Juvinile Delinquency
- Pages: 7
- Word count: 1695
- Category:
A limited time offer! Get a custom sample essay written according to your requirements urgent 3h delivery guaranteed
Order NowChildren are most known for playing with toys, getting dirty, and laughing like there is no tomorrow. But now, some kids as young as nine years old are turning into what we never wanted them to become; criminals. The cause for this can be many things, such as a bad childhood, or peer pressure. Regaurdless of the causes, Americans are becoming concerned that our happy, playful children are growing up too fast, and causing our criminal rates to skyrocket. But how should they be punished? Juvenile offenders are becoming a question to society; should they be punished as if they were adults and be put to jail and death row, or should we treat them like childred, and cut them some slack?
To many people, if the crime is bad enough, juveniles should be put to death row, and no free rides should be given to kids under the age of 18. If our juvenile system is considered best in the world, then the rest of the world must be having serious problems with there systems.
The purpose of the death penalty is to protect our nations future and to give no mercy. If adults can be sent to death row, why can’t teens? If teens think they have the mental abilities to make these decisions, they should take responsibility for there actions. If we keep on letting them go, people are going to be continuously commiting crimes. Although, if we allow teens to go to death row, the juveniles will take precaution, knowing the consequences.
Letting these kids go is not benefiting our country, neither is it benefiting society. For some, they think that we should not be giving sympathy for the young or the old if they have the ability to take the lives of innocent people. Why should we feel bad for murderers? If age is just a number, why are we allowing it to start controversies in our juvenile system. Of course those who are for the death penalty are not concluding that five year olds should be put to death, but those serious offenders of reasonable age should take responsibilty for there actions.
“How can murder be taken seriously if the penalty isnt equally serious? A crime after all, is only as servere as the punishment that follows it.” (Chris Landorfer p. 1)
For those who feel sympathy for the children, think of the innocent people who either lost there life or who had there lives changed because of one mistake. People of all ages need to be penalized for there own mistakes.
Another reason why the death penalty should apply for teens is that it will protect the future of our country. If we continue to let criminals pass by, they will most likely get worse as they get older. Unless the cities and towns of our country want even more criminals lurking the streets, then the death penalty would be needed in our current juvenile justice system. In a society, which is experiencing an increase in violence by juveniles, banning the death penalty would remove a much-needed law.
As children grow up, they are going to take the things they learned as children with them for the rest of there life. If they commit violent crimes at a young age, they will most likely be violent when they grow up, and that is a risk to all. Why should we push serious offenders away when we can get rid of them?
“We do not wish to only take these serious offenders to death row, but we wish to save our future from as many criminals as possible, one step at a time” (O’Connor p. 2)
Because not everyone is for the death penalty, we have many groups of people who believe that killing teens under the age of 18 is wrong. Because most teens who commit crimes have been either abused or abandoned, people against death penalty think that it is unfair to penalize someone for someone else’s wrong doing (parents). Why should we be punishing teens for there rocky past?
Teens in cities are a lot more likely to commit crimes, due to drugs and gangs. (Day p. 12) If a serious crime is committed, why should we be putting these people to there death? These teens that are committing these crimes still have potential, and should not be given up on. To many, America is taking the easy way out with serious offenders and are just putting them to there death like it is no big deal. Instead of just pushing the problem away, why don’t we just try and solve it?
Yet another reason why the death penalty is not suitable for young adults is that an average juvenile’s brain is less developed than an adult’s brain. The effect on this could be that they would not be able to comprehend the consequences of situations, and it can be a huge factor of making wrong decisions. Overall, juveniles have less impulse control than adults, so they should not be punished for something they could not change. (Abramsky p. 2)
Hours before Napoleon Beazley died in a Texas execution chamber, he spoke his final words. “The act I committed to put me here was not just heinous, it was senseless, but the person that committed that act is no longer here- I am. I’m not going to physically struggle against any restraints. I’m not going to snout, use profanity or make idle threats. Understand though that I’m not only upset, but I’m saddened by what is happening here tonight. I’m not only saddened, but disappointed that a system that is supposed to protect & uphold can be so much like me when I made the same shameful mistake.” (Abramsky p.3)
This “Shameful mistake…” that Napoleon was talking about is not only the mistake he made, but the mistake of giving a young adult the death sentence. Once America begins to realize that killing someone is not a way to punish someone for there wrong doings, then maybe our juvenile system will take one more step towards success.
For not so serious crimes, many believe that teens should be put to jail for there crimes. Although there are other programs such as juvenile hall, certain believe that putting teens in actual prisons. The drastic increase of juvenile crime should scream to the people of the United States that we need to get tougher on our criminals. If we don’t act now, even the streets of the smallest towns will be infested with young criminals.
Many may ask why we are putting teens in adult prisons instead of teen facilities. The first reason why is because adult prisons are a lot more equipped and ready to deal with serious offenders than a juvenile facility. To ensure safety, putting teens in an adult prison with more guards can make offenders feel safer at jail.
Another reason why putting juvenile delinquents in adult prisons is a good idea because it will save states loads of money. When we have to constantly be making juvenile centers in every town, eventually states will be suffering from the loss of money. Instead of making new facilities, why don’t we use the ones provided.
“Children who knowingly engage in adult conduct and adult crimes should automatically be subject to adult rules and adult prison time.” (Backstrom p.3)
This lesson shown in the previous quote should be taught to all teens. When you do something wrong, the consequences will be equal to the crime. All of us must take responsibility for our actions. The standard way of thinking today is that teens can get away with crime if they are younger than 18, and we need to let them all know that they can go to adult prisons.
On the con side of imprisonment of teens, many conclude that the increase of punishment such as putting them in adult prisons can increase the risk of re-offending. (Anderson p. 2) The least thing we need right now in our constantly growing society of criminals is even more crimes committed. So, if we can do something about the amount of crimes committed by putting them in teen facilities, we should act on that now.
Another reason why putting teens in adult jails is a bad idea is because it is not safe at all for teens to go be held there. There are hundreds of reported sexual and physical abuses in jail, and younger children will certainly be a main target to criminals in prison. (Anderson p.1) Why should we subject teens, criminal or not, to this violence? Teen facilities such as Juvenile hall would be a lot safer because it is for all young adults, which means less old people taking advantage of younger teens.
While putting juvenile delinquents in jail may scare them, a reported 9 out of 10 kids put in jail are back into trouble when they are released.(Anderson p.1) This shows that teens are not learning there lesson from being put in jail, and we obviously need to change our ways of punishment.
Not only could the teens put into adult prisons be permanently changed by being either physically or sexually abused, they will be taken out of there academic courses, causing there chances of unemployment to be higher. (Anderson p.3) We need to find a way that can give the juvenile delinquents a chance to learn while they are being punished for the future of the United States and the child.
Every seventeen seconds of our life, someone commits a violent crime. (Abramsky p.3) Some of these crimes are our very own hormone raging, summer loving teenagers and kids. To many, this is a surprise that our once kind and pleasant kids of America are becoming violent and full of hatred. With the new topic of juvenile delinquency arising, we are now facing an even newer problem. How are we to punish those who are not considered an adult? With many opinions, we are wondering if they should be treated as if they were older and be able to be put to death and go to jail, or should they be let off the hook? The problem is still a question to all, but in years to come we will discover the true answer.