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Crime among youth introduction
Crime among youth
Crime among youth
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Juvenile delinquents should be tried as adults for their heinous crimes. For a variety of reasons. First, children through the ages of 12–17 are entirely capable of understanding the acts of crime they commit and are fully aware of what they are seeking. Furthermore, these delinquents, if not tried as adults, may be let go and set free to pursue more crimes if not helped in the proper ways. In addition, these young criminals have not fully developed their moral capacities, in which causes these criminals to grow up with the morals they began with, which may only be fixed through putting time and kept in cells, away from innocent civilians. Although, there have been rare occasions in which the defendant is sent to rehabilitation centers to improve these behaviors, however, further research is needed to put this counterclaim to rest. Therefore, there is no room for young criminals to roam the safe homes of people with their horrible acts of crime, and so they must be tried as adults and take full responsibility of their actions.
Juvenile justice is a case that is being fought frequently in court due to juveniles being tried as an adult. In the case of Chancy Luna, Edwards James, and Michael Jones, three teens ruthlessly killed Australian Baseball player, Christopher Lane, by shooting him in the back with a .22 revolver. These three teens have no rights in the court of law. Crimes like as heinous as these are the kind that should not be given any mercy when sentencing them to life in prison. New York Daily News article stated, “In the days after the slaying, Duncan Police Chief Dan Ford said the older boy told investigators that the three were "bored" and decided to kill someone for the "fun of it."” Evidence reveal that these thre...
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...ted by a problem they have which also has to do with the parents big time, because, it is their job to make sure their son or daughter is always feeling comfortable with their environment. It really falls back on the parents when their child does something so heinous, but no matter what the crime is committed and should always be set in stone that no teen can get away with committing a murder.
In conclusion, blameworthy teenagers should be fully responsible of their actions and be tried as adults. This will serve our country and others for the better and avoid future acts of crime from these delinquents. There have been various occasions in which young adolescents commit adult crimes and have been let off, it is time that they begin being tried as adults and given the requisite sentences. No teen should be let off to have another chance at committing another crime.
Most people don 't look at every aspect of a crime. They don 't think about everyone that was affected, other than the victim. In her article "On Punishment and Teen Killers", Jennifer Jenkins explains how her younger sister was taken from her by a murderer who shot and killed her. In her article she states, "So few who work on the juvenile offender side can truly understand what the victims of their crimes sometimes go through. Some never recover." Jenkins is explaining her personal experience of losing her younger sister to help others understand what the families of the victim have to deal with for the rest of their lives. She brings a point of view that most people have never been in because they 've never experienced what it 's like to have a loved one taken away from you by murder. In her story she also states, "If brain development were the reason, then teens would kill at roughly the same rates all over the world." Many people believe that the supreme court needs to be more lenient on juveniles because their brain is not fully developed as that of an adult, but brain development cannot be used as an excuse because as Jenkins explains, the teens would be killing at the same rate all over the world. Jenkins also brings up a good point about how the US as a whole needs to step up to prevent these crimes from happening. Jenkins states, "We in America have to own to this particular problem, with weapons so easily available to our youth, and the violence-loving culture we raise them. She is trying to bring awareness to society that America is also at fault for these crimes. Furthermore, she also explains why life sentencing is not as cruel as some may feel it is when she says, "… a life sentencing still allows a great deal of good living to be done, even from behind bars, far more than these teen killers gave to our murdered love
Today, the court system in this country is divided into two groups when comparing juveniles and adults. One is the Adult Criminal Justice System, and the other is the Juvenile Justice System. The terminology can be very different between the two systems. For instance; if an adult is arrested, they will be subject to a bail hearing. If a juvenile is arrested they must go through a detention hearing. Adults have trials which can be decided by a judge or jury. Juveniles go through a fact finding hearing and don’t receive verdicts because they are adjudicated. “They are not found guilty, but delinquent or involved” (Komiscruk). Another difference between the two is that juvenile court rooms are usually closed to the public, which includes the media. Their records are often confidential, protecting children from carrying the burdens of their delinquent activity into adulthood. Also, their records are supposed to be sealed. But what happens when a juvenile’s criminal case is transferred to an adult court? Are the guidelines or rules different from any other adult offender? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the sentencing guidelines?
In the last 42 years little to no changes have been made to correct the standards that govern punitive measures towards juvenile delinquency. Today juvenile law is governed by state and many states have enacted a juvenile code. However, in numerous cases, juveniles are transferred to adult court when juvenile courts waive or relinquish jurisdiction. Adolescents should not be tried in the adult court system or sentenced to adult penitentiary's on account of: teen brains are not mature which causes a lack of understanding towards the system, incarceration in an adult facility increases juvenile crime, and children that are sentenced to adult prison are vulnerable to abuse and rape.
There has always been controversies as to whether juvenile criminals should be tried as adults or not. Over the years more and more teenagers have been involved in committing crimes. In some cases the juries have been too rough on the teens. Trying teens as adults can have a both positive and negative views. For example, teens that are detained can provide information about other crimes, can have an impact in social conditions, and serve as experience; however, it can be negative because teens are still not mature enough for that experience, they are exposed to adult criminals; and they will lose out on getting an education.
Juveniles are more than just kids. They are capable of doing anything an adult is capable of doing. One has probably heard the saying, “If you want to be treated like an adult, then act like an adult.” If they’re going to do crimes that “only” adults are capable of doing, then they should treated like an adult and be tried and sentenced like one. Imagine being close to a murder victim, wouldn’t you want them to feel hell? “How would you feel if you never got to see your child alive again while their killer served only a short sentence before being released from jail?” (hchs1259). This quote hits hard. One can only imagine being in the position of a parent whose child was murdered.
Much controversy exists on the question of whether a juvenile criminal should be punished to the same extent as an adult. Those who commit capitol crimes, including adolescents, should be penalized according to the law. Age should not be a factor in the case of serious crimes. Many people claim that the child did not know any better, or that he was brought up with the conception that this behavior is acceptable. Although there is some truth to these allegations, the reality of this social issue is far more complex. Therefore we ask the question, "Should childhood offenders of capitols crimes be treated as adults?"
As minors commit violent crimes without being held accountable, they can grow up to be real criminals and they can be very dangerous. Without a solid foundation of what is right and wrong, these minors will grow up believing that their actions are the norm. For this reason, minors need to be held accountable. They need to be taught that they cannot get away with their crimes. In 2007, courts with juvenile jurisdiction handled an estimated 1.7 million delinquency cases. Delinquency cases include vandalism, shoplifting, robbery, and murder. These are just some of the crimes minors can commit. This was up by forty-four percent from 1985. If a minor grows up believing that crime is acceptable, they will repeat the pattern. Without interrupting the pattern and making them accountable, these minors will always have a twisted sense of right and wrong. A sense of what is right and wrong is important and can be learned at any age. Minors learn very young, what...
The dilemma of juvenile incarceration is a problem that thankfully has been declining, but still continues to be an ethical issue. The de-incarceration trend has coincided with a decrease in crime. It is hopeful that our nation is changing the approach to the treatment of juveniles in the criminal justice system. It means we know what to do and what is working, now just to follow through and continue the change to creating a juvenile justice system that is truly rehabilitative and gives youth tools to be able to be positive members of
Today?s court system is left with many difficult decisions. One of the most controversial being whether to try juveniles as adults or not. With the number of children in adult prisons and jails rising rapidly, questions are being asked as to why children have been committing such heinous crimes and how will they be stopped. The fact of the matter is that it is not always the children's fault for their poor choices and actions; they are merely a victim of their environment or their parents. Another question asked is how young is too young. Children who are too young to see an R rated film unaccompanied are being sent to adult prisons. The only boundaries that seem to matter when it comes to being an adult are laws that restrain kids from things such as alcohol, pornography, and other materials seen as unethical. Children that are sent to adult prison are going to be subjected to even more unprincipled ideas and scenes. When children can be sent to jail for something as minor as a smash and grab burglary, the judicial system has errors. The laws that send juveniles to adult prisons are inhumane, immoral, and unjust. Kids are often incompetent, which leads to unfair trials. Adult prisons are also very dangerous for minors, and in many cases this leads to more juvenile crimes.
The United States has been affected by a number of crimes committed by juveniles. The juvenile crime rate has been increasing in recent years. Everyday more juveniles commit crimes for various reasons. They act as adults when they are not officially adults. There is a discussion about how juveniles should be punished if they commit heinous crimes. While many argue that juveniles who commit serious crimes, such as murder, should be treated as adults, the fact is, juveniles under the age of eighteen, are not adults, and should not be treated as such.
Ever since the first juvenile court was established in the United States on 1899; there has been a complete struggle on debating how to manage juvenile delinquents and how to prosecute them? Bill Stamps a probation officer for the Los Angeles County describes how a juvenile murdered his victim and how the court condemned him during his trial, he states “The victim was set on fire and burned alive. What this young man did was barbaric, but he was not a ‘true’ criminal.”(Stamps 1) In other words, Stamps explains how the juvenile system did not rule the offender as a criminal, but instead as an ignorant juvenile. Despite, the horrific way the adolescent murdered his victim, the teenager was penalized to a juvenile treatment program. This case was one of the many in which illustrated how a juvenile court symp...
In a world where crime occurs every second of the day on every street, the effort to prevent our youth from witnessing such things has grown nearly impossible. The duty those who are older than juveniles have is to place them in a positive place to grow, away from violence. Since the youth may not recognize right from wrong, someone must do so for them. The juvenile is looked at by the Judicial System almost as the child of the state. By this the state has the best interest for the child and will act in whatever manner necessary to accomplish this. Although the State does understand that juveniles should be treated as if they are less to blame for a crime than an adult, there have been many counts of juvenile cases that raise questions about current laws. When a juvenile commits a crime that would normally see an adult face serious time in prison, the sentencing process falls nowhere in the same category. This is because of the certain rules and regulations for courts in the Juvenile System that limit the juvenile sentencing drastically. Just for the reasoning that a juvenile is a growing human being with an undeveloped brain, does not condone a juvenile to commit gruesome crimes that will conclude in no way near the punishment deserved.
The first article; “Adult Crime; Adult Time.” by Linda J. Collier is about how the juvenile delinquents of the world should be thrown right in with the hardened criminals. She talks about the Jonesboro, Arkansas incident in which 11-year-old Andrew Golden and 13-year-old Mitchell Johnson, slaughtered their classmates as they ran from the school building. They pulled the fire alarm and began their assault with a barrage of bullets. In this particular situation, “they are still regarded by the law as children first and criminals second.”(Pg. 620). This has not been the first time that young children have committed such crimes, but the average of violence committed by children has risen by 60% since 1984. She claims that because of these statistics, we need to update the juvenile justice system. “In recent years many states have enacted changes in their juvenile crime laws and some have lowered the age at which a juvenile can be tried as an adult for certain violent crimes.” (Pg. 620) According to this author, she feels that it is a start in the right direction. She claims that she has represented children as a court appointed guardian and is humbled trying to help children out of their difficulties which often due to circumstances beyond their control. Still, for violent crimes, she feels that “children who knowingly engage in adult conduct and crimes should automatically be subject to adult rules and adult prison time.”
Juvenile delinquency is one of the major social issues in the United States today. Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is when “a violation of the law committed by a juvenile and not punishable by death or life imprisonment” (Merriam-webster.com). Although we have one justice system in America, the juvenile system differs from the adult juvenile system. Most juvenile delinquents range from as low as the age of seven to the age of seventeen. Once the delinquent or anyone turns the age of eighteen, they are considered an adult. Therefore, they are tried as an adult, in the justice system. There are many different reasons why a child would commit crime, such as mental and physical factors, home conditions, neighborhood environment and school conditions. In addition, there are a variety of effects that juvenile justice systems can either bad effects or good effects. Finally there are many different solutions that can reduce juvenile delinquency. As a result, juvenile delinquency is a major issue and the likeliness of it can be reduced. In order to reduce juvenile delinquency there has to be an understanding of the causes and the effects.
In today’s generation there are many children and teens that commit crimes to satisfy their self being. Every day we see in the news about the reasons why children or teens commit crimes like murder or homicide. Sentencing juveniles to life in prison is not a right response to prevent homicide and serious murder, because their brains are not fully develop and the bad environment they live in. Teenagers or children need to be remain unformed of preventing crimes in today’s society. With this said, juvenile’s mental brains, backgrounds and growth are the reasons why they are not proficient to maintain themselves in a prison cell.