Should Juveniles Be Tried as Adults: Teen Crimes

The question I try to answer in this essay is: Should juveniles be tried as adults for committing serious violent crimes? I believe yes, teens who commit violent crimes should be tried as adults. I feel this is appropriate for numerous reasons. It reduces the chances that a juvinile offender will commit multiples severe crimes later in his or her life. It also provides a certian level of consistency for the severity of the crime, but at the same time treating teen crimes with the seriousness they deserve. Lastly it provides a way to teach accountability. In the article, “Kids Are Kids-Until They Commit Crimes” by Marjorie Lundstrom indicates that the zeal to corral wildly troubled, ever-younger kids and ram them through the adult system belies everything the juvenile system is all about. The kids who commit these serious crimes are different than other kids.

Exploring Arguments on Should Juveniles Be Tried as Adults

From data released in 2016 from the OJJDP (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention) they reported that known juvenile offenders were involved in approximately 700 murders in the US. That represents about 7% of all known murder offenders. Between the years 2003 to 2006 the number of juvenile offenders increased by 32%. After the drop from the 1990s before it was able to fall 31% through 2016. Marjorie Lundstrom talks about how the arrest rate for juvenile murders fell 68% from 1993 to 1999. Now in 2019 the rate has had its lowest level since 1996. Charging teens as adults is the result to these low percentages of teen crimes. The trouble is statistics don’t cancel out the realness of these crimes. While politicians and prosecutors across the country press for harder stance against youthful offenders, nearly every state has moved to make it easier to charge juviniles as adults. Trying and sentencing kids as adults for serious crimes is a key part to the sole purpose of justice. This is one of the reasons why juveniles should be tried as adults, as it makes juveniles accountable for their actions instead of excusing it because of their age.

In the year of 2006 the bodies of Marc and Deborah Richardson along with their eight-year-old son were discovered in their home. The couple’s 12-year-old daughter was missing. The first inclination for law-enforcement was to think an abduction had occurred. The reality of this crime scene is that the 12-year-old girl, Jasmine Richardson killed her parents and brother by stabbing them. Her 23-year-old boyfriend who was a self-proclaimed “300 year old werewolf” helped her with the murders by slitting her parents’ throat. Jasmine was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but got out four years earlier even though she was convicted of a triple homicide. The crazy thing is, there’s actually advocates who wish to help minimize these offenders culpability simply because of their age. I completely understand it may be hard to grasp the idea that such a young child can commit such a heinous crime. But kids are kids, until they commit crimes. Jasmine Richardson‘s case is extremely similar to Greg Ousleys killing of his parents. In an article for the New York Times by Scott Anderson, Greg Ousley‘s life and juvenile crime was talked about. At age 14 Greg Ousley went into his parents’ room and shot both of them with a 12 gauge shotgun. Greg was sentenced to two 30 life sentences. Letting Jasmine Robinson off for such a gruesome crime is extremely inconsistent to Greg Ousley sentencing. Teens need to be sentenced as adults because it gives the justice system the time it needs to offer a true chance at rehabilitation.

Final Thoughts On the Topic

The last reason I believe juveniles should be tried as adults is to teach them accountablility. The counter argument as far as trying and charging young offenders with such resoposibility is that theyre too young to know the difference from right and wrong. Which can be true as far as knowing the right and wrong between sneaking a cookie out of the cookie jar when they were told not to. Children often are a product of their home environment. If certian violent or unacceeptable actions seem “normal” in their household, then they will think these actions are acceptable in society. At some point, all youth must become aware that no matter what their home background may be, their are actions which are permitted and ones that are not for the greater protection of everyone. Juveniles being tried as an adult is one way that we can begin this learning lesson.

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