Discussion of Whether Juveniles Should Be Tried as Adults

Introduction: Should juveniles be tried as adults? Living in this complex and hectic world, it is plausible for crimes to happen at any time and anywhere. By and large, it is possible that people at all ages can commit crime, and every country has their own punishments for those deviants. Since people have different perspectives, it is inevitable for criticism to occur regarding the penalties for crimes. Thesis statement: The controversial issue is whether juveniles should be tried in the same way as adults, so in response, this essay would assert three reasons why juveniles should not be tried as adults.

Topic sentence: For the initial reason, the adult prisons are unanimously known as treacherous places for delinquents. Evidence & citing: There are more or less 10000 children who are being detained lately in adult jails in the United State. Commentary: Being in adult prisons, juveniles are bounded to be sexually harassed five times more than being in the juvenile facility system. As they are put together with adults, we could not reassure about the juveniles’ safety. Thus, we do not know what kind of hideous crimes that those adults committed which is risky for delinquents. Having been assaulted, juveniles tend to feel depressed or sad which it could affect their mental health severely. In consequence, when this problem hits them so hard, they could make unpleasant decision like committing suicide.

Topic sentence: Another reason that should put into consideration is that the conviction in the adult justice system could be a nightmare for juveniles. Evidence & citing: Although they are free from the conviction, they still get some bad effects from the judgments they got during the trial days. Commentary: It has been the bad record that lasts for life, and it can be an awful condition for them in the society. Generally, employers or landlords focus strictly on people’s background, so they try to avoid offering the opportunity or lending their possessions to those with conviction scandals. As a result, juveniles could not achieve or reach to their dream regardless how much afford they invest on it. In addition, when juveniles are tried as adults in the justice system, their parents will lose their rights in controlling or tutoring their children. With the adult punishment condition, the interaction between juveniles and their parents are more likely to decrease due to the limited time that the law proclaims. Parents are no longer responsible for their children’s behavior, and their relationship will become worse. These consequences can prove that juveniles being tried as adults in the justice system is not the suitable choice.

Topic sentence: On the other hand, some people might oppose to these ideas above saying that delinquents should be punished as adults because the age gap between these two generations is merely different. As far as I am concerned, even if the age gap is tiny little different they could have unlike life experiences. Teens could not have encountered with the society issues yet since they pay most of their attention on school activities; therefore, they are not clearly aware of terrible results of violating society's norms and laws. Commentary: Personally, if I remember rightly, I did not even know what the punishment was for stealing someone’s possession when I was a teenager.

Simultaneously, teens may not completely understand the penalties and carelessly live with their reckless thoughts and behaviors. Not to mention, it is crystal clear that we should not penalize delinquents in the same way as adults because teens are only deemed as a tender age human being where critical thoughts may not emerge yet. Actually, we should always give them a chance for rehabilitation of their wrongdoings rather than give them any severe punishments so that they could oftentimes make a fresh start for their beautiful lives. On the contrary, adults have higher chance of facing the society problems in their social events or work fields that provides them more life experiences and wise thoughts, so they get to know precisely of horrible consequences of committing crimes.

Conclusion paragraph: In conclusion, juvenile delinquents should not be tried in the same way as adults for three significant reasons including the dangerous adult jails, the scar for life, and insufficiency of family time. On top of that, we should consider this law system critically in order to avoid any unjust and unacceptable consequence for delinquents. More importantly, the grandest fundamental behavior of people is forgiving and ushering the others to a better life not detesting and holding grudge with each other.

Reference list

1. American Bar Association. (2016). Should Juveniles Be Charged as Adults in the Criminal Justice System. Retrieved from https://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/committees/childrens- rights/articles/2016/should-juveniles-be-charged-as-adults/
2. Borkar, R. (2018, May 31). Should Juveniles be Tried as Adults? [Web blog post]. Retrieved from https://opinionfront.com/should-juveniles-be-tried-as-adults
3. Connect US. (2019). 22 Should Juveniles Be Tried as Adults Pros and Cons. Retrieved from https://connectusfund.org/22-should-juveniles-be-tried-as-adults-pros-and-cons
4. Steinberg, L. (2015, February 6). Sentences Should Acknowledge Juveniles’ Maturity, and Immaturity. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/06/05/when-to-punish-a-young- offender-and-when-to-rehabilitate/sentences-should-acknowledge-juveniles-maturity- and-immaturity
5. Vision Launch. (2016). Pros and Cons of Juveniles Being Tried As Adults. Retrieved from http://visionlaunch.com/pros-and-cons-of-juveniles-being-tried-as-adults/