Solberg 1
Reed Solberg
CJUS/POLS 205
Mrs. Smith
16 November 2015
Prosecuting Youth in Criminal Justice Field The Criminal Justice system was first brought about knowing that children have different roles and obligations then adults. Lately there have been many rules and laws that have made us change what the Criminal Justice was built on. This is because it is hard to find a happy medium between throwing a child in prison or sending them through a rehabilitation program. When the United States became free from Britain they set up a legal system that really didn’t care how old a child was. Someone that was seven could be tried and thrown in jail. This all changed when multiple sociologists started coming forward and reported that the bad …show more content…
These children need a better environment to grow up in rather then throwing them into prison. Marian Edelman who is the president of the Children’s Defense Fund says, "The only thing we will guarantee children in this country is a jail cell or an institutional cell after they have committed a crime, when we don't guarantee them health care, childcare and a good education...,”(Should children be tried as adults? 1). This argument shows that we as a country are throwing youths into prison rather then trying to rehabilitate them. Why should we do that to children when they have their whole lives ahead of them. Jamal Bryant, National Youth …show more content…
This proves that juveniles don’t fully understand the consequences that they are facing by doing a crime. Many times when they commit a crime they are pressured by someone to commit the crime. Scott, E.S. and Steinberg who are all skilled researches say, “Several studies show that susceptibility to peer influence, especially in situations involving pressure to engage in antisocial behavior, increases between childhood and mid-adolescence, peaks around age fourteen, and declines slowly during the late adolescent years”(Scott, E. S., & Steinberg). This is more proof that youths shouldn’t be tried as adults. In there study they found that brain giving into peer pressure peaks at the age of fourteen, right when many youths are being tried as adults. There brains aren’t fully developed and this needs to be taken into thought when young offenders are being tried. Not only is the peer pressure part of youths brain not developed but the part of the brain that controls adolescence is also under developed. Erik Erikson, a skilled psychologist says
Reed Solberg
CJUS/POLS 205
Mrs. Smith
16 November 2015
Prosecuting Youth in Criminal Justice Field The Criminal Justice system was first brought about knowing that children have different roles and obligations then adults. Lately there have been many rules and laws that have made us change what the Criminal Justice was built on. This is because it is hard to find a happy medium between throwing a child in prison or sending them through a rehabilitation program. When the United States became free from Britain they set up a legal system that really didn’t care how old a child was. Someone that was seven could be tried and thrown in jail. This all changed when multiple sociologists started coming forward and reported that the bad …show more content…
These children need a better environment to grow up in rather then throwing them into prison. Marian Edelman who is the president of the Children’s Defense Fund says, "The only thing we will guarantee children in this country is a jail cell or an institutional cell after they have committed a crime, when we don't guarantee them health care, childcare and a good education...,”(Should children be tried as adults? 1). This argument shows that we as a country are throwing youths into prison rather then trying to rehabilitate them. Why should we do that to children when they have their whole lives ahead of them. Jamal Bryant, National Youth …show more content…
This proves that juveniles don’t fully understand the consequences that they are facing by doing a crime. Many times when they commit a crime they are pressured by someone to commit the crime. Scott, E.S. and Steinberg who are all skilled researches say, “Several studies show that susceptibility to peer influence, especially in situations involving pressure to engage in antisocial behavior, increases between childhood and mid-adolescence, peaks around age fourteen, and declines slowly during the late adolescent years”(Scott, E. S., & Steinberg). This is more proof that youths shouldn’t be tried as adults. In there study they found that brain giving into peer pressure peaks at the age of fourteen, right when many youths are being tried as adults. There brains aren’t fully developed and this needs to be taken into thought when young offenders are being tried. Not only is the peer pressure part of youths brain not developed but the part of the brain that controls adolescence is also under developed. Erik Erikson, a skilled psychologist says