Should Adolescents Be Tried As Adults?
Do you feel that adolescents are not getting punished for vigorous crimes in today’s society? The bulk of individuals who agree juveniles should be prosecuted as adults, are the families of the sufferers, most believe adolescents should realize what is just from unjust. The courts are there for individuals that break the law no matter young or mature. Administering the behavior of youths is one of society’s most critical tasks. The theory of trying juveniles as adults is not fresh; Idaho, in 1981, developed a law demanding juveniles be charged with brutal felonies (Frontline 6). They way a juvenile and an adult commit a vigorous crime they are found to be the same. Adolescents can do as much harm as adults. Adolescents think because of their age there will be no harsh consequences. Our court system needs to become more strict with how juveniles are being tried.
The courts should try adolescents and children as adults for substantial crimes such as murder, manslaughter, abduction. “If we are to sincerely make an effort to keep our cities safer, all of America has to understand that youth may not be adults, but they are certainly capable of committing crimes,”(Leung 9). Even though children and adolescents are not classified as being adults, doesn’t mean they can not partake in an alarming crime. Most children appear to assume they cannot end up in confinement or be encountered with having harsh punishments for executing someone or mangling an individual’s soul by rape. “two 13-year-olds commit a very sophisticated murder that they set up, planned and executed,” O’Keefe explained. “There are some people who despite their tender age commit very gruesome, serious crimes, and they should be held accountable for that,” (Asma 24). Children and adolescents can go about the routes and create trouble with no repercussions. Some states have placed an end to it, but others have not. Doing such a ruthless crime should come with penalties, not just a slap on the wrist. Something more drastic has to cause the child’s life to adjust for the better.
Adolescents have left many families torn for many generations and most are searching for resolution. “Some feel like their loss was left unacknowledged. Indeed, in such a lenient juvenile system, victims are more often than not left unacknowledged.” (Leung 6) With a juveniles system that does not take force, adolescents that have taken someone’s life will roam the streets with no punishments. “Thirty years ago, there were 2,300 kids held in adult jails. From 1990 to 1999, youth jail populations increased by 311%, peaking at 9,458. That number then began to decline, culminating in a 2016 population of 3,700,”(Troilo 4). The eyes of the juvenile system were woken and caused adolescents to become alarmed of the brutal punishments they would encounter with if they proceeded to commit burglary, rape, murder, etc. In Idaho, they require that juveniles be charged with certain serious crimes murder, attempted murder, robbery, forcible rape, and mayhem) be tried as adults. They examined arrest rates for five years before and five years after the passage of the law and found no evidence that it had any deterrent effect on the level of juvenile crime in Idaho,”(PBS). There is no negative effect on the level of juvenile crimes, which means that it helped children learn the right from the wrong and how life could be like if they did such a strenuous crime. Having a strict juvenile system that allows children to be tried as adults gives a feeling of protection to a victim’s family. Adolescents see what consequences come for their actions if they go down the road of committing harsh crimes.
When we consider the many reasons we need a strong juvenile system and how it can benefit the community and a person’s life, it is clear that we must continue to push having a strong juvenile system. Pushing a strong juvenile system can help the ones who didn’t get the chance to say goodbye, the ones who have lost the feeling of self-respect. Studies have proven that there is only positive feedback on a community where adolescents are being put away because of murder, rape, robbery, assault, and violent categories of burglary. While some may argue that putting adolescents away with adults will less benefit them and open up more dangers than proposed. The advantages that the adolescents can gain outweigh any negative appeals as even small successes in the juvenile system for protecting the community from potentially violent children have come a long way. The evidence speaks for itself, for the good of the community, having a strict juvenile system must continue.