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Juvenile courts and corrections
Juvenile justice system research paper
Criminal juvenile justice system
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As human being we all do things that can lead us to great consequences. Our media has created a big picture of criminals, as a big horrible factor that would lead to destruction. The media have come to a conclusion, that just because we do things that are against the law, we are the bad people and need to lock away. Many people have discussed this very important topic, but I certainly believe Juvenile offenders should not be tried as an adult. First, according to Mental Health Daily, the brain is only roughly halfway through the entire stage of development at the age of 18. The prefrontal cortex doesn’t have nearly the functional capacity at age 18 as it does at 25. State by the Ethic book, Neuroscientist found that “moral grammar” exists around universal sense of right of wrong. Teen’s lack the part of the brain that helps with reasoning and judgment and do not have a fully developed cerebellum, which control impulses. This can separate teens from adults. Teenagers cannot possibly be expected to endure the same consequence as fully matured adults. The second reason why is that a child can and may, has or be born with a mental disorder. Mental health disorders are more complicated and difficult to treat in young people than adults. In an article, Susan Schofield’s young daughter who is diagnosed …show more content…
with schizophrenia told her parents that the “RATS” told her to kill her baby brother. Of course, at such a young age her brain is not fully develop and so she knows no sense of right or wrong. The third point is, many kids are being abuse or live in a violent environment.
Education is a major role; with student able to attend class and gain an education there will be fewer crimes. Everybody deserves a second chance. Research shows that the kids who ended up incarcerated were 13 percentage points less likely to graduate high school and 22 percentage points more likely to end up back in prison as adults, stated on Washingtonpost.com. The Supreme Court wrote that, because of "children's diminished culpability and heightened capacity for change, we think appropriate occasions for sentencing juveniles to this harshest possible penalty will be
uncommon."(eji.org) In conclusion, teenagers should be given a second chance. It is scientifically and with facts that juveniles brains are not fully developed to its potential. Children who conduct horrible crimes should be sentence more severely but, only when the child is old and has a sense of right and wrong. As for now, they do not have the ability to fully understand the consequence of their wrong doing and bad actions.
Many people say that the systems first priority should be to protect the public from the juvenile criminals that are a danger to others. Once the juveniles enter the system there is however, arguments on what should be done with them. Especially for those deemed too dangerous to be released back to their parents. Some want them locked away for as long as possible without rehabilitation, thinking that it will halt their criminal actions. One way to do this they argue would be to send them into an adult court. This has been a large way to reform the juvenile system, by lowering the age limits. I believe in certain cases this is the best method for unforgiving juveniles convicted of murder, as in the case of Ronald Duncan, who got away with a much lesser sentence due to his age. However another juvenile, Geri Vance, was old enough to be sent into the adult court, which caused him t...
Many people assume that teenagers should not be sentenced as adults, because their brain is not fully developed. On the other hand, people believe if teenagers commit crimes then they need to have consequences for their actions. According to the Campaign for Youth Justices, about 250,000 teenagers are tried, sentenced, or incarcerated as adults every year in the United States (Campaign for Youth Justices 3). Therefore, charging teenagers as adults is fair, because they are human beings just like adults.
Based on my recent study of the adolescent brain and cognitive development, I don't think anyone under the age of 24 should be trialed as an adult. Even though 18 is the age when teens become adults and get jobs, our brain is so vulnerable as teens. The pressure added on by society telling 18 year olds to suddenly grow up and be an adult is overwhelming. With that stress of growing up is also stress to make the right decisions and meet expectations of others. During teenage years the adolescent brain is at it’s most crucial stage in development. Being trialed during this developmental stage hinders proper development. After viewing the case studies on the 5 teens from colorado I concluded that most trials take weeks and months at a time. During
"Don't do the crime, if you can't do the time." -- David Grusin and Morgan Ames
Juveniles who commit crimes shouldn’t be tried as adults because they can get raped by their prison inmates, some juveniles are mentally ill and need to be treated, and they deserve a second chance. It is important that these people who commit crimes be tries as teenagers.
"The teenage brain is like a car with a good accelerator but a weak brake. With powerful impulses under poor control, the likely result is a crash.” (Ritter). An adolescent does not have complete power over their impulses, unlike fully developed adults. “The frontal lobe includes the prefrontal cortex, which controls executive functions like planning, decision-making, the expression of emotion, and impulse control. The prefrontal cortex may not be completely developed until a person is in his or her mid-twenties. This explains why adolescents have less impulse control than adults, are less able to think through the long-term consequences of their decisions, and are more susceptible to peer pressure. Does it make sense, then, to punish a youth in the same way we punish adults?” (Harris). The brain w...
Different articles state different facts on why juveniles should stay in prison and others disagree because they feel that if they get released and put into rehabilitation, their lives will better for the future. For people that have never been to prison, it is hard in their perspective to understand how one suffers being locked up with no freedom and without having as many rights as any other man or woman have. If people had the chance to talk to former delinquents that now live a good lifestyle, there would be a chance that non-criminals would understand that people can change when they come out of prison. The juvenile justice system should put a satisfying sentence for juveniles and should keep punishing other delinquents in a matter that is not cruel and would be fair enough until they feel like they have learned their
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.
Juvenile offenders should not be tried as adults because there are differences between a teenager and adult. A teenager is not mature as an adult. Some teenagers are capable to change their behavior and are capable to recognize their own mistakes. It is a huge mistake for juveniles offenders to be tried as adults and send them to adult court and prison . There are many factors why they should not be tried as adult.
Approximately 107,000 youth younger than 18 is incarcerated on any given day “Juveniles in Adult Prisons and Jails”. There are so many arguments about if juveniles should be tried as adults. In my opinion, I don’t believe they should, mostly because the juvenile mind isn’t fully developed. In every state there are different rules and requirements for the juvenile to be tried as an adult. Instead of putting these Juveniles in prisons and jails there are different facilities these juveniles can be housed in. Inside prison the juveniles are isolated from everything and it affects them harshly. Juveniles shouldn’t be punished by being put into prisons or jails, there are so many other options to choose that aren’t as harsh.
In our State of California you legally become an adult at the age of 18, which means you are in control of your life and directly responsible for your actions. A youth 14 years and older can be tried as an adult for crimes that include murder, robbery with a weapon, and rape. Most juveniles that are tried as adults are done so without in-depth consideration of whether they truly understood the magnitude of their actions. There are a few key components that should factor into an in-depth behavior analysis before trying any youth as an adult. These factors are competency, brain development and contributing factors to delinquency. If the criminal behavior can be addressed and changed to begin with, juveniles
A massive loss of brain tissue that occurs in teenage year, it is like a fire burning in the forest. Even though most adolescents come through this transitional age well, it’s important to understand the risk factors for behavior that can have serious consequences. This idea is further explained by Greg Krikorian, the author of an article called “Many Kids Called Unfit for Adult Trial”, he stated, “Children age eleven to thirteen were more than three times as likely to be found seriously impaired in understanding the judicial process and aiding their own defense.” (Krikorian). Age and intelligence are the most important factor in determining youth’s ability to comprehend. Many juveniles were tried as adults when they should not have because of their inability to understand the proceeding; it is a disadvantage and unfair trial from them. It is proven that even when teenagers understand the consequences and proceedings, it is doubtful about their capability to make rightful choices. In the article “Juvenile Offenders Should Not Be Treated as Adults”, McCormick stated, “Juveniles lack the cognitive and emotional maturity of adults, are less able to think rationally or clearly when faced with emotionally charged decisions and should be held less culpable for their choices.”(McCormick). Juveniles under the age of 15 obtain a higher chance of confessing when they are accused of a crime. It is challenging for them to remember or describe an event that occur recently which decreases the chance for authority to assist them and disprove their accusation of a crime. Consequently, I am anticipating lawmakers across the world will carefully determine again the fairness of the juvenile justice system. Lack of brain development is major evidence that teenagers are not adults and the system should not punish juveniles the same as
Juveniles who commit violent crimes know exactly what they are doing, and they also had the intent to kill. Families want to blame it on violent movies or violent TV shows, but violent acts are all around us, and we are taught right from wrong at a young age. Perhaps if we start trying juveniles as adults, minors would then think twice about committing crimes in the first place. Even though many states allow juveniles to be tried as adults, other countries still have restrictions against it. Juveniles that commit heinous and malicious crimes should be tried as adults, as long as they have the understanding of what is right and wrong (Juvenile Justice 2008). If a juvenile wants to commit an adult crime, they should have to pay adult time. Many minors feel that they can commit these adult crimes because they feel that they will only be charged with a juvenile
The newspaper “ Washington Post” did some further research on this topic and they stated that” Not only does throwing a kid in detention often reduce the chance that he or she will graduate high school, but it also raises the chance that the youth will commit more crimes later on in life.” There are many success stories out there today about people breaking the law as a child and ending up as someone that is helping society. There will always be criminals in this world and some of them start out earlier, don’t send someone to prison because you assume they are going to end up as a criminal. Every child deserves a chance in life and sending them to prison is not the way to do
Children under eighteen deserve more rights when being charged as adults in certain circumstances. Juveniles have the right to be treated as children and should have the right to their own, juvenile detonation center. In today’s society children think because there underage they are invincible to our court system. Children do not have the brain capacity to make good decisions but as children get older they should be held for more responsibility in their actions making them less immune to punishment. Although children today have less chance of going to prison in certain circumstances there is no lenience for serious actions.