Introduction
There are several different arguments which make people give or have their views considering juvenile justice, and how they should be treated and also tried in cases of criminal nature. Some people should speak that children are not familiar with what’s right or wrong and got no brains or common sense to decide correctly in many serious matters. Others state that children got plenty of common sense and brains generally. The list of what people shall bring in throughout a discussion has no limit. Some people argument that children shall be tried like adults because this lacks human morality and could not be cured or treated in centers of rehabilitation, they further argue that similar violent crimes could be happened if a child has been detained in juvenile centers, as they tend to avoid being enough strict to the kids. At the other side, the system of juvenile prison can help children to change their lives; the rehabilitation process gives children the second chance. Rehabilitation with good results, many say, is good for the public in long run or than releasing anyone who past his whole adult young life in prison of general population. From juvenile prison a young kid do less crime than anyone who is coming out from such facility for adults. Considering the background of juvenile crime rate and the psychological level of juveniles it all narrows down to one question that is “why juveniles should not be tried as adults?”
Arguments in favor of juvenile trials
- Today teens are not feared by law, because they think they can’t get caught. If they get caught, they know that they can get out easily because they will not be tried as adults, they will be tried as juveniles .
- Killing is a crime, all of the juveniles know, however they do crime and because of age relaxation they are punished with very little duration of detention. Even if the kid didn’t know that was wrong, that does not mean that it becomes right. Juveniles would still be chastised. If they are not, they might think that doing crime is right and should be continued to do so .
- Juveniles are more willing to do crimes because they are below a specific age, they know that they can get off with crime easily.
- Consideration has to be given to their families and crime victims.
Arguments against juvenile trials
- Many Kids who do crimes of serious nature are sufferers of neglect and abuse. In these types of cases an inquiry would investigate the kid’s circumstances and background, according to APA statement. A society reacts quickly or rapidly against these kids when something tragic occurs, but where this society was when these kids were living into circumstances that extremely provoked these actions and behavior? The statement repeated that juveniles would not be asked by courts or police unless a guardian or parent is with them, that they would never be permitted to relinquish the right of them to a legal representative, and that juveniles who are blamed of a crime of serious nature would go through a complete medical assessment, including the psychiatric assessment .
- Laws and practices governing how the cases engaging juveniles are treated in the system of criminal justice are generally different in most of the states of US. There are some states that allow juveniles for being tried in courts as adults and get awful imprisonment with no option of parole .
- It is not right to hold adolescents and children whose age is not yet legal to mature or grown up standards. In various other areas of law there are differences in identification of the differences among adults and children. Juveniles are not allowed with the same responsibilities and rights as elders (e.g. voting, drinking, joining military, Smoking) because they are considered incapable to make any adult decision .
- Recent research reveals that transferring juveniles from court of juvenile to court of adult does not reduce recidivism, and in reality enhances crime. Juveniles are distinctively positioned for redemption and reform. Facilities (generally) of Juvenile detention have programs in the place to aid or help in this reformation process. .
- With the suitable treatment most kids who did crimes, even the high degree of violent crimes, could be rehabilitated to become accountable or responsible adults. Specifically because the kids brains are still in the process of development. The part of brain known as prefrontal cortex, that controls violence, mental flexibility, diversified planning, moral judgment and perhaps abstract thinking, has not been yet developed in kids. The amygdala, center of aggressive and impulsive behavior is considered the midpoint of the brain of child and has been left unimpeded by the prefrontal cortex which is under developed .
- Psychological research proves what all parents know: juveniles, including teenagers, behave more immaturely and irrationally than elders. Studies further prove that stressful conditions only increase the risk, in which emotions instead of rational thought guide the decisions made by juveniles. .
- Kids in adult jails are five times as probably to be assaulted sexually, twice as probably to be physically tortured by staff of jail, fifty % more expectedly to be assaulted with the weapon and eight times more likely to do suicide as kids in the juvenile facilities .
- Punishment is the failed strategy for modifying behavior, teaching innovative skills or developing fresh and extra beliefs and attitudes. The only reason for imposing hard punishment is to give vengeance in accordance with old standard of testament of an eye for an eye .
- Contrary to well liked or popular belief, that is the kid and not her or his guardian or parent who should make a decision what to explain the defense attorneys and police, that whether the attorney instructions must be followed or not, whether to confirm, whether to provide information to prosecution; Furthermore, whether to accept the plea bargain and to go for a trial. Though common sense should propose that most kids are normally so young to take on such heavy legal responsibilities; generally, it is uncommon for courts to judge whether kids lack the capability to face trial due to their age. Every kid offender would have the capability hearing prior to trial.
- “Adult time for adult crime” perhaps is an appealing phrase but it shows a bad understanding of principles of criminal justice. If a punishment is to eliminate the crime, both nature of offense and the moral responsibility of offender should be taken in consideration and into account. Like the United States Supreme Court repeatedly identified, the blameworthiness of kids cannot be compared with adults, even these kids commit the crime of the same nature.
- Young People tried in adult courts countenance the same punishments like elders including life lacking parole to which for kid criminals put them in lasts to get any rehabilitation programs or classes and creates it very hard to submit for clemency of the failure to testify any kind of rehabilitation.
- Statistics explain the plethora of effective issues have been fired by merged sentencing laws, incorporating unintended results like giving prosecutors, instead of judges, authority makes a decision when to accuse the juvenile like an adult. The analysts of policy started asking whether states have left excessively far away in endorsing legislation which makes it simpler to impeach juveniles as an adult.
Conclusion
Sentencing or sending and trying juveniles like adults should be stopped; it has been understood that the behavior would be lenient or merciful with them while providing them simpler sentences or punishments. These people quarrel that kids can learn through their mistakes whereas they can also be rehabilitated because of their young age. Few people argue that juveniles cannot understand the results of most of their actions, because they are too young or they don’t have the understanding or limitations with alcohol or drugs. That is a ludicrous argument because children or juveniles wouldn’t be doing or drinking drugs in first place. They are mistreated and become more spoiled and dangerous then when these kids went in.
Works Cited
Burfeind, James, James W. Burfeind and Dawn Bartusch. Juvenile Delinquency: An Integrated Approach. Burlington: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2011. Print.
This book is chosen as a source for this paper as it has comprehensive set of arguments on juvenile justice. This book has more of a neutral point of view in which the authors have carefully presented the juvenile justice related arguments.
Elrod, Preston and Scott Ryder. Juvenile Justice: A Social, Historical and Legal Perspective. Burlington: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2011, 2011. Print.
Grisso, Thomas and Robert G. Schwartz. Youth on Trial: A Developmental Perspective on Juvenile Justice. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003. Print.
This is a famous book from year 2003 which contains a unique approach to address the juvenile justice related matters. Several arguments in favor of as well as against juvenile trials are studied from this book.
Hess, Kären M. and Robert W. Drowns. Juvenile Justice. Stamford: Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.
This book is a good source for studying the basics of juvenile justice including various arguments on juvenile trials. This book also contains some examples of juvenile trials to support the arguments presented in the book.
Hile, Kevin. Trial of Juveniles as Adults. New York City: Infobase Publishing, 2009. Print.
Kruh, Ivan and Thomas Grisso. Evaluation of Juveniles' Competence to Stand Trial. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.
This is a quite a good effort made by authors to present a unique prospective of the capacity to which juveniles are to be trialed. This book contains number of solid arguments and counter arguments on juvenile trials.
Siegel, Larry J. and Brandon C. Welsh. Juvenile Delinquency: The Core. Stamford: Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.
The book is a comprehensive handbook on juvenile delinquency. The authors of this book have presented various issues related to juvenile trials in this book.
Siegel, Larry J. and John L. Worrall. Essentials of Criminal Justice. Stamford: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.
This is a general handbook on criminal justice which also speaks on juvenile trials and issues related to it. The authors of this book have presented several arguments and counter argument in respect to juvenile trials.
Siegel, Larry J. Introduction to Criminal Justice. Stamford: Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.
This is also a good handbook on criminal justice which comprehensively describes various aspects of juvenile trials. This book has helped to build basic idea of this paper.
