Should Juveniles Be Allowed To Commit Crimes Essay

Improved Essays
A hateful crime committed by juveniles should always be punished with a sentence to life in prison. Being a juvenile should not exempt you from receiving a punishment. Even though teens might commit a crime due to an abusive family environment, they must be punished in order to learn that wrong actions will have consequences. It is safe to say that teenagers are capable of committing crimes that any adult would commit. Many argue that a teen’s brain is not fully developed but how come they are able to plan the crime that they want to commit. Therefore I think that these teenagers in a sense are a danger to society and deserve to be sentenced to life. It is everyone’s right to want to feel safe in their communities. This is why age should not be a …show more content…
Every crime has a victim. No one really thinks about the family members of the victim. They need justice, they need to know that the person who took away the life of their loved one is being punished and is living the way they deserve. The family of the victim does not care if the murderer is an adult or a teenager. The point here is that the murderer took away the life of someone and they need to be punished for it.
Lastly, it is a lie when it is said that some teenagers commit crime because they grew up in an abusive or carefree environment. This might be true for some of the juveniles but not all. I know of some who actually do the opposite. They excel in life or don’t want the same for their own family so they do everything in their power to change their way of life. In my opinion this is an invalid excuse. We should not blame others for the actions that we take.
This is why I believe that juveniles should be sentenced to life. Age should not be taken into consideration when a crime is committed. A crime will be a crime no matter what the age is. A life sentence is necessary in order for them to learn from their mistakes and to keep our societies safe from

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    A juvenile’s call to action can go on without much thought, while an adult understands the consequences of committing a crime. She also mentions, “the same malleability that makes them vulnerable to peer pressure also makes them promising candidates for rehabilitation… majority of young offenders grow out of crime” (8-9). Juveniles can grow out of their misbehavior. It is easier to make a juveniles grow into a law-obeying citizen as juveniles are still developing, they can intake the information and understand from the mistake they made as a child. Given the chance and opportunity to be released at a reasonable age, juveniles can change for the better.…

    • 1190 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This does not justify the actions of the teen agers they are old enough to be accountable for their actions. Some teenagers believe that it is okay to commit crimes, but they don't realize how important it is for them to keep safe and not harm…

    • 881 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Clark Merrefield vaguely states that teens should not be sentenced as adults for multiple reasons. He backs up this claim with information about brain development…

    • 1219 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Life Sentence

    • 1227 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Since adolescents are the easiest to persuade into doing bad things, they are punished harsher than adults. It’s a sort of scare tactic but it’s victimizing all children who have been convicted for a crime. The court system are assigning or giving children harsher penalties due to their age. Adults may receive only one life sentence without parole, where on the other hand a minor may receive up to four life sentences. In the documentary (Children in Prison for Life Sentence)…

    • 1227 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Juvenile crime has been an increasing point of debate in recent years. Many people argued whether they should be sentenced as adults or not when convicted of a serious crime, such as murder. Some argue that juveniles deserve to be treated as such despite the crime they have committed, while others believe they are to be treated as adults. This resulted in many juveniles receiving adult sentences like life in prison without parole. Some juveniles commit crimes without a thought of the risks, while some carefully plan out their crimes and get a serious thrill out of it.…

    • 1379 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Juveniles shouldn’t be sentenced to life without parole not just because it’s unfair, but some commit these crimes because of something bothering them. One reason is that they commit these crimes…

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    All eyes were glued to the judge as he said the words that would change the juvenile’s life forever. He was being sentenced to life in prison as a part of a crime he committed with his friends. Many young adolescents some as young as 9 , are being forced to go to prison for long periods of time on an almost daily basis. Minor’s should not be allowed to be tried as adults and to be sentenced to life in prison, as an adult environment would be to brutal for them to cope with. In addition, most kids are very susceptible to peer pressure and often act on impulse in large groups.…

    • 1526 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    People have different opinions on whether children should be charged as adults for their crimes. Some people think that juveniles need a second chance to be rehabilitated and become better members of society. That isn’t the case at times, not every person who commits a crime can change for the better. There are always chances of recidivism. That does mean that there isn’t hope for other juveniles who commit crimes to be rehabilitated.…

    • 316 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There have been many opinions on juveniles being convicted as adults on the crimes they have committed. When it comes to some of these harsh crimes, who could not punish the individual to the fullest? It does not matter how old a person is because everyone knows the difference between right and wrong. If someone is raised differently and believes it is okay to murder another human, than they cannot just change their mindset. An individual that makes and adult decision should have the same consequences.…

    • 1231 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Teenagers are at a critical age in which they can learn. However, their responsibility applies to the criminal choices they make.…

    • 1745 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Juveniles should not be tried as adults for it is wrong to hold adolescents, under the legal age, to adult standards. If children do not even receive the same rights as adults in the first place, it makes no sense to try them in adult court. These juveniles should have the opportunity to be rehabilitated in a positive manner, for they tend to come from troubled households and violent neighborhoods. In over half of the cases these troubled kids don’t know any different way than a life of crime when surrounded by both social and environmental factors that influence their delinquent actions. One must commemorate that juveniles are mentally underdeveloped, and still have time to innovate if their issues are dealt with precisely and accurately.…

    • 1310 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The decision of juveniles being tried as adults in the world of criminal justice has usually been an object of controversy. Some agree that an adolescent who commits a serious crime like murder deserves to be penalized exactly like an adult; while others declare that a minor should not face the same punishment as an adult. However, no matter how severe or appalling a crime may be, juveniles should not be tried as adults; the reason being that everyone should be granted the chance to learn from their mistakes. Juveniles should not be punished as adults, simply because they biologically distinct from adults. Teenagers are the midsection between children and adults.…

    • 1250 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It is claimed by the Supreme Court in Pequenza’s documentary 15 to Life that, “kids are different” (Pequenza). Juveniles are different then adults their brain is not as mature as a adults brain is hence why the opposition's argument/ ideal is disagreeable. Juveniles should receive mandatory life sentences because it is wrong and cruel for someone so young to receive a punishment so drastic. If a juvenile stole from a store for a candy bar because their family had no money for food. Does that child deserve to spend life in prison?…

    • 709 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I believe that those who committed a crime as a teen should be able to have parole. While I can understand the argument that teens who have murdered have stripped others of their life and should therefore be stripped of their own freedom and life, I lean more towards the science behind it all. Teens have highly underdeveloped brains. Their frontal lobes -in charge of decision making - are still growing. Thus, when faced with stressful situations and hormones rushing through the body, they may make atrocious decisions.…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Therefore, this law must be replaced by a law which allows them to be sentenced as adults because when they did their crimes, they didn’t think of the results we should not think about their fate too and crime is crime whatever your age. “In 1998, 13-year-old McKinley Moore from Highland Park, Michigan was the first child to be tried as adult in the history of the state” (Larry Roberts). I think if juveniles have been tried as adults till now and if all countries didn’t apply juvenile law the crimes done by the juveniles will be decreased because they will be afraid from the severe punishment. Although a child’s brain is not fully developed, so they cannot be tried as adults many conflicts have arisen due its social, ethical, and…

    • 1056 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays