Minors Should Not Be Tried As Adults Essay

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Murder is defined by Merriam-Webster as “the crime of unlawfully killing a person especially with malice aforethought.” Every year violent crimes are committed and, even worse, the crimes being committed are sometimes by minors. Committing a violent crime is viewed as being wrong, no matter who commits it. The question then becomes, should minors be tried as adults for violent crimes? Despite the fact that murder and violent crimes are viewed as wrong, minors under the age of eighteen have been tried in adult court for violent crimes, a travesty born out by statistics, and individuals cases. Minors are committing crimes all the time, some of which it is questionable to try them as adults. Whether they are violent crimes or not, minors should not be tried as adults. Research has shown that children who are prosecuted in the adult court system are more likely to commit a crime again than those being prosecuted in juvenile (“Children”). Crimes are meant to be stopped, not meant to be committed again. If the same crimes are being committed, then nothing has changed. That does not mean every child who is tried as an adult will …show more content…

was convicted of arson at the age of sixteen. Rodney was sentenced to eight years in adult prison. Shortly after he arrived at Clemens Unit, Rodney was raped by an inmate. He asked the prison for protective custody, but was denied. After being repeatedly raped by inmates and robbed, he decided to hang himself. Rodney stayed in a coma for four months before he passed away (Barbour 82). Seeing and hearing about teen suicide is viewed as being tragic and gut wrenching. By trying minors as adults, the children are being put into harm. Minors in adults prisons are much more likely to be attacked with a weapon than minors in juvenile (Barbour 82). Most states minimum age requirement to be tried as an adult can range from ten to eighteen-years-old. In Indiana, the lowest age you can be to be tried as an adult goes as low as

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