Juveniles Treated Like Adults

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Everyday a vast number of brutal crimes occur somewhere in America. Teens as young as thirteen commit murder, rape, and burglary to an extent. What can be done about it? The best answer I can think of is to treat juveniles like adults. They have just as much responsibility and knowledge of their actions just as adults do, so they deserve the same punishment if they commit the same crime. Believe it or not, teens commit the same level of crimes that adults commit. Crimes will get even worse in the future if nothing is strictly done about the unnecessary violent actions. An idea to prevent the crimes from continuing is to punish juveniles and adults equally. Juvenile punishments do not provide the harsh consequences juveniles deserve. There is a saying that compares children to adults. In this case, if juveniles want to act like adults, then they should be treated like adults.
Whether or not it sounds right, young teenagers are just as dangerous as adults when it comes to crime. Juveniles only continue to commit serious crimes as they get older due to a light sentence, which they take advantage of. An adult’s punishment is far more effective than a juvenile’s punishment. The difference between an adult and a juvenile is the way they think. More than likely an adult has a reason to commit their crime. A juvenile commits a crime for the attention and bad boy reputation. Personally, my opinion of this in fact, the more severe punishment a juvenile receives is a better chance they learn their lesson. Juvenile sentencing is a joke. There is no way an easy sentence changes any juvenile’s mind to commit a crime, instead, they just take advantage of it. Whether or not it sounds right, young teenagers are just as dangerous as adults when it ...

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... best way to settle this problem is to treat young criminals as they deserve to be treated; like adults. Teens need to be held accountable for their actions. If they commit an adult crime, it is necessary for them to receive the adult punishment.

Works Cited

Dhawan ,Himanshi. “Juveniles involved in murder, rape may be tried as adults.” indiatimes.com. The
Times of India, 21 Sep. 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
“Does Treating Kids Like Adults Make A Difference?” Front Line. PBS, 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
LaMance, Ken. “Juvenile Tried as an Adult.” legalmatch.com. Legal Match, 26 Sep. 2012. Web. 21 Nov.
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Merrefield ,Clark. “Should Juvenile Criminals Be Sentenced Like Adults?” the dailybeast.com. The Daily
Beast, 26 Nov. 2012. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
Schwartz,Robert. “Kids should never be tried as adults.” cnn.com. CNN Opinion, 18 Feb. 2010. Web. 21
Nov. 2013.

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