Minors Being Tried as Adults

There are many different opinions on this highly sensitive argument but as I like to say, “Old enough to do the crime, old enough to do the time.” If someone under the age of eighteen commits a felony they, unquestionably should be tried and sentenced as an adult. Most children by the age of sixteen should have enough common sense and know-how to acknowledge the consequences of committing a felony such as: aggravated assault, the trafficking of illegal substances and most important issue upon this topic: minors committing homicide. As Marjie Lundstrom states in “Kids are Kids,” Thomas A. Perciado was tried as an adult for the stabbing to death of a minimart clerk when he was 14-years-old. He was later sentenced to 26-years-to-life in prison. (12) One may argue that fourteen years is too young for one to be tried as an adult. In “Many Kids Called Unfit for Adult Trial…,” Greg Krikorian presents information regarding competence of juveniles’ and their understanding of the severity of their crimes mostly between the ages of eleven and fifteen. (1)
A majority of people in today’s society would believe that trying minors as adults is too harsh of a punishment because, as Lundstrom states in her article, “Kids are Kids,” that “they’re only kids,” (4) and “they are not adults.” (15) But multiple people have proven that children do have enough common sense to understand the austerity of their crimes. For instance, in Adam Liptak’s article, “Renee Magee, who prosecuted Mr. Acuna, now 18, agreed that his behavior at the trial had alienated the jury. ‘He was very nonchalant,’ Ms. Magee said, ‘He laughed at inappropriate things.’” (5) Mr. Acuna understood the court and was entertained by his sick and highly disturbing action; the murdering of his elderly