Juveniles Tried as Adults

716 Words3 Pages
Should juveniles be tried as adults? Yes. It has been proven that many of the crimes committed today, are crimes committed by teenagers. Teens think they can get off the hook when they don’t abide by the law because we let them. Jurors believe juveniles shouldn’t be punished severely because they are “teens.”Teens shouldn’t be let off the hook easily or treated any differently than adults when it comes to committing crime. In the article, “Kids Are Kids-Until They Commit Crime,” by Marjie Lundstrom, Lundstrom informs us that age shouldn’t matter in the decision of punishment for severe crimes. Lundstrom quotes “Hey, they’re only kids. That is, until they commit crimes. And the bigger the crime, the more eager we are to call them adults. If a teenager is old enough to know the crime they’re committing, they should be old enough to receive the same consequences as adults. It is unfair, not only to adults, but also to society, to be punished for having teens commit crimes and get away with it. How will families react when they find out a juvenile that killed or assaulted one of their family members was released because they aren’t old enough to go to jail? If teenagers want to start acting like adults, they should be treated as one. Juveniles have to learn from their mistakes and leaving them in the slammer for longer than when they turn 18 would make them learn. Most teens that commit a heinous crime then get released from juvenile hall are more than likely to bounce back to their old ways. It will only get worse. It has been studied before, that older gang members use younger teens to sell drugs and do other gang-related activities for them because they know teens won’t get as big of a punishment as adults. Teens will actually try and commit more crime before they turn eighteen because they also know they won’t be punished severely. Is that how we want society to
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