. Cook filed a complaint, Gault and a friend, Ronald Lewis, were arrested and taken to the Children’s Detention Home” (para. 1). The Court closely examined the juvenile court system, ultimately determining that, while there are legitimate reasons for treating juveniles and adults differently, juveniles facing an adjudication of delinquency and incarceration are entitled to certain procedural safeguards under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Juvenile Delinquency Prevention and Control Act of 1968 and the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, both stress the importance of separation between noncriminal (status) offenders and those who are accused with criminal offences in terms of legal treatment. In addition, the Acts call for deinstitutionalization of those “light” offenders and demand that convicted juvenile will be removed from adult jails and prisons. Treating young offenders as adults has proved counterproductive and raised questions about the fundamental fairness of a criminal justice system that fails to acknowledge...
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...Should Juvenile Be Charged as Adults in Criminal Cases? Robert Horn Post University The purpose of the Adult Criminal Justice system is to punish offenders according to the severity of the crime committed. The juvenile justice system’s aim is to rehabilitate or mentor the juvenile offenders, in the hope that they can prevent further crimes, and to change their behavior. The motivating principle of the juvenile system is rehab. The reason for this is because juveniles are not fully developed, mentally or physically. Many Juvenile offenders come from broken homes, been abused, or come from bad neighborhoods. Juvenile offenders need a second chance, because they have not even received a first chance. Rehabilitation is the best option for them because of the way they would be exploited and turned into criminals if they were sent directly to prison. If given the chance, the Juvenile Justice System can aid in successfully rehabilitating youthful offenders so they are not inclined to commit future crimes. With this reasoning, juveniles cannot be blamed or accountable for their actions the same way adults are. The Justice System fulfills and important function by establishing standards of conduct. It defines what is right and wrong for people and removes them from the responsibility of taking vengeance out on those who wronged them, which deters the escalation of feuds in the community. The Justice System also...
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...Juveniles being tried as adults Student’s name University affiliation Juveniles being tried as adults Introduction The first juvenile court started in the United States of America in 1899. The two basic principles on which the court juvenile court were founded are one, and juveniles were not mature enough to take responsibility of their actions compared to adults and two, it was easier to rehabilitate juveniles as compared to adult criminals (Grisso & Schwartz, 2000). In more than a century, these principles remained the benchmarks of the juvenile courts as they expanded from Chicago, their original birthplace, into other states and eventually in other parts of the world. However, in the recent year rising incidences of juvenile criminals being tried as adults has increased as it was before the advent of the first juvenile court. Much of this stems from the public outrage against the children who, in high numbers, are engaging in violent crimes. Many countries have adopted legislation that permits them to juveniles to be tried as adults. In some countries, there are provisions that allow prosecutors to try children as young as 14 years under certain circumstances (Grisso & Schwartz, 2000). Juvenile courts establishment aimed at separating the youthful offenders from the adult criminals and thereafter processing and rehabilitating them in forgiving and less punitive manner compared to the adult criminal system (Redding & Fuller, 2004)...
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...Child Criminals: Is Punishment or Rehabilitation The Answer? Lisa Perdew Prof. H. Mathers Ivy Tech Community College With the growing number of crimes being committed by juveniles the question of whether punishment as adults or rehabilitation in a youth facility is the better option has never been more relevant. Some say that if a child commits a heinous crime, such as murder, they should be punished just as an adult would be. Others say child criminals are children first and criminals second and that they should receive counseling and rehabilitation in order to give them a chance at a normal adult life. Most states in this country do not have set laws concerning the prosecution and punishment of juveniles involved in serious criminal acts and thus the punishment is determined by the judge of each case. This can, and has, led to some juveniles being punished too severely and others getting entirely too light a punishment. The debate has come to the point of whether there should be a blanket law where in all juveniles guilty of terrible crimes are treated as adults no matter their age or if because of their age, under 18, they should all be treated as children no matter the severity of their crime. Social workers have long been at the forefront of this debate and have very strong opinions concerning these children. Most of them think rehabilitation, or even early intervention, is the better option for these children. Many of today’s...
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...United States and how that system has handled juvenile delinquency thus far. In the days of old, juvenile justice was an unheard of concept. Most nations did not make a distinction between a juvenile and an adult (Bartollas & Miller, 2011). The court systems of early nations simply held the belief that an offender needed to be punished for a crime the same way no matter what the age of the offender. This led to children being punished in the same manner as adults. Early court systems did not recognize that juvenile offenders had different needs and motives than adults (Bartollas & Miller, 2011). It is fair to say that this fact is erroneous in every aspect. This tradition continued into the mid-1800s. In England, for example, “some 160-200 capital offenses were listed in the statutes for which children could be executed.” (Bartollas & Miller, 2011, p. 5). This is an amazing statistic. Knowing that young children could be executed sheds some light on early court systems. In the mid-1800s, the thinking of the juvenile justice system began to change. In San Quentin Prison in the late-1800s, there was a rise in the number of students enrolled in the prison’s school (Justice, 2000). While this school was intended for the reform of juveniles, it did serve adults as well. This school illustrates that society in the late-1800s...
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...children and adults are different, and the rehabilitation process for them should be different as well. Until the late 19th century children and adults where tried alike in criminal courts. When a juvenile offender commits a crime it is the responsibility of the state to rehabilitate the juvenile offenders, as well as protect them. Youth crime rates have actually declined over the past twenty years, despite the public’s perception that it has increased. This has led to an overwhelming support that the juvenile court system be restructured to include tougher crime punishment, such as being able to try children as adults. This belief is that children are able to commit the same crimes as adults, and why should they be treated any different. Take for instance that if an adult commits a murder they will likely be in prison for the rest of their life, whereas a child or youth offender would likely be out by the time they are twenty one. Juvenile and criminal courts have many differences but the most outstanding is that juvenile courts tend to focus on the offender rather than the crime itself. Juvenile court is long believed to focus on the rehabilitation of the offender, as opposed to the focus of the crime as in criminal court. With rehabilitation in mind this gives the court much more leniency and flexibility, with options as far as punishment goes to the judge. The main concern in the public’s eye is the effectiveness of the juvenile court system. Many juvenile offenders go on to...
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...CheckPoint: Juvenile Court Process The first encounter a youth has with the juvenile justice system is usually his or her arrest by a law enforcement official. Other ways that youth enter the system include "referrals" by parents and schools, delinquency victims, and probation officers. A decision is usually made after arrest as to whether a youth should be detained and charged, released, or transferred into another youth welfare program. When a juvenile court case reaches the juvenile probation department, an intake officer will decide whether to dismiss it, handle it informally, or hear it formally. To make this decision the officer reviews the facts surrounding the case to decide if there is enough information to try the youth. If the court has received adequate evidence to hear the case, a decision will be made as to whether the juvenile case should be heard formally or informally. Approximately 50 percent of all juvenile justice cases are heard informally, and among these, most are dismissed. Cases receive an "informal disposition" by a judge when a youth admits guilt and agrees to settle the charges by meeting the requirements of the court, which are laid out in a "consent decree." Among these requirements may be: • Restitution - juvenile is required to reimburse the victim or pay a fine to the community for damages he has caused. • Mandatory curfew - juvenile is subject to a strict curfew. • School attendance - juvenile is required to attend school regularly. • Rehabilitation...
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...Chapter One – Introduction 1.1: Introduction 1.2: Origin of the study 1.3: Objectives of the study 1.4: Data collection process 1.5: Limitations 1.1: Introduction Juvenile Delinquency is a terrible problem in the unequal management system of society of the modern world. Juvenile Delinquency is increasing for the fast and speedy development of Industrialization and Urbanization. Industrialization and Urbanization make changes the Family structure which increases the propensity of Juvenile Delinquency. A large scale of people has been shifted to City town from rural area and keeps staying in the abdomen. This also increases Juvenile Delinquency. Now Juvenile Delinquency has emerged as a matter of concern in Bangladesh in recent times with the number of children and young people involved in "criminal activities" rising at an alarming rate. In most of the cases this is not a deliberate choice for the children. Numerous social factors coupled with poor parenting, family troubles and above all extreme poverty are pushing these children to this anti-social position. A child is born innocent and if nourished with tender care and attention, he or she will be blossom with faculties physical, mental, moral and spiritual into a person of stature and excellence. On the other hand, noxious surroundings, neglect of basic needs, bad company and other abuses and temptations would spoil the child and likely to turn him a delinquent. Therefore, expressing his concern for Child...
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...Name Teacher Juvenile Justice 113 I1 Date History of Juvenile Correction Philosophies and Facilities To talk of the history of juvenile correction philosophies and different juvenile correction facilities, one should understand a brief juvenile justice history to bring us to a point where a correction philosophy or correction facility would be needed. Dealing with juveniles in criminal matters can be traced back as far as the beginning of time. However, early Europe in the fifth century A.D. is where we will start. What is considered a juvenile??? At this time in history the age was fixed at seven for determining whether youths would be exempted from criminal responsibility. With the onset of puberty, at the age of twelve for girls and fourteen for boys, youths were held totally responsibility for their socially unacceptable behaviors. English juvenile justice had some 160 to 200 capital offenses statutes listed for which children could be executed. In London in 1785 eighteen of twenty juveniles were executed. Executions of juveniles continued into the 1800s. (Bartollas, Miller, 2014, p. 4) Here in the United States during the colonial period juvenile justice was shaped by the culture and religious ideas of the Puritans. The family was expected to control their children and when juveniles were caught breaking laws they were sent back to their families for punishment. Of course the older the child got the greater the chances the juveniles would be dealt with by colonial...
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...Margie P. Permenter CJ 606: The Transferring of Juvenile Offenders Commentary Three Dr. Yaschica Williams The most serious juvenile crimes have always been the political Achilles’ heel of the American juvenile court Fagan & Zimring (2000). Even when public opinion is tolerant of juvenile delinquency, the teen killer is the nightmare case for the juvenile justice system. In an age where the phrase juvenile super predator is often heard in the federal congress and state legislatures, the deep-end adolescent offender is a particular threat to public acceptance of the mission and objectives of juvenile justice. It is little wonder, then, that legislation concerning transfer is a near-universal feature of the politics of juvenile justice. The traditionally stated purpose of judicial wavier is to permit individualization of the decision whether a particular person is capable of being rehabilitated in the juvenile system-the amenability decision Fagan & Zimring (2000). In addition, the judicial wavier procedure provides a safety value for the juvenile system to exclude children who commit offenses that are believed to require the imposition of sanction that are beyond the capacity of the juvenile system to provide. Some form of judicial wavier or a substitute safety value is necessary in order to preserve the juvenile justice system politically within the context of modern penological expectations. It is difficult empirically to evaluate the contemporary role of judicial...
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...was lured in the woods by Alyssa. According to her diaries, Alyssa enjoyed the act of hurting someone other than herself. Alyssa wanted attention and enjoyed expressing herself on Social Media. She would often post statements about hurting people and hurting herself. Alyssa is a product of the Foster care system. She was born by way of a teenage mother and no father who was able to care for her. We do not know what happened but by the time she reached the home of the guardians who cared for her, she was probably psychology distraught. The picture of her holding two fingers to her head with smeared lipstick was most likely a cry for help instead of in the minds of her peers, Goth. Alyssa was tried as an adult which caused her to become distraught. Alyssa can’t comprehend adult things because she probably stopped maturing in her mind the day she realized someone hurt her...
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