Lizedna Lilio
Dr. Underwood
English 3
4/15/13
TITLE In our society heinous crimes are committed by all sorts of age groups. From the ages of 13-18 you are considered to be a teenager. The crimes committed like murder rape grand theft auto, molestation. Should age play a role if they were premeditated? If the teenagers today feel they are adult enough to smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, do drugs drive bys, run the streets and do gang related felonies like adults then they should be tied as adults depending on the seriousness and motive of the crimes. The environment out brain develops in has a lot to do with our personal morals and how we handle situations. Our brain is constantly growing and absorbing information. “The brain is like a puzzle.” (Thompson 1) A puzzle we still don’t have the pieces to. We still don’t know much about the human brain and its logic. Some of what is known is that what teens do during there adolescent years will affect how their brain develops. Studies show that there is a “massive loss of brain tissue that occurs in the teenage years” (Thompson 1). The areas of the brain were tissue is lost is controlling the impulse, risk taking, and self control. And in frontal lobes contains our violent passion, sudden actions and circling emotions. The studies show the amount of brain tissue lost and the result of the teenagers’ that’s lost it. What’s not said is how much is lost because of stupidity, like drugs. As states in California’s proposition 21 “juveniles 14 years of age or older charged with committing certain types of murder or a serious sex offence are no longer eligible for juvenile court” (prop 21) so under prop 21 if you are 14 or older with murder or specific sex offences then it is required to have and adult trial. When teenagers choose to commit these crimes they aren’t thinking like children therefore why treat them like children. Teens know the difference and severity between crimes. Its common sense to know it’s wrong to affect the well being of others. Being a teenager we all mature at different ages, we know right from wrong, depending on how we were raised. When I refer to maturity I don’t intend to use your age, but the adult like capacities of the decisions to a situation. “Age can shape every aspect of a capital case” (Liptak 1). It’s obvious that age could have a role but how much dose it matter when your 14 and commit a premeditated murder and being 17 and committing the same charge? You could argue that there is a difference in brain development or their maturity levels or even the motive behind the offence! This statement makes it clear that some teens don’t realize the severity of there crime until their fate is in the hands of complete strangers during a fatal trial, or while they are behind four walls. Through my own experience I have noticed a difference between adolescents my own age just by their personal upbringing. The surroundings you grew up in could show in your consistency for committing crimes. Having lived in a lot of rough places the teens I have witnessed don’t show much of ambitions because they’ve been labeled as ignorant children, unable to reach any other standard but the lowest bars of prisons. I’ve been through the judicial system a number of times, and been behind four walls, so I can understand were some of these kids are at mentally when they are incarcerated. You realize in more depth the wronging of your crime. Feeling sorry for what you did should occur. Some of these teens just waltz up in the court room and just act silly! Robert Acuna was a high school kid from Texas facing the death penalty for murdering “execution style” stealing their car. While in the court room the prosecutor had said, “he would laugh at inappropriate things…” That is a great