Pros And Cons Of Charging Juveniles As Adults

There are also many disadvantages for trying juveniles as adults, such as the judge does not protect the juveniles, most decisions as to whether to charge a juvenile as an adult is not done by judges. This was even more so for Blacks of which 89% were charged in adult court through direct file or statutory waiver. Charging juveniles as adults harms job prospects significantly, the main problem with these laws is the permanent felony record given to the youths. Studies have shown that a felony conviction and a probation sentence seriously affected job prospects with the effects lasting as much as ten years later. For juveniles tried in adult criminal courts 76% of robbers prosecuted in criminal court were rearrested as compared with 67% of these in juvenile court. 56% of these juveniles were imprisoned again compared to the 41% of those in juvenile court. The juveniles from the adult court who were re-incarcerated reoffended sooner after their release than the juveniles processed in juvenile court. …show more content…
Based on research deterrence does not work. A law was passed in Idaho in 1980 which required that juveniles charged with certain crimes be charged as adults. Arrest rates for five years before and five years after the passage of the law show that it had no deterrent effect on the level of juvenile crime in Idaho. Idaho’s neighboring states Wyoming and Montana both of which use old juvenile systems were compared to Idaho’s new juvenile justice system and it showed that Idaho’s juvenile arrest for offenses actually increased while the other two states decreased. Unlike adults, juveniles are more prone to irrational behavior and are much less likely to think through all their actions. Therefore, even if the punishment is harsher it will have no great impact on