...people serving life without parole after being sentenced as children were convicted of a felony murder or accomplice liability, meaning they were not the primary perpetrators of the crime, and may not have even been present at the time someone was killed. Many juveniles are sentenced to life at a young age for committing crimes that don’t deserve life sentences. They are still young and they make mistakes. With that being said they should be able to have time to grow and rehabilitate to become better. Since they are young their brain isn’t quite fully developed as adults. They deserve a second chance. Most juveniles are peer pressured and are influenced by things that they see and they don’t really know how to get out of the...
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...committed by juveniles gets the most attention from the public. During the recent years, more and more teens get sentenced as an adult. They sent teens from the juveniles’ courts to the adult courts. Their crimes are viewed more harshly and critically, which explain the reason why they are being tried as an adult. Many people gave different kind of opinion on this kind of topic, whether or not teens get tried as adults. There are many articles that address this topic and their claim on this controversial topic. Some of the articles that review this matter are “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentence” by Gail Garinger, “On Punishments and Teen Killers” by Jennifer Jenkins, and “Kids are Kids- Until They Commit Crimes” by Marie Lundstorm. They both have their own opinions and knowledge on this topic. My position in this issue is juveniles don’t deserve to be tried as adults. There has been a relentless amount of fear in the public about juveniles making...
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...serious crimes are no longer being tried as juveniles but are being tried as adults and are getting life in prison. Kids as young as the age of 13 are being given life in prison with no opportunity at a second chance. The court systems are failing to recognize that these juveniles have their whole lives ahead of them.. Juveniles in the United States deserve second chances; they are not old enough or fully developed to know any better. Juveniles in the United States who are sentenced to life in prison still deserve a second chance at life, even if they commit a serious crime. Children in the United States, especially younger kids, are easily influenced by media and what type of home environment they live in because of their age. Kids tend to copy what they see, that means if they see something they should not be doing around them or on media, there is a chance that they will replicate it. The way children learn and behave is drastically different from the way adults do, which is why they should not be tried as adults and get sentenced to life. Children have the potential to change more than adults do. While kids are young they view the world differently. As Garinger mentioned adolescents are “less...
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...Juvenile Justice Essay Juvenile should be try as an adult or not is an issue that had been discussed for a long time. There are arguments and reasons that they should be try or they should not. In the passage that was provided, there are both sides of the issue that the majority think that juvenile should not be in adult prison system but the minority think that they should be. In my opinion, I agree with the majority in the Supreme Court and believe that the juvenile should not be put in adult system even though they have committed a serious crime based on variety of reasons like their age and also about the situation that led them committed crime. From the arguments in the passage, the issue is that whether the juvenile should be put in adult prison or not. The Supreme Court had ruled that juveniles who committed a murder could not be sentenced to life prison because it’s violated the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. I agree with this idea because juvenile even though can commit a serious...
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...Should juveniles who commit first or second- degree murder receive a mandatory sentence of life without parole? That is a question that many people are asking themselves. This is a very debatable question due to the fact that if a juvenile does change, then he/she wouldn't have a chance at a new life because of the life sentence. I believe they should be granted a second chance, but if they take that second chance for granted, then they should be sentenced to life without parole. On the other hand, there has been cases where a teen who was sentenced to life got a second chance, but decided to take it for granted for being immature and emotionally unstable. Many teens make reckless decisions while growing up, some don't know better but others do. Where I stand in this situation is that juveniles should not be sentenced to mandatory life sentences without parole. Not many...
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...Jury said his immaturity was obvious from not knowing why he killed a teacher, considering it was his favorite teacher. Research clearly shows that a teenager’s brain is far from being even compared as one like an adult. Juveniles need all the help they can get in order to help navigate their brain into the correct path. Dontae Brown and Adele Birkenes, authors of Life Sentence: Is Life without Parole for Juveniles Cruel and Unusual Punishment? , state how it’s inhumane to lock up a juvenile to life in prison. They state, “Life in prison without parole for juveniles is cruel and unusual punishment. How can a mind that isn’t fully matured understand the finality of a crime- let alone the finality of such punishment? It cannot! Young teenagers...
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...once, however, what we do with it is to our own decision. Many people at young ages decide to live a life in prisons, we call juvenile criminals, but, every action has a consequence and to deal with these unlawful adolescent we have the Juvenile Justice Department. The juvenile justice system is a network of agencies that deal with juveniles whose conduct has come in conflict with the law. These agencies include police, prosecutor, detention, court, probation, and the Department of Juvenile Corrections. But, when young offenders commit a series of crimes or even serious crimes, they are waivered into Adult court where they will be subject to any punishment available. Some cases of Juvenile’s being tried as adults is not fair. Some people would disagree about their charge. Some pros of Juveniles being tried as adults are, Attacking juvenile crime lowers the overall crime rate and allows us to live in a society that is much safer. A juvenile who knows that they will be punished for their crimes is far less likely to commit them. Other juveniles who may be considering committing a crime will also view the harsh punishment of their peers as a powerful deterrent. A crime is a crime no matter what, even if it is the littlest crime. A juvenile who is tried as an adult could end up being scared straight, which will make them from not continue to break the law. Spending a few nights in jail around hardened criminals can often be the wake up call. A juvenile offender needs in order...
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...is an Adult. However for some it becomes a taboo subject to accept that there are Juveniles who commit heinous murder as well. It becomes even more challenging when deciding what consequences the Juvenile will face. It is crucial to understand that there can be many factors that play into a role which might influence the murder the Juvenile has committed. In other words, Juveniles should not be treated as adults and thus possibly given a life sentence . Many elements of the juvenile should be taken into context. Not necessarily age, or gender, but deeper aspects that will determine their consequence . Aside from taking those deeper aspects into...
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...Juveniles convicted as adults: Unconstitutional How does placing a child in an adult prison, where they risk sexual abuse that eventually leads to suicide, teach them a lesson? Juveniles, who commit serious crimes, are usually seen as convicts or criminals who should pay the price of what they committed even if that means sentenced as an adult and occasionally with no parole. Some of these juveniles who are being tried as adults suffered from psychological traumas caused at home by their parents or own family members. People need to know what can be done to prevent these crimes. Placing a juvenile in an adult trial is unconstitutional and is abusing their rights. Many of the juveniles prosecuted as adults are placed in adult jails pretrial, where they are at risk of harm, abuse and suicide. People need to understand the importance and dangers of incarcerating a child in an adult correctional facility. The administration of justice should implement meaningful juvenile justice reforms such as, rehabilitation centers, counseling, and they should correspondingly perform psychological test before being prosecuted in an adult trial so the U.S can uphold the dignity and human rights of our children and ensure that no child in our nation is considered a throwaway person. Juvenile crime rates soared in the mid- 1990s, and that is why every state initiated strict laws against juveniles and began incarcerating minors as adults. That high rates of juvenile delinquency dropped quickly...
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...daughter from a prominent white family (hopkins) juveniles have been taking advantage because of the things they are accused of most juveniles do not even know their amendments so they're not protected by them either. Juveniles under the age of eighteen should not be tried as an adult because a prison is not parenting any child, some of the punishments are too harsh, and because of their immature brains. Prison is not a place where juveniles will actually get to learn things like people expect them to. It does not provide help like a parent would. Most juveniles commit crimes because they are probably neglected or do not have a parent role model there for them. Any role model could do so much for an adolescent because they follow the steps of that person. Young offenders often end up isolated from society because of this they choose to do foolish things. The foolish things some end up doing are joining gangs, committing robberies and doing drugs. A prison is not going to help as much with those issues. A gang member still has a connection to the outside world so them changing is a bad bit Unlikely. Prisons can not change juveniles like people think they should. If prisons help so much why are there second offers? Most juvenile offenders become second offenders because...
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...maintain the juvenile justice system as a separate entity from the adult court systems. It must stay separate in both the way cases are disposed and in the way sentence is carried out. Namely, punishment as in the adult system must be avoided and continued to be replaced by rehabilitation. In recent years, there has been intensive debate about whether the juvenile justice system should focus its limited resources on rehabilitation or punishment to curtail the rising statistics in juvenile delinquency. It is my belief that the juvenile justice system should primarily focus on the process of juvenile rehabilitation as opposed to strictly punishment. This paper will include an assessment of law enforcement, court processes, probation corrections, and community services as well as the intervention programs currently available to increase the incidents of juvenile delinquency. In this paper the subject to examine is both sides of the spectrum and try to show that the process of rehabilitation, rather than just straight punishment will provide a more effective solution to the problem of juvenile delinquency. I will be examining some of the arguments that oppose the views of rehabilitation over punishment and attempt to prove that the arguments for punishment are not as valid as those for rehabilitation. This paper will also provide evidence to support the claims that rehabilitation is a more effective way to resolve some of the issues which that are apparent in the juvenile justice system...
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...treated as Adults in the Canadian Justice System? Varun Thapar Due Date: March 1, 2011 Mr. Roberts The Youth Justice System was originally created in 1908; and was brought about because the government considered facilitating the youth so they wouldn’t be given the same sentence as adults. This early incarnation of youth legislation was called the Juvenile Delinquents Act This act was for young offenders with a guiding philosophy that juveniles are not criminals but children who need direction. An offender was classified to be between the ages of 7-18 could be tried in this system. The accused does not have a right to a lawyer, hearings were closed; and the charter did not apply. Examples of sentencing options were light and included fines and placements in foster care home. In 1984, the Young Offenders Act was changed to the idea that youths are less responsible for crimes than adults. Some of the amendments of this new act were a narrower range of age, 12-17 year olds and the accused must be advised of right to a lawyer, the Charter rights apply, and the accused could be sentenced to open or closed custody, and could be sentenced to 5 years for murder. In 2002, harsher punishments were introduced to the Act along with a change of name to the, Youth Criminal Justice Act. The driving idea for this act is that tougher sentences prevent crimes but rehabilitation is vital. It has been is debated as to whether or not youth should be given the same sentences as adults. Based on...
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...It is not right for children to go to jail children who commit violent crimes should not be tried as adults.Death penalties can get out of hand and be unnecessary at the moment when children do not understand what they have done, they get into therapy or observed places to make them realize what they did was wrong.Children are too young to live on their own, vote, have a job or buy drinks or cigarettes at a store, but all of a sudden they make one mistake and get to the point where they get punished for even a lifetime.While they are in jail for their crime, they cannot defend themselves there.Too many bigger/older people harass, violate, mistreat and pick on others imagine how it would be with the younger kids. Young ones who commit violent crimes should not...
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...Treatment or Punishment what works In our Juvenile Justice System. By Tina Grinnell Juvenile Justice July 20,2013 While prisons can be an eye opener for someone who has committed a serious crime,is it our responsibility to help our juveniles to be reformed or should they pay for their crimes in adult prisons. Putting our juveniles in adult prisons says that we believe they can’t be helped. In most cases are our juveniles really aware of their actions and the consequence that they have. Should they be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.Should the age of a juvenile differ from state to state on the way that they are punished. These are a couple of the issues that surround our juvenile system today. I will be looking at both sides to get a better understanding of why the laws today are the way that they are and could they be changed to help our younger generation. Juvenile delinquent’s have been around for decades and the way that our justice system has tried and helped our juveniles get on the right path and stay there has changed dramatically since the early nineteenth century ,Juvenile matters were handled by a variety of civil courts and non- legal institutions such as Welfare offices. The doctrine was referred to as the parens patriae. Which means parent of the country (Black,1990)...
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...Juvenile Justice and Rehabilitation When discussing rehabilitation or punishment for juvenile delinquents, I believe there should be rehabilitation over punishment. Granted there are numerous cases that completely warrant punishment, but punishment isn’t always the answer. Adults are usually given second, third and fourth chances to change their lives. And sometimes rehabilitation isn’t involved. I believe since adolescents still have plenty of time to get counseling or learn about themselves and why they acted the way they did, there is always an opportunity for them to change. Adolescents don’t have the same thought process as adults. They tend to react emotionally, so if their emotions are flying high, adolescents aren’t always able to stop themselves from doing something foolish or harmful to others. This is also the point in their life when they are becoming curious about how their bodies are changing. Also add in drug or alcohol experimentation and that’s a recipe for trouble. There are numerous supporters for rehabilitation, just like there are individuals against it. As long as there is a juvenile justice system, there will always be a debate. One person that agrees with rehabilitation is Kurt Kumli, a supervising deputy district attorney for the Santa Clara County’s Juvenile Division in California. Mr. Kumli (2001) stated that there are different methods that work on different kids. But the one thing that is constant, is the need to get to the kids “sooner, than...
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