The article “When Children Become Criminals” from The New York Times is an opinion piece by the Editorial Board. It discusses how New York is one of the only states to prosecute 16 year olds as adults; resulting in harsher sentences than if they were tried in juvenile court (2014, p. 1). The Toulmin model can be applied in order to analyze the argument. This model consists of a claim, grounds, backing, a warrant, a qualifier, and a rebuttal. In the New York Times editorial board article “When Children Become Criminals” from January 19, 2014 authors claim to try to persuade the readers that the age for adult criminal prosecution should be raised. To help further understand the claim, it is important to know the definition of a claim, which is defined as “a statement that you want others to accept and act on” (Rieke, Sillars & Peterson, 2012, p. 3). In order to develop this claim, I determined that the authors used the following grounds, which is, that minors prosecuted as adults commit more violent crimes and become career criminals. Grounds can be defined as “the primary source of support in answer to the question” (Rieke, Sillars & Peterson, 2012, p. 53). The grounds for a claim aren’t very persuasive without the assistance of backing. Backing is the extra details or evidence that help support the grounds and warrant thru further persuading the readers (Rieke, Sillars & Peterson, 2012, p. 54). The backing for the grounds in the article is “this system needlessly destroys lives and further endangers the public”(Editorial Board, 2014, p. 1). Both the grounds and the backing can be seen as sub claims helping to support the claim. The grounds and backing support the claim by describing the consequences of not changing the age fo... ... middle of paper ... ...tted non-violent crimes are being prosecuted as adults. One other element of the article that really stuck out to me is that New York is only one of two states to prosecute 16 years olds as adults (Editorial Board, 2014, p. 1). This served to form a new opinion on the topic in my mind, which is that the age should be 18 that you are tried as an adult, because this is also the age that the government views you as an adult. Works Cited Editorial Board. (2014, January 19). When children become criminals. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/20/opinion/when-children-become-criminals.html?_r=0 Hingstman, D. (2014, January). Toulmin Model of Argument. Lecture conducted from University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA. Rieke, R., Sillars, M., & Peterson, T. R. (2012). Argumentation and critical decision making. (8th ed.). Pearson.
Within the last five years, violent offenses by children have increased 68 percent, crimes such as: murder, rape, assault, and robbery. Honestly, with these figures, it is not surprising at all that the Juveniles Courts focus less on the children in danger, and focus more on dangerous children. This in fact is most likely the underlying reasoning behind juveniles being tried as adults by imposing harsher and stiffer sentences. However, these policies fail to recognize the developmental differences between young people and
A 12 year old stole money from a lady’s wallet that was stored in a locker at the time it was taken. Samuel Winship, the defendant was charged with an act of delinquency. If Samuel was charged as an adult the crime would have be larceny. A New York Family court judge convicted Samuel on a preponderance of evidence, which at the time was all that was necessary according to New York State Statute. At the time of the trial a juvenile in the state of New York was at least seven years old, but younger than 16. Samuel was 12, which by law made him a juvenile that could be charged with an act of delinquency.
The central idea of this article is to show the two sides of the prompt ¨should Juveniles be tried as adults?¨ This article uses a lot of stories to help back herself up in her answer. The authority with the author/creator is trustworthy because, Jessica Reaves works for a trustworthy place ¨Time¨ The difficult part of trusting the accuracy of the article is, it was published in 2001 which could have a lot of changes in roughly 15 or 16 years. The article uses examples of juvenile violence to prove the point that kids are treated differently from adults. Readers can use this article to prove that kids are incapable of understanding the consequences of their action.
The article titled “ Juvenile Justice from Both Sides of the Bench”, published by PBS, and written by Janet Tobias and Michael Martin informs readers on numerous judges’ opinions on the juveniles being tried as adults. Judge Thomas Edwards believed that juveniles should not be tried as adults because they are still not mature enough to see the consequences of their actions and have a chance to minimize this behavior through rehabilitation programs. Judge LaDoris Cordell argues that although we shouldn’t give up on juveniles and instead help them be a part of society, however, she believes that some sophisticated teens that create horrible crimes should be tried as adults. Bridgett Jones claims that teens think differently than adults and still
Do you know how to use the Toulmin model when writing an argumentative paper? After reading this essay you will not only know how to use the Toulmin model, but also how to use it effectively. The model is relatively easy to use and it can help one to organize his or her paper. James Q. Wilson is one of many writers that utilizes the Toulmin model. In Wilson’s piece, “Just Take Away Their Guns,” it is clear that he chose to use the Toulmin model as a guideline for the organization of the work. I will be walking you through the steps of the Toulmin model in the following paragraphs.
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
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
In today's society juveniles are being tried in adult courts, given the death penalty, and sent to prison. Should fourteen-year olds accused of murder or rape automatically be tried as adults? Should six-teen year olds and seven-teen year olds tried in adult courts be forced to serve time in adult prisons, where they are more likely to be sexually assaulted and to become repeat offenders. How much discretion should a judge have in deciding the fate of a juvenile accused of a crime - serious, violent, or otherwise? The juvenile crime rate that was so alarming a few years ago has begun to fall - juvenile felony arrest rates in California have declined by more than forty percent in the last twenty years. While California's juvenile population rose by a half a million since the middle and late 1970's, juveniles made up less than fifth-teen percent of California's felony arrests in 1998, compared to thirty percent in 1978; according to the Justice Policy Institute. The juvenile arrests have dropped back, even as the population of kids between ages of ten and eight-teen has continued to grow, and the number of kids confined in the California Youth Authority (CYA) has fallen. With all the progress our society has made in cutting back in juvenile crimes there is still a very serious problem. But if locking kids up is the best way to address it, how do we explain a drop in crime when there are more teens in California and fewer in custody? First we must look at the economy around us. With so many job opportunities available more and more teenagers find honest ways to keep busy and make money. Our generation has a brighter future than the generation a decade ago. Next we look at successful crime prevention efforts: after-school programs, mentoring, teen outreach programs, truancy abatement, anti-gang programs, family resource centers. There is evidence that these programs are beginning to pay off. Sending more, and younger teens through the adult court system has been a trend across the country in reaction to crimes, such as school shootings and violent rapes. Yet evidence shows that treating youth as adults does not reduce crime. In Florida, where probability wise more kids are tried as adults then in any other state, studies found that youth sent through the adult court system are twice as likely to commit more crimes when they're release...
Thousands of kid criminals in the United States have been tried as adults and sent to prison (Equal Justice Initiative). The debate whether these kids should be tried as adults is a huge controversy. The decision to try them or to not try them as an adult can change their whole life. “Fourteen states have no minimum age for trying children as adults” (Equal Justice Initiative). Some people feel that children are too immature to fully understand the severity of their actions. People who are for kids to be tried as adults feel that if they are old enough to commit the crime, then they are old enough to understand what they are doing. There are people who feel that children should only be tried as adults depending on the crime.
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.
For decades, the contentious issue on whether or not juveniles should be tried as adults for heinous crimes has stirred up a gargantuan amount of disputation. However, juveniles are taken into account as “children” only under certain circumstances. When the situation comes to smoking, drinking, voting and watching rated-R movies, juveniles are merely children. However, when the circumstances are absolute, juries are so compelled to have children be tried as adults when juveniles commit severe crimes that courts go to the extent of sentencing juveniles to long-term punishments. Nonetheless, juveniles who are tried as adults arise significantly more problems than they had before, thus, juveniles should not be tried as adults in spite of that it causes so much controversy and is
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.
When a juvenile commits a crime they know they are not going to be punished as adults. No matter the age of the criminal, the crime was still committed and this does not lessen the suffering of the victim. No matter the age of the criminal, the crime was still committed and this does not lessen the suffering of the victim. Juveniles tried as adults gives credence to the viewpoint that crime is crime and age should not factor into the punishment. Many feel that punishments for harsher crimes should not be restricted by age. Trying juveniles as adults makes all crimes equal and allows for more justice and 18 are too old to be charged as
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
The first article; “Adult Crime; Adult Time.” by Linda J. Collier is about how the juvenile delinquents of the world should be thrown right in with the hardened criminals. She talks about the Jonesboro, Arkansas incident in which 11-year-old Andrew Golden and 13-year-old Mitchell Johnson, slaughtered their classmates as they ran from the school building. They pulled the fire alarm and began their assault with a barrage of bullets. In this particular situation, “they are still regarded by the law as children first and criminals second.”(Pg. 620). This has not been the first time that young children have committed such crimes, but the average of violence committed by children has risen by 60% since 1984. She claims that because of these statistics, we need to update the juvenile justice system. “In recent years many states have enacted changes in their juvenile crime laws and some have lowered the age at which a juvenile can be tried as an adult for certain violent crimes.” (Pg. 620) According to this author, she feels that it is a start in the right direction. She claims that she has represented children as a court appointed guardian and is humbled trying to help children out of their difficulties which often due to circumstances beyond their control. Still, for violent crimes, she feels that “children who knowingly engage in adult conduct and crimes should automatically be subject to adult rules and adult prison time.”