Date: 11/15/12
Period: 1
Juvenile Justice Essay
Should teenagers accused of violent crimes be tried and sentenced as adults? Why or Why not?
Adolescence and the death penalty, two words more commonly seen together as of late. With growing number of young adult being tried and sentenced as adults for violent crimes the question rises why did they commit does age matter to the jury when they are put on trial?
According to Paul Thompson, author of the article, “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains”. In the article Thompson notes a massive loss of brain tissue during the teenage years. While research on brain _ tissue loss can help us to understand teens better it cannot be used to excuse their violent or homicidal behavior. But it can be used as evidence that teenagers are not yet adults and the legal system shouldn’t treat them as such
However this research can not excuse teens of violent crimes, it does show that they are not yet adults and should not be treated as such (Thompson) “……. Juvenile being tried as adults are not competent enough to stand trial,” quoted from Laurence Steinberg taken from the article, “Many Kids called Unfit for adult trial,” by Greg Krikorian
According to a Sacramento to Bee article written in 2003 youth are “emotionally or intellectually unable to contribute to their own defense” It may common knowledge that a toddler doesn’t understand complex situations like an adult would, but the truth is around half of the kids in the age range of 14 to 15 don’t either. A study show that when compared with young adults children ages eleven to thirteen were more than three times are likely to be found “Seriously impaired” in understanding the judicial process and aiding their own defense. But so we as teenage s know right from wrong? As teen we are prone to do things that are frowned upon by adults. We are in the stages of life when we are most susceptible to peer _ pressure.
And when more adults