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Arlayna Deese
Mrs. Debock
English 4 Honors
March 9, 2017
Juvenile Convictions
have been a topic of debate for both the court system and citizens about whether adolescents
should be tried as adults for serious crimes. The brutality of crimes committed by teens is rising
and states across the country have their own process they have incorporated into their court
system to help prosecute a minor. Juveniles should be held accountable for his or her actions
against the law. If a juvenile is capable of committing a heinous crime then they should be tried
Teens should be held accountable for their actions and in some instances be tried as adult
for the crimes they are presumed guilty for. Juveniles who have committed crimes like murder
believe the laws dont apply to them because of their age. According to an article by Heather
Newton, In 2005, Roper vs. Simmons became the US Supreme Courts most recent case
involving the death penalty for juvenile offenders. Simmons was a junior in high school, age
seventeen, when he persuaded one of his friends to help break into a house, stage a robbery, tie
up anyone in the house and then throw then off a bridge. He believed because of their age they
would not be tried as adults. Simmons was caught, charged as an adult and sentenced to death
after the jury had taken into consideration the facts and most importantly his age. After properly
weighing these factors, in some cases the difficult decision to prosecute a juvenile offender as an
adult is warranted (Backstrom). Prosecutors that convict a minor take into consideration
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maturity, severity of the crime and criminal history. The younger a child is, more people find it
easier to blame the parents, but this should not be the case. Many believe despite the suggestion
that young people should not be prosecuted as adults because their brains are not fully
developed, most juveniles do know the difference between right and wrong (Backstrom). Being
able to charge an adolescent for a violent crime is what is best for public safety and will hold a
The brutality of crimes committed by teens is rising. Statistics have shown the amount of
crimes being committed by certain groups and have made a reference to the U.S. being 14th in
murders per capita committed by youths(Murphy). In a past recent year, juveniles have
committed as many violent crimes as seven highest countries combined. The U.S. ranks third in
murders committed by youths and 14th in murders per capita committed by youths, putting it in
the same league as Panama, the Philippines, Kazakhstan, Paraguay, Cuba, and Belarus (Stimson
and Grossman). This is believed to be an effect of the court treating them as children first and
criminals second. Many states across the country have lowered the age of which a juvenile can
be prosecuted in adult court. It is not uncommon to see children of a young age commit a serious
crime. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, crimes committed by juveniles increased
by 60 percent from 1984 to 1998 (Collier). Juveniles were once mostly vandalism and truancy,
but have now been the perpetrators of more threatening crimes such as rape, murder and
aggravated assault. The number of 12-year-olds arrested for violent crimes has doubled and the
number of 13 and 14-year-olds has tripled since 1965, as stated by government statistics. The
number of violent and deadly juvenile offenses have increased and it is no longer unordinary to
Each state across the United States have created laws that they consider is in the best way
to prosecute an offender. Juvenile court systems have helped reduced adolescent crimes and have
not been overly harsh on juvenile offenders. These laws strike a proper balance between
protecting public safety, holding youth appropriately accountable for their crimes and
rehabilitating youthful offenders (Backstrom). In certain places, like Jacksonville, Florida, there
are programs for juvenile incarceration that segregate them to a youth-only section of the jail and
focuses on education and rehabilitation. Since this program was implemented the amount of
juvenile crime has greatly reduced in the Jacksonville area. Approaches such as the blending
sentencing model supports a balanced approach to juvenile justice which properly takes into
consideration all relevant factors in deciding what criminal charge should be filed against a
juvenile offender and whether the case should be disposed of in juvenile or adult court or
handled under a middle-ground approach of addressing juvenile crime (Backstrom). This model
currently exist in fifteen states in the US and are a combination of juvenile and adult criminal
sanctions for serious or violent juvenile offenders. Although each state has a different way of
handling adolescent offenders, there are still rules that can contribute to a strong juvenile court
system. In an article published by Linda J. Collier, she gives her suggestion that it is needed to
establish a uniform minimum age for trying juveniles as adults enable to keep the court system
fair. There is a juvenile court system in each state that help determine the prosecution of a minor
arguments that state charging someone who is under the legal age of eighteen is violating their
constitutional rights. In 1989, Joe Harris Sullivan was arrested and indicted for the rape and
robbery of a 72-year-old woman. He was charged with two counts of burglary, two counts of
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sexual battery and one count of grand theft auto. He was tried as an adult and, at the age of
thirteen, was sentenced to life without parole. Sullivan has repeatedly challenged the
constitutionality of his sentence, contending that sentencing a 13-year-old to life in prison with
no opportunity of parole violates the Eighth Amendments prohibition of cruel and unusual
punishment(Makar). Contrary to many beliefs the US Constitution does not forbad the use of
this sentence. The eighth amendment protects ones right from inhumane punishments like
torture. The Court has approved harsh punishments for a variety of offenses so long as
legislatures have a "reasonable basis" for believing that the punishment advances the criminal-
justice system's goals (Stimson and Grossman). Every states juvenile justice system different
on how they choose to handle cases that involve minors. Some of these offenders are tried as
adults and a small percentage of them are sentenced to life without parole, which is presumed by
some to be the strongest sentence available to express society's disapproval, incapacitate the
criminal, and deter the most serious offenses (Stimson and Grossman). Very few instances occur
where a juvenile is given a harsh sentence, but when it does that severity of the crime can cause
the court to appeal more in the favor of public safety. Constitutionally, giving an adolescent the
sentence of life without parole is legal and does not violate their rights.
In some instances juveniles who commit heinous crimes should be tried as an adult and
be held accountable for their actions. People will let their emotions cloud their judgement for a
young child who has been sentenced. Constitutionally, when a juvenile is sentenced to a harsh
punishment, like life without parole, it does not violate their rights. Prosecutors take into
consideration public safety, criminal history and, the one of the biggest factors, age. Juveniles are
well aware of right from wrong and should be charged according to their offense rather than their
age.
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Works Cited
Backstrom, James C. "The Criminal Justice System Should Treat Some Juveniles as Adults."
Backstrom, James C. "Tough Juvenile Justice Policies Reduce Crime by Holding Juveniles
Collier, Linda J. "More Teenage Criminals Should Be Tried as Adults." Opposing Viewpoints in
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Makar, Scott D. "Does Sentencing a 13-year-old Offender to Life Without Parole Constitute
"Cruel and Unusual Punishment"?" Points of View Reference Center, 14 Sept. 2009. Web.
22 Feb. 2017.
Newton, Heather. In Some Situations, Teens Should Be Tried as Adults. Points of View
Stimson, Charles D., and Andrew M. Grossman. "Life Without Parole in the Adult System Is
Reasonable for Some Juvenile Offenders." Opposing Viewpoints, 2010. Web. 8 Mar.
2017.