Teenage Crimes and Trials

Should teenagers accused of violent crimes be tried and sentenced as an adult? Kids are kids; they don’t know the consequences of committing a heinous crime. They don’t fully think it through when committing crimes. Some teenagers may have a mental disorder; some grow up in the wrong environment, where they think its ok because they see it happening all the time. Teenagers shouldn’t be tried as adults once they commit a crime. According to Paul Thompson, during the teenage years, they tend to lose a massive amount of brain tissue. “Reporters and teen advocates ask: Do the studies help explain the impulsive, erratic behavior of teens?

The biggest surprise in recent teen-brain research is the finding that a massive loss of brain tissue occurs in the teen years” (Thompson 3). Losing a massive amount of brain tissue isn’t an excuse for a teen to commit a crime, but not having it all doesn’t help either. The teen doesn’t think right what so ever. Teenagers have no idea of what the consequences are for committing a crime. They don’t fully think it through. They tend to just do what they want. There are many teenagers who either have a mental disorder, or might have grown up in an environment where committing crimes is no big deal.

In Thompson’s article, a 14 year old was charged with second degree murder. He had shot his English teacher because his English teacher. Mr. Grunrow, would not let him say good-bye to two girls on the final day of classes. The surprising part was that Nathaniel Brazill claimed that Mr. Grunrow was his favorite teacher. In this case, you might think something was wrong with Nathaniel, right? Well some people are unsure of that. Thompson stated that the reason Brazill shot his English teacher was because Mr. Grunrow didn’t let him say goodbye to two girls on the final day of classes.

Nathaniel could’ve been angry at the fact that his teacher wouldn’t let him say goodbye. What could have triggered him? Well Nathaniel claims Mr. Grunrow was his favorite teacher. Mr. Grunrow probably let him do whatever he wanted, except for this time. He didn’t let him say goodbye. That’s what could have gotten him angry enough to shoot him. Teenagers aren’t adults yet. “A Florida grand jury had previously ruled that Brazill, who frequently looked dazed during the trial, would be tried as an adult, and if he had been convicted of first-degree murder he would have faced life in prison without parole” (Thompson 2).

As you can see, Brazill had no idea what the jury was saying or anything that was going on during the trial. He was just a kid, who didn’t know the consequences of his actions. He was just as confused as any other teen would be. He had many quizzical looks on his face throughout the trial. Kids who watch TV see many disturbing things that aren’t meant for them to watch, yet they watch it anyways. A 12 year old boy, Lionel Tate, savagely beat to death a six year old. Tate supposedly was imitating his World Wrestling Federation. They see all kinds of disruptive material on TV or somewhere else and they think it’s ok because they see it on TV.

They have no idea what will happen to them if they commit a crime. Teenagers shouldn’t be tried as an adult once they commit a crime. They don’t know the consequences. They don’t know what their actions will come to. They see it everywhere, and what to imitate what they see. Or they have some type of mental disorder, and don’t know what they’re doing. There’s many reason why teenagers shouldn’t be tried as an adult. The massive amount of brain tissue isn’t an excuse to commit a crime, but proves that they’re not adults and shouldn’t be tried as adults.