Should Juveniles Be Tried As Adults Essay

Throughout a human’s more vulnerable years, they are more susceptible to engage in irrational activities. Their actions are influenced by their family, the people they interact with, and the environment in which they live. On October 13,1994 5-year-old Eric Morse was dropped 14 stories by a ten-year-old named Johnny and by an eleven-year-old named Tyrone. They were tried as adults and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Some people may agree that they should tried as adults, but they deserve to be tried as juveniles because they possess no knowledge of the judicial process. Adolescents are unaware of how the judicial system works. In Adam Liptak’s article, “Supreme Court to Rule on Executing Young Killers,” he states that Adolescents are more likely to confess, and are not adept at navigating the justice system. The judicial process is not commonly taught in schools and students do not know legal parlance. Furthermore, they do not fully understand the repercussions of their actions.The defendants are not fit to stand trial and they do not comprehend their crime the same as a mentally competent adult would.

Greg Krikorian, the author of “Many Kids Called Unfit for Adult Trial,” Laurence Steinberg comments “It is a violation of constitutional rights to be a defendant in a criminal proceeding when you are not competent to defend yourself.” Not only is it morally wrong, but it is also unconstitutional. The purpose of a defendant is to defend himself so that they are not unjustly punished. In the same article, “The study, directed by a University of Massachusetts professor, found that one-third of the 11 to 13-year olds studied and 20 percent of those 14 or 15 years old had levels of reasoning and awareness comparable to those of mentally ill adults judged not competent to stand trial.” The statistics show how many kids are treated unfairly and how it is