...Minors and Violent Crimes ENG 215 August 27, 2014 Minors and Violent Crimes Juvenile crime has been a national crisis for quite some time. Research from 2010 showed that there were approximately 225 arrests for violent crime offences for every 100,000 youth between the ages of 10 and 17. The violent crimes committed by juveniles has been reported to be at its highest during the after school hours. Research has also shown that approximately 8% of all homicides in the U.S. were committed by juvenile offenders (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention). These alarming statistics prove that minors should be held accountable and be tried as adults in the judicial system. Some may argue that minors have a better chance of being rehabilitated but at the same time minors could become “career criminals”. Steinberg (2001) remarks with the following: Variability among individuals older than 12, but younger than 16, requires that some sort of individualized assessment of an offender's competence to stand trial, blameworthiness, and likely amenability to treatment be made before reaching a transfer decision. The U.S. judicial system should treat minors who commit violent crimes as adults to enforce accountability, to prevent repeat offenders, and to deter others. Factoring Accountability Holding teens accountable for the violent crimes they commit by punishing them as an adult is a social complexity but it is incumbent. Some may view a minor being tried...
Words: 2190 - Pages: 9
...now involving minors and them being tried as adults. The reason behind my choice involves the number of increased crimes that have been committed by minors. There are many opinions about this very topic both for and against minors being tried as adults. Many on the opposing side of this argument feel as if sentencing in adult courts would be Cruel and Unusual punishment for a minor, which in turn is a violation their eighth amendment right. Recent trends in the increase of rape, murder, gang related crimes, and armed robbery have shown that a significant portion of the people involved are between the ages of 12 and 17. Most of the people in this age group have been repeat offenders calling into question are juvenile court and the punishments having an effect? The answer to this is simple… No. Examining both sides of the argument as well as data will not only show this but also enlighten many...
Words: 743 - Pages: 3
...Minors Tried as Adults Toni Lowery Strayer University ENG 215 February 1, 2015 Minors Tried as Adults The topic chosen for further research is should the minors who commit crime be tried as adults? The topic is interesting and current, and affect our society every day. A fourteen years old commits a crime, depending on the seriousness of the offence, that child should be tried as an adult. People need to be responsible for their actions. Youths who commit crimes is grown enough to do the crime, so they are grown enough to take the responsibility for their actions. It is unfair, not only to adults, but also to society, to be punished for having minors commit crimes and get away with it. If child want to start acting like adults, they should be treated as one. This paper will discuss the fact that minors who commit crimes should be punished the same way as adults. We see on the news how often minors who have committed horrible crimes are given leniency because of their age. The action of the minors today will affect our future, and if our society, schools, courts, justice system allow anyone, no matter of the age to get away with criminal activity, then the same crimes will be repeated over and over again. There are different crimes, a different people and different intention for committing crimes. Minors needed to be protected by laws, changes, and sentenced accordingly, but, also they need to be punished by the same reasons. Before...
Words: 1621 - Pages: 7
...causing kids to have to go to more extremes to be deviant and thus resulting in more severe reactions to this behavior. The cause of juvenile violence is frequently related to one of two things; the child was exposed to violence when they were young or they are trying to fit into a deviant crowd. In 2008 approximately 10% of the children under 18 had been injured in an assault, 46% had been assaulted and 60% had been exposed to violence and/or crime. (Crime Solutions) Children who have been exposed to violence when they were young are more likely to commit crime when they are older. Children who were younger than 12 when they were exposed to the violence or crime are the most likely to commit crimes later in life. (United States Department of Justice) Children who face violence at home are also more likely to become a runaway, which makes it much easier to run into the wrong crowd. There is an increasing amount of children in abusive homes who end up trying to become vigilantes towards the abuser in order to make the abuse stop. A majority of female offenders had been either physically or sexually abused during their childhood. The second main cause of childhood crimes is the group in which the kid is trying to fit into. Kids in rougher neighborhoods may join gangs for protection and thus are exposed to crime and required to prove that they are worthy of the gang’s help. In 2011 an estimated 48% of violent...
Words: 2541 - Pages: 11
...Taiz Ramirez Period 2 4-22-13 Background California along with some other states have ruled that teens over the age of fourteen (14) can be tried as adults for murder or other crimes. On March 7, 2000 proposition 21 was passed with 62 percent of the vote. California proposition states that teens from the age of 14 to 17 years old can be tried as adults and be sent to adult prison. Before proposition was passed minors from the age 14 to 17 could not be tried as adults and could only be held up to the age of 25 years old. This proposition has been used many times to convict teenagers for murders and other crimes as adults. Many people are trying to challenge proposition 21 saying that it violates juvenile due process of law that they would get in a juvenile court of law. There are not offered a chance to rehabilitate, and many people claim they are still minors and do not understand, or are immature and don’t understand their actions. Here is an example from proposition 21. “Under Proposition 21, prosecutors have the right to automatically file charges in adult criminal court in certain cases involving juvenile offenders.133 this means the juveniles are sent to adult court without a fitness hearing. Youths charge that “automatic adulthood” denies them the procedural safeguards required by Kent and constitutes arbitrary legislative classification that violates equal protection. They claim charging decisions that remove them from juvenile court without judicial hearing...
Words: 484 - Pages: 2
...criminals are juveniles who are committing adult crimes. When being tried in the juvenile court system, they are receiving shortened sentences, and they are being released and given new identities to continue to go about their lives but the victims and their families of the crime are left to suffer without having justice served. By changing the way the court system sees juveniles, the United States can change their motives and approach to society. Minors should be tried as adults because everyone has control over their actions unless diagnosed with a mental disability, victims will not receive full justice, and lastly the young adults might not learn from their mistakes. When it comes to trying teens as adults, many say trying them as adults is to cruel and harsh of a punishment but instead to try them as juveniles instead, others say they must be tried as adults after committing an adult crimes. Younger induviduals should be held accountable for their actions and tried as adults. Children almost always know right from wrong even starting at young age. These young adults are usually always taught to talk or consult with...
Words: 808 - Pages: 4
...would imagine it to be a very difficult situation, especially if the person is under 18. But I also believe that the punishment should fit the crime. The Supreme Court ruled that it violates the 8th amendment for a minor to go to prison for life without the chance for parole. I agree with the Supreme Court’s decision because there are many extenuating circumstances that need to be taken into account, no matter if you are dealing with a minor or an adult. First and foremost murder is murder no matter who commits it, but when you are young and you commit such a heinous crime, I believe that you are mentally unstable. I think that these people should be helped psychologically. This does not mean that they shouldn’t go to prison and that they just get a pat on the back and a referral to a psychologist, this means that they should get a chance for parole if they mature and get mentally stable. The character of a juvenile is not as well formed as that of an adult so that person should get a chance to prove that he or she deserves a second chance. Secondly, juveniles are very easily influenced by peer pressure. They are forced into situations in which they don’t really know what to do, which could force them to act out and do something horrible. Teens today are all trying to fit in. If it means committing a crime to earn respect, many teens in rough neighborhoods would take this chance. When we lock them up, we put them into more difficult environments which in turn may make them...
Words: 676 - Pages: 3
... First, crime is contagious because minors have lesser punishment, we need longer and harder punishment for any crime committed. Second, Crime is contagious because we don't rehabilitate after the punishment. Lastly, Crime is contagious because the job maket sphas made a tremendous high. What is missing? Crime is contagious because minors have a lesser punishment,cs we need longer and harder punishment. Minors have to realize and be shown that no matter how old you are, crime will not be tolerated. The parents of the minors should receive punishment also because they will be more willing to work with their children. Minors play a big part in the future of our communities, which means we can not afford to play with them. Adults will try to use minors to do their crimes because minors get a lesser charge. These s-vis why I feel that Harder and longer punishment should be obtained regardless. Minors have to be shown that any misbehavior will have the same consequences as if they were adults. What is missing? Second, Crime is contagious because we do not rehabilitate after the punishment. After the crime has been comitted and the punshment sphas been served, we still should not be finished with them. This is a time when rehabilation should be done. rehablation spdoes not have to be on a daily basis but, it should be done every few weeks until the person s-vget back on the right track. Getting back on the right track for minors means, going back to school and making...
Words: 442 - Pages: 2
...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)...
Words: 3034 - Pages: 13
...A study at the University of Rochester Medical Center proved that until the age of 25, the rational part of a teen’s brain isn’t fully developed. Thought processes still have to develop “adults think with the prefrontal cortex, the brains rational part”, but “teens process information with the amygdala, the emotional part” (Sather, Rita, and Amit Shelat, editors). The areas of the brain that control reasoning and risk-taking are less developed in teens, contributing to poor impulse control. Children aren’t old enough to rationalize their decisions, and may not understand the consequences for their actions. (Beauchamp) They may have been surrounded by bad influences, or had a bad childhood, and now must pay the price of their surroundings. “I am a product of my environment, I didn’t choose this life, it chose me” (Allen 9). These children, teens, and juveniles did not have the strength to say no. Fourteen year-old Stacey T. questioned...
Words: 1072 - Pages: 5
...The Age and Time for the Crime in Juvenile Justice Natasha Yancey Strayer University March 16, 2014 The Age and Time for the Crime The adult criminal system is designed for the prosecution of adults not children. Both state and federal legislative have responded to juvenile crime by focusing on sending more and younger children to adult criminal court. How and where do we draw the line between adults and children? Where do we draw the line between justice and malice? Juveniles that commit crimes should be punished for the crimes that they commit, but they should not be tried as an adult. This paper will offer information on why there needs to be changes in the juvenile justice system, and it will analyze why the increased prosecution of juveniles in adult court is disastrous and nothing but a threatening policy. This policy is unjust, harmful to children and does nothing to increase public safety; consequently punishing adolescents as adults does more harm than good. Thomas J Bernard a professor of criminal justice and sociology at Pennsylvania State University explained how psychologists and sociologists saw young offenders. Bernard’s (2010) book The Cycle of Juvenile Justice recognized that minors are children and not adults. (p. 45) Bernard (2010) further explains that during the 18th century children were tried as adults. Juveniles as young as the age of seven could be tried and sentenced in criminal courts. (Bernard 2010) His research expounds on the Society for...
Words: 3422 - Pages: 14
...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...
Words: 1146 - Pages: 5
...Juveniles convicted as adults: Unconstitutional How does placing a child in an adult prison, where they risk sexual abuse that eventually leads to suicide, teach them a lesson? Juveniles, who commit serious crimes, are usually seen as convicts or criminals who should pay the price of what they committed even if that means sentenced as an adult and occasionally with no parole. Some of these juveniles who are being tried as adults suffered from psychological traumas caused at home by their parents or own family members. People need to know what can be done to prevent these crimes. Placing a juvenile in an adult trial is unconstitutional and is abusing their rights. Many of the juveniles prosecuted as adults are placed in adult jails pretrial, where they are at risk of harm, abuse and suicide. People need to understand the importance and dangers of incarcerating a child in an adult correctional facility. The administration of justice should implement meaningful juvenile justice reforms such as, rehabilitation centers, counseling, and they should correspondingly perform psychological test before being prosecuted in an adult trial so the U.S can uphold the dignity and human rights of our children and ensure that no child in our nation is considered a throwaway person. Juvenile crime rates soared in the mid- 1990s, and that is why every state initiated strict laws against juveniles and began incarcerating minors as adults. That high rates of juvenile delinquency dropped quickly...
Words: 2520 - Pages: 11
...when he states “[s]tudents are more concerned about their parents being notified than they are of the legal consequences,” which is true because parents are more terrifying than any form of law enforcement (qtd. in Johnson). Regardless of how minor a situation is parents should be notified if their child is in any situation pertaining to alcohol. It is better for parents to know and be upset for a little while with their child than it is for the parents to not know and possibly not even have a child to be upset with because their child could be taken away from them. It is always best to expect the unexpected in any case regardless of the teenager trying to gain independence. The director of student conduct at the University of Maryland, John Zacker, said it best when he stated that “[t]here is no magical line here between May of their senior year of high school and college. When do they become a responsible adult?” because there is no true mark when a teenager is now considered an adult, how do you expect to gain independence and be treated as an adult when you are acting like a irresponsible child (qtd. in Johnson). Students are still considered students when they are in college but they expected to be treated and considered an adult...
Words: 1005 - Pages: 5
...Allen CJS200 June 9, 2013 Charles Musselwhite Abstract Juvenile crime is a crime committed by minors (juveniles) younger than the statutory adult age. In most of the legal systems there are specific procedures followed when dealing with minor offenders, such as juvenile detention centers, boot camps, etc. This paper will attempt to create a better understanding of the offenses, the causes, and the procedures to deal with the criminal behavior of juveniles. In addition this paper will project ideas to reduce the criminal behavior of these minor’s through intervention and preventative measures. Juvenile Crime Each state has its own trenchant juvenile justice system with its own practices and laws. There are however broad underlying opinion that separates the juvenile justice system from the criminal justice system. The fundamental rationalization of the juvenile court system is that youth are developmentally different from adults and that they are susceptible of being lead or directed. Because of this pliant behavior the justice system feels that rehabilitation and treatment, with the addition of community protection are very feasible goals. In the adult court the defendant is provided greater Constitutional rights than are available in the juvenile court. An example of this is the criminal defendant has a right to a trial by a judge or a jury of their peers. A minor does not have that right; their fate is decided by a juvenile court judge as to their guilt and what...
Words: 1131 - Pages: 5
