Juvenile Crimes

Period 3

Every day we hear horrible crimes being committed by young adults. These crimes all need to be handled with some type of consequence. When tried as a minor the penalties are much less severe. This is necessary because many juveniles have an underdeveloped sense of right and wrong. We must not end their lives with harsh punishment. A lesson must be learned, but they should have a second chance to do right. We are all humans and everyone makes mistakes. Juveniles should not be tried as adults; they are not emotionally and physically developed to handle the many pressures that face them.

Juveniles are committing more crimes today, we must find the root of the problem. In today’s society, kids are faced with many different pressures. They have to please their peers, parents and deal with drugs and mental illness. Per our classroom video, Jacob Ind said “All I wanted was something to end. I didn’t think anyone would be affected. I wasn’t thinking that I would get into trouble. I had no concept of what was going on” (KBBS; San Diego). Since juveniles don’t always understand their actions they may not be aware of the outcome. It is possible that the juvenile does not have the support of his parents. Mike Alexander said “as a result of family breakdown during the course of the residential school experiences, today’s youth continue to struggle with generational abuse handed down from parent to child” (2).

Since juveniles are unaware of their actions, being tried as an adult shouldn’t be an option. Emotionally the juvenile mind has not fully developed to understand consequences of their actions. Also, physically their brains aren’t finished maturing until they are in their twenty’s. Ruben C. Gur said a teen’s brain is not mature at seventeen and that teens are less blameworthy for criminal acts than adults (2). R. Astor founded that “violent children