Juveniles Should NOT Be Sentenced To Commit A Crime

Across the United States, thousands of children have been sentenced as adults and sent to adult prisons. Nearly 3000 nationwide have been sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Children as young as 13 years old have been tried as adults and sentenced to die in prison, typically without any consideration of their age or circumstances of the offense. As kadish mentioned in his article, there are three excuses that can and should be considered when punishing a defendant. In the case of juveniles, these three excuses should help determined the punishment of a juvenile.
Kadish believes that a person is responsible for a crime and deserves to be punished when the defendant knew what he/she was doing, it was wrong, and
On the hand, the purpose of punishment is to deter the crime from happening again. Juveniles should be given sentence based on their age and crime. As Dr Laurence Steinberg stated, "It is important to avoid responding to juveniles' crimes in ways that will make them more likely to re-offend, as does incarceration in prison, a staggeringly expensive sanction that is ineffective beyond the period of incapacitation” (Juveniles: When to punish and when to rehabilitate?, 2012). Juveniles are not fully developed, so putting them in prison with adults make them rebel more when they get out. Fortunately for Alonza, he had a family who supported him when he got out of jail. On the other hand, when Alonza was asked if prison helped him, he said no. He felt like prison harmed him. Instead of punishing Alonza in a prison, he could have been sent to a detention facility. Many terrible things happens to people in prison, regardless of their age. Many criminals get beat, rape, or assaulted. A juvenile does not deserve such treatment. Juveniles are in sensitive time of their lives. They can be retaught and it is important for the criminal justice system take advantage of that opportunity. Juveniles can still change their lives around because it is a sensitive period for them. Young people are constantly learning and make mistakes in the process. These mistakes should be expected because that is how they will learn. Some of the best ways to rehabilitate juveniles when they commit crimes is through educational programs and getting them involve in the community to build their self-esteems. These young people are the future and it is not fair for their future to be taken away because of a