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To what extent should juveniles be punished as adults
Civil and criminal justice system
To what extent should juveniles be punished as adults
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In the article, “kids are kids-until they commit crimes” is about how kids are considered kids until they commit a crime. In other words, people say that kids are not kids because they commit crimes. That is why a lawmaker, Ron Wilson, had had enough with those statements. Wilson said if kids were being trialed as adults then so be it. But you have to lower the age of voting to 14. And really in light of things, how crazy would that be. The group of 18 and under, is what people usually write off as “only kids.” It is the reason why they can't drink or smoke. Why? Because they are only kids. It's like saying, ok, if you want to trial kids as adults, then let them smoke and drink and drive and all the things an adult is able to do. I
Also, in Marjie Lundstrom’s brief article entitled, Kids Are Kids-Until They Commit Crimes, she centers on the case of twelve year old Lionel Tate and his punishment for committing murder. For instance, Lundstrom states how Tate at the age of twelve savagely beat to death a young girl while he was trying to mimic one of his ‘World Wrestling Heroes” which he saw on television and at the age of fourteen became convicted as an adult of first degree murder (Lundstrom). At the time he was only twelve when he committed the crime and still to this day is getting punished for a heinous crime he committed at such a young age. Although Tate did commit a cruel crime and should receive some sort of punishment for it, the fact that he is under age should
Many theories, at both the macro and micro level, have been proposed to explain juvenile crime. Some prominent theories include Social Disorganization theory, Differential Social Organization theory, Social Control theory, and Differential Association theory. When determining which theories are more valid, the question must be explored whether people deviate because of what they learn or from how they are controlled? Mercer L. Sullivan’s book, “Getting Paid” Youth Crime and Work in the Inner City clearly suggests that the learning theories both at the macro level, Differential social organization, and micro level, Differential association theory, are the more accurate of the two types of theory.
It is expected that at a young age, children are taught the difference between what is right and what is wrong in all types of situations. The majority of Supreme Court Justices abolished mandatory life in prison for juveniles that commit heinous crimes, argued this with the consideration of age immaturity, impetuosity, and also negative family and home environments. These violent crimes can be defined as murder, rape, armed robbery, aggravated assault and the like depending on state law. With these monstrous acts in mind the supreme court justices argument could be proven otherwise through capability and accountability, the underdevelopment of the teenage brain and the severity of the crime. Juveniles commit heinous crimes just like adults
... They are mature enough to understand the problems with the law, but that maturity also lets them realize that their freedom is restrained and that they have no power to change these laws.
On the other hand, adults aged 18 have their own rights to make a decision to whether consume alcohol or not. For example, once children turn 18 years old, they are mature enough to make their own decisions. Cloud states, “After all, in almost every other legal and cultural respect, you’re an adult at 18. You can vote, adopt children, sign up for Iraq or become a commercial pilot at 18. Treating alcohol differently helps turns it into a holy grail of adulthood.” (Cloud). Although, in the United States, 18 years o...
Bob Marley once said, “Herb is the healing of a nation, alcohol is the destruction.” This is the case when it comes to teens and alcohol. In America, the National Minimum Legal Drinking Age is a topic of great debate and controversy. Many people argue that the age restriction provides a safe environment for all citizens; whereas others disagree that the law creates an untrustworthy aura among teens. If the minimum legal drinking age were to be lowered, most people would be affected by it, whether it be by an increase in drunk-driving or a rise in crimes. Although teens are legally considered adults by the age of eighteen and the minimum legal drinking age prompts underage teens to exhibit risky behavior, the age restriction should not be lowered from twenty-one to eighteen because young teens would have easier access to alcohol, the minimum legal drinking age has decreased alcohol-related problems, and alcohol can cause damage to underage drinkers.
In today’s society there is a lot of crime going on that involves minors and the first thing that some people do is blame parents for the misbehavior. What if the minor lives in the home with an alcoholic mom, and a drug addict father, and the minor feels as though he/she is in the world alone. The definition of a minor is “an infant or person who is under the age of legal competence”. (http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/minor) The minor starts hanging with the wrong crowd to feel wanted and decides to rob a bank, he goes to jail, and is sentenced to prison. Now there are clearly things that contributed to the way the minor committed this crime but it does not make it okay either. He was not getting any attention at home so he
Instead, they seemingly assume that, upon reaching the legal age of twenty-one, those "children" will somehow know their limits and be able to control themselves with alcohol and other such substances. III. A. The drinking age should be lowered to 16. As far as I know, five (six) developed nations in Europe have a minimum drinking age of 16 (Austria, Belgium, France, Italy, and Spain- Germany-for beer and wine only).
An article written in 2016 by Chittom, Lynn-nore, and Finley mentioned this about many critics’ views on the social problems created by raising the legal driving age, “Meanwhile, critics argue that people under age twenty-five are legally allowed to vote, join the military, marry, attend college, and drink alcohol, and so should not be prevented from driving.” Across America, when teenagers reach the age of sixteen or seventeen, they begin their journey towards being an independent and responsible adult. Choices about career, marriage, what and who to vote for, and whether or not to join the armed forces are just a few of the decisions that teenagers are starting to work through (Chittom, Lynn-nore, and Laura Finle, 2016). However, without the privilege of legal driving, many of the steps towards adulthood became confusing and complicated in many ways. Ultimately, raising the driving age lessens the responsibility that comes into play while transitioning into an
Van Hoof argues children cannot possibly comprehend the overwhelming consequences. She questions if children cannot legally drink, marry, vote, or smoke before ages 16-18, then she wonders why society would punish them and let them make this decision when they clearly do not have competence. (Schultz, 3). The children simply lack the maturity and knowledge required.
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.
In the twenty first century there have been many cases of kids committing murder, whether it is the relationships they hold at home or the video games they play, the environment a child is exposed to will affect their developmental process. Children are supposed to be innocent and pure without the desire to kill, yet in the last 50 years official statistics on Listverse.com suggest that over 1,100 kids have been found guilty of murder in England alone. The average age of a child that kills is just about fourteen years old. These kids are usually brought up in an environment that does not teach them right from wrong.
Living in a state where it is acceptable for minors under the age of twenty-one to drink in the comfort of their home – with the parents’ consent of course, I have no issue. There are several debates on whether or not the U.S. legal drinking age should be lowered to eighteen, while others question if it is appropriate for parents to allow their minor to consume alcohol. According to the law, the age of eighteen means you are a “legal adult.” Although that is true, it takes a lot of commitment to be responsible rather than to wake up and say, “Whoa, I’m eighteen, time to face reality by myself.” Please acknowledge this argument to give you a certain perspective on the laws of alcohol.
Most humans tend to live by example and studies prove that our behavior is learned, but how do we explained the bad behavior of those that have good parents that are excellent role models. Some people would said that the parents are too flexible and the kids take advantage of them in the other hand when parents neglect the kids and are bad role models for their kids we easily find the answer to the problem. As a society we contradict ourselves for example; sometimes we tell parents to not be too flexible with our kids but at the same time we do not want parents to discipline their children too harsh. The question of why juveniles commit crime does not have an exact answer. Some juveniles commit crime because of peer pressure, anger against life, and others might be just do it for fun. Even though the question does not have a conquer answer to why juveniles commit crime we know that different factors contribute to the issue. In the book True Notebooks Mark the author did not only explain his personal experience as a volunteer teacher at the juvenile hall, but also what he learned from his students and how his perspective change regarding the juveniles as he spend more time with them. Mark also discover that even though he was not aware of it he was making a positive change on some of them and the fact that he was willing to teach them a writing class meant so much for some of the students, and most important Mark present on the book the different reasons juveniles commit crime.
The media has been focusing a lot of youth crime, which appears me to be on the rise. To explore this I have chosen to do research on this and focus on my main question, “What causes a youth to engage in criminal activity?” the main focus of this essay will be on the background of crime and how youth crime has changed, the major factors of what causes youth to engage in criminal activity, media use and perceptions.