Juveniles Should Be Tried as Adults, Essay Example

Teens commit crimes that are extremely serious even when compared to the crimes committed by adults. While it is critical to note that, most of the teen act of ignorance at the time of crime commissioning, the magnitude of the crimes that they commit have serious implications to the society such as rape cases, murder and violent robbery (Frola, 45-65). Most people oppose the trial of teens as adults because they fear ruining the future lives of the teen. It is argued that, the teens can be rehabilitated and change their behavior to become productive citizens in the future. Therefore, the punishment should be relatively mild that involves shortened sentences hence in most cases. However, the families of the victims continue to suffer endlessly due to the injuries inflicted by the so called juvenile offenders. The perception of judicial system to accord a second chance to such criminals has is therefore a taint to the society with murders and rapists who are never tired of committing even crimes of higher magnitude.

Offering justice to the victims of a crime demands that, a criminal is sentenced based on the severity and nature of crime committed and not by the age of the criminal (Clayton, 20-22).

Every person must account for his or her actions and in case the actions resulted to killing or hurting another person, then the culprit must be subjected to the harshest punishment that correlated with the crime committed. The judiciary must disregard the age factor in dispensing justice. Although some people are for the opinion that juveniles have the chance to learn from the mistakes that they have already committed and that they can easily be rehabilitated, the possibility of repeating a similar action, or even a worse action cannot be ruled out (Griffin, 63). Equally important consideration is that, the judicial system is supposed to deliver justice both to the offender and the victim. While the courts attempt to be lenient to the offender on account of their age, this translates to a gloss violation of justice for the victim.

Works cited

Frola, Margaret. “Low-Risk Youths Referred to Pima County Juvenile Court Center Detention Intake:Needs, Detention, and Recidivism.” Juvenile & Family Court Journal 60, no. 3: 45-65, 2009.

Clayton, John. “Washington’s Journey with Evidence-Based and Research-Based Programs in Juvenile Justice.” Policy & Practice 70, no. 3: 20-22, 2012.

Griffin, Patrick, Sean Addie, Benjamin Adams, and Kathy Firestine. Trying Juveniles as Adults: An Analysis of State Transfer Laws and Reporting. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2011.