Kids these day… shooting others, committing murder, robbing stores, raping others even younger than themselves; this is a sad reality of the world we live in today. While many states do not recognize a child to be tried as an adult until a certain age, the juvenile justice system has placed into action ways to transfer the jurisdiction (from juvenile to adult courts). In this process, the juvenile is sent to trial in criminal court case. The transfer decision is based on: the offense which was committed, how it was conducted, and history based indicators (not personal circumstances). Also considered are the seriousness of the offense and if the juvenile has a prior record. When it comes to the judge and prosecutor, considered …show more content…
Criminal blended sentencing would appear to be more merciful due to the rehabilitative nature of a juvenile sentencing. With this, knowing that a juvenile’s sentencing could be based upon behavior, past history of criminal activity, nature of the crime, etc…it is safe to say that the classical theory of criminal causation can be a product of an individual’s rational choice. This is after all the way in which the judge makes his decisions, on the decisions the youth makes before, during and after the offense committed. Transfer to adult court is due to the offender being held accountable personally for the acts he/she has done, however with the blended sentencing be punished as a juvenile based on the fact that it was done by a child and shouldn’t be treated as harshly if the actions were known by said child to be devious in nature. Scott and Steinberg argue that “adolescents, because of their biological and psychosocial distinctions, possess a diminished capacity and are thereby less criminally blameworthy; therefore [they argue], this diminished capacity ought to be recognized in the adult prosecution of juveniles”