“I like hurting people.” “Murder isn’t that bad, we all die sometime anyway.”
– Mary Bell an eleven year old girl from Scotswood, England
Throughout history there are examples of children who committed crimes, children who steal and even children who kill. Although this seems to be an unthinkable crime it is something that is happening more frequently than any person would ever expect.
Although it is often thought that children and adolescents are not capable of knowing the difference between right and wrong, this is incorrect. According to psychology studies it has been found that they are just as capable as adults of knowing what they did is wrong.
It has been proved that some adolescents kill due to chronical aggression, the same as with adults. They are often described as being cold and emotionless. They are incapable of handling their emotions and act out in violence. They harbor great feelings of hostility and victimization which leads to resentment. Some children will kill because they were …show more content…
These are children who grew up in violent environments, often exposed to violent role models. They use violence as their self-defense or first response. Gangs often pressure their members to commit murders as part of their gang roles; this also allows them to feel like they are part of the gang and not as weak. Many children and adolescents feel a sense of entitlement to undeserved respect. When this is not received they act in violence. These gangs are not always organized or sophisticated nor do they always have a criminal purpose. Even a loosely formed gang may act out in extreme behaviors which they might not have done on their own. This is known as “a diffusion of responsibility”. Violence in order to defend the group is often a common theme for these groups or gangs. These adolescents often possess weapons in order to feel more secure or safe, and these weapons can lead to a feeling of
– Mary Bell an eleven year old girl from Scotswood, England
Throughout history there are examples of children who committed crimes, children who steal and even children who kill. Although this seems to be an unthinkable crime it is something that is happening more frequently than any person would ever expect.
Although it is often thought that children and adolescents are not capable of knowing the difference between right and wrong, this is incorrect. According to psychology studies it has been found that they are just as capable as adults of knowing what they did is wrong.
It has been proved that some adolescents kill due to chronical aggression, the same as with adults. They are often described as being cold and emotionless. They are incapable of handling their emotions and act out in violence. They harbor great feelings of hostility and victimization which leads to resentment. Some children will kill because they were …show more content…
These are children who grew up in violent environments, often exposed to violent role models. They use violence as their self-defense or first response. Gangs often pressure their members to commit murders as part of their gang roles; this also allows them to feel like they are part of the gang and not as weak. Many children and adolescents feel a sense of entitlement to undeserved respect. When this is not received they act in violence. These gangs are not always organized or sophisticated nor do they always have a criminal purpose. Even a loosely formed gang may act out in extreme behaviors which they might not have done on their own. This is known as “a diffusion of responsibility”. Violence in order to defend the group is often a common theme for these groups or gangs. These adolescents often possess weapons in order to feel more secure or safe, and these weapons can lead to a feeling of