Why Juveniles Should Be Tried As Adults

Adult Justice Does no Justice
Since its founding, the juvenile justice system has been at war with itself. Originally conceived as a fatherly entity intervening in the lives of troubled youths, it has since transformed into a rigid and adversarial arena restrained by the demands of personal liberty and due process. As a result, there is a great deal of controversy revolving around the trying and sentencing of juvenile offenders today, especially when they commit heinous, “adult crimes” like murder. Children make mistakes and adults make mistakes, but it is necessary to understand that there are substantial differences between children and adults mentally, emotionally and biologically. The criminal and juvenile justice systems are separated

For example, investigative reporter Marjie Lundstrom states that “research suggests that adolescents squeezed through the adult system are more likely to come out as violent career criminals than similar kids handled on the juvenile side” (22). This fact alone demonstrates that the juveniles need to be separated from their adult counterparts in the justice system. The juvenile justice system’s goal is to prevent adolescents from becoming career criminals, so if courts make the decision to do something that clearly is not following this idea, then there should not be a juvenile system in the first place. Sentencing juveniles to prisons does not deter other adolescents from committing heinous crimes. Because the same immaturity that gets children into trouble also causes them to disregard the possibility for severe punishment —like life without parole. Furthermore, according to staff attorney Nicole Scialabba, “statistics compiled from 15 states revealed that juveniles prosecuted in adult court and released from state prisons were rearrested 82 percent of the time, while their adult counterparts were rearrested 16 percent less. Meanwhile, studies have shown that juveniles prosecuted in juvenile court benefit from the services made available to them through that process” (17). It is important to recognize the future implications of adult punishments on juveniles. Because statistically speaking, they promote recurring criminality. Once placed in adult prisons, particularly vulnerable adolescents take the next steps of their developmental journey in an environment that does not promote physical or emotional health. Since adolescents are easily influenced by the things around them, this situation steers them down a path of criminal behavior, rather than