Should Children Be Tried As Adults In Prison Essay

America is one of only a few countries in the world that sentences adolescents to life in prison under the age of 18. Around 200,000 minors are charged in adults courts every year and by 2006 nearly 7000 minors were being housed in adult jails. The people making the decisions for the children who cannot make decisions for themselves are the ones saying they should be sent to an adult prison and some may even have to spend their lives there. Not many people could say they deserve it and some people say they could deserve it but is justice really served? Justice is the quality state of being fair and reasonable. The purpose of this paper is to argue the topic as to why children should not be charged as adults and housed with adults in jail when performing serious crimes because of the physiological effects and the accountability of the children, I will also be representing other viewpoints as to why adolescents should be tried as …show more content…
Florida is a leader in the United States in trying minors as adults and America is one of a few countries in the world that sentences minors under the age of eighteen to life in prison and there are about 200 convicts serving life sentences but adolescents are not ready for the physical, emotional and mental abuse found in adult jails. America's legal system is able to recognize that the mental competence of teenagers is not fully developed keeping them from things such as voting, drinking, driving and the signing of legal contracts. For somebody committing a crime justice must be served and justice is a proportional and appropriate punishment. America's children have not yet fully developed their brains and a lot of things children are kpt from doing by law is a good factor in showing this. If kids can't make these decisions then why should they be tried as adults who has the “capability” to perform these