Persuasive Essay Outline

1673 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Children whose crimes should be tried as adults

Outline for Persuasive Speech
Should minors be charged and sentenced as Adults?
Jessica Rusk
April 28, 2014
I.Introduction
A. Out of 50 states, 14 do not have an age set that says whether or not you can be tried as an adult, according to an article from the Equal Justice Initiative. In some states the age is 10, 11, 12, or 13. There are about 10,000 kids under the age of 18 in an adult prison today. About 3,000 of those were sentenced to life without parole.
B. Should kids be tried and convicted as adults? Right now, kids as young as 8 and 9 years old are being sent to adult prisons for the remainder of their lives.
C. There is much controversy over whether or not minors should be tried and convicted as adults; most often with cases involving murder.
1. First I’m going to tell you the cons of convicting a minor as an adult.
2. Next I will show you the pros of it,
3. And finally I will tell you what I think about convicting minors.
II.First Main Point: Cons of Convicting minors as adults
A. The youngest child to ever be convicted as an adult was 11 years old. When these minors are convicted for crimes, they are either sentenced to life without parole, or the death penalty. If they are charged as minors, they are in a correctional facility with other minors until they turn 21, when they are released and their records are wiped clean. If tried as an adult, they will spend the rest of their life in jail with adults, including sex offenders and child molesters; or they will die by electric chair, lethal injection, or a firing squad. There is much debate over whether or not this should be legal in the United States; I am going to tell you the pros and cons, first off, the cons.
1. Fueling the argument that minors are still only kids a...

... middle of paper ...

... you my view on the debate and told you why we should keep minors out of adult prisons.
B. Has your answer changed any? Do you think kids should be sent to adult prisons for the rest of their lives? Children as young as eight years old?
C. Until you are eighteen years old, you cannot drink, you cannot use tobacco products, you cannot fight for your country, you cannot live on your own, you have to ask to go to the bathroom, you cannot vote, you cannot buy duct tape or spray paint, you cannot donate blood, and most importantly, until you turn eighteen, you will be treated like a child, and be constantly told that you cannot do things, simply because you ‘aren’t an adult yet.’ If we aren’t allowed to do all of these things, only because we aren’t adults yet, then why are judges and attorneys allowed to convict us as adults and put us in prison for life without parole?

Show More
Related

  • A Look at the Conflicts of the Juvinile Court System in “No Matter How Loud I Shout” by Edward Humes

    1392 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Brain Underdevelopment

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout and for many years there has been a lot of controversy on how to trial someone who has committed a crime under the age of 18. A lie will be a lie even if it 's serious or innocent and that 's why just like a crime will always be a crime, no matter what the situation is. The age of a person who has committed murder shouldn 't be an issue or a complication. Many advocate that the juvenile is just a child, but despised that I believe that is no justification or defense for anyone who does a crime. America and the nation need to apprehend that juveniles that are being conducted to life in prison is not just for one small incident or crime, but for several severe crimes according to Jennifer Jenkins, Juvenile Justice Information

    Read More

  • Making A Murderer Essay

    639 Words  | 2 Pages

    Since the ban, it has happened 22 times, 21 of them for 17 year olds who ended up turning 18 before the execution, and one much younger, who killed his family. Was it a right decision that the supreme court made? Minors have an entire life full of changing experiences ahead of them, and it seems “cruel and unusual” to take that from a child. Generally, it’s respected as a good decision to prevent the death sentence on a minor, but there are some questions to be asked. What if the minor is a mass murderer or commits treason? Those seem like good reasons to use the death sentence. However, children learn a lot better than adults and can easily change their ways or attitudes in prison. The minors could still contribute positively to the world, and the death sentence would prevent that completely.

    Read More

  • Juveniles Don 't Deserve Life Sentence

    1136 Words  | 3 Pages

    Heinous crimes are considered brutal and common among adults who commit these crimes, but among children with a young age, it is something that is now being counted for an adult trial and punishable with life sentencing. Although some people agree with this decision being made by judges, It is my foremost belief that juveniles don’t deserve to be given life sentencing without being given a chance at rehabilitation. If this goes on there’s no point in even having a juvenile system if children are not being rehabilitated and just being sent off to prison for the rest of their lives and having no chance getting an education or future. Gail Garinger’s article “ juveniles Don’t deserve Life sentence”, written March 14, 2012 and published by New york Times, mentions that “ Nationwide, 79 adolescents have been sentenced to die in prison-a sentence not imposed on children anywhere else in the world. These children were told that they could never change and that no one cared what became of them. They were denied access to education and rehabilitation programs and left without help or hope”. I myself know what it’s like to be in a situation like that, and i also know that people are capable of changing even children when they are young and still growing.

    Read More

  • When Kids Get Life

    1023 Words  | 3 Pages

    The decision of whether young criminals should be tried in juvenile courts or adult courts has created a lot of controversy throughout the years. Juveniles should be tried as juveniles. The ones who are tried as adults often undergo a very harsh punishment, considering the fact that they are very young. Being tried according to their age is fairer.

    Read More

  • Why Do Juveniles Deserve Life Without Parole

    492 Words  | 1 Pages

    At a certain age point, there is always that time where these kids deserve a chance of living their lives free instead of being in a cell room for the rest of their lives. In the article, “Juveniles Don't Deserve Life Sentences”, by Gail Garinger, says teens “meaningful opportunity to obtain release based on demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation”. Garinger explains how these juveniles deserve to be released on how they show their maturity and how they recover back to a mature level. Paul

    Read More

  • Juveniles Tried as Adults

    1188 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Should Juveniles be Tried as Adults

    1492 Words  | 3 Pages

    In juvenile court, the judge must decide if the teen gets tried as an adult or minor. If the juvenile gets sent to a juvenile detention center for murder they will live their lives there until they are twenty one, but if tried as an adult they will serve so many years in prison. There is a grey area of law for certain teens that commit serious crimes. In this case of the grey law, each state gets to decide upon the particular state how they person is tried. For most cases pertaining to the juvenile courts are case by case bases. Many believe that it isn’t fair for the teens to be locked up with adults. The U.S. House of Representatives made the Juvenile Justice Act encouraging states to find alternatives to having the teens go through such a process with people much older than themselves (Locked Up…).

    Read More

  • Juveniles in Adult Prisons

    1610 Words  | 4 Pages

    A deep look into juveniles in adult prisons. Touch bases on several smaller issues that contribute to juveniles being in and effects of adult prisons. The United States Bureau of Prisons handles two hundred and thirty-nine juveniles and their average age is seventeen. Execution of juveniles, The United States is one of only six countries to execute juveniles. There are sixty-eight juveniles sitting on death row for crimes committed as juveniles. Forty-three of those inmates are minorities. People, who are too young to vote, drink alcohol, or drive are held to the same standard of responsibility as adults. In prisons, they argue that the juveniles become targets of older, more hardened criminals. Brian Stevenson, Director of the Alabama Capital Resource Center said, “We have totally given up in the idea of reform of rehabilitation for the very young. We are basically saying we will throw those kids away. Leading To Prison Juvenile Justice Bulletin Report shows that two-thirds of juveniles apprehended for violent offenses were released or put on probation. Only slightly more than one-third of youths charged with homicide was transferred to adult criminal court. Little more than one out of every one hundred New York youths arrested for muggings, beatings, rape and murder ended up in a correctional institution. Another report showed a delinquent boy has to be arrested on average thirteen times before the court will act more restrictive than probation. Laws began changing as early as 1978 in New York to try juveniles over 12 who commit violent crimes as adults did. However, even since the laws changed only twenty percent of serious offenders served any time. The decision of whether to waive a juven...

    Read More

  • Teens Need Rehabilitation Not Prison

    547 Words  | 2 Pages

    First in Paul Thomson's Article ”Startling finds on Teenage brain”. He explains that teen brains have not developed like we thought they were. He said “they don't know better”. In the teen years they lose the most brain mass Paul says in his article “The biggest surprise in recent teen brain Research is the finding that a massive loss of brain tissue occurs in the teen years.” So in the teen years there is a lot of brain development they don't need jail they need rehabilitation because they will commit another crime again. Therefore teen kinda have a undeveloped brains so why do we convict teens in adult court and in some cases send them in

    Read More

  • Juvenile Criminals Should Not Be Tried as Adults

    1463 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Juveniles Tried in Court

    1165 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is necessary in some cases to send the juvenile to adult court for prosecution. But it is really hard to keep kids safe in an adult jail. Also by not giving youth their own separate facility they are not getting the proper education that they need to survive if they are ever released from prison (Gerdes 118-122). The Prison Rape Elimination Act had to be passed because so many juveniles were being raped wile in an adult prison. Also being isolated for a long period of time has shown to cause mental health problems more in juveniles than in adults (Ryan 3 of 5). Even when the adult offenders and the youth offenders are separated, youth offenders are isolated. This means that they are locked down for 23 hours a day, no human contact, and never seeing the sunlight. This can cause mental health disorders, depression, and an increase in suicide rates (Gerdes 121-122). By trying juveniles in an adult court, research shows that they were rearrested faster and more frequently than those tried in Juvenile court. Nine out of fifty states are allowing the release of juvenile court records without as many restrictions as before (Edgar 15 of 37). “Developmental studies have shown that youths are ill prepared to participate in adult court proceeding and are unable to adequately recognize the long term consequences of their legal decisions” (Ryan 1 of 5). After the age of 17 the Supreme Court says that it is legal to be t...

    Read More

  • The Juvenile Justice System Is Rehabilitation

    1415 Words  | 3 Pages

    Committing a crime will always be illegal no matter what age they commit it at. In the United States, if you are under the age of eighteen years old you are automatically considered as juvenile but can be tried and sentenced as an adult. This will be agreed on depending on the crime you commit. The purpose of the juvenile justice System is rehabilitation rather than being punished. Being tried as an adult can give you the punishment of life without parole, meaning that you will spend the rest of your life in prison. More than 200,000 youths are tried or sentenced as adults every year in the United States. I believe that juveniles under the age of 13 years old should be tried as juveniles because they are not yet adults. Punishments will help them view their horrific crime and hopefully learn right from wrong. Trying Juveniles, as adults will not give them the opportunity to learn from mistakes and get the mental help they need to turn their life around.

    Read More

  • Explain Why Juveniles Should Not Be Tried As An Adult

    241 Words  | 1 Pages

    Juveniles should not be tried as an adult, they should not be tried as an adult because you never know what caused

    Read More

  • How Should Juvenile Offenders Be Punished?

    523 Words  | 2 Pages

    Children commit adult crimes. The problem is how do we punish them? Should they be treated in juvenile facilities, or punished with adult criminals? In some states, you are considered to be an adult at 17 years old, therefore, as criminals get placed “in adult prisons for more sophisticated training in violent crimes and victimization.”(Pg. 637)

    Read More

More about Persuasive Essay Outline

Open Document