Proposition 21 Argumentative Essay

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We may have committed crimes during our youthful years, some bigger than others. While the punishment that came along with those crimes may have been little to no punishment at all, that’s not the case with fifteen year old Charles Andy Williams and fourteen year old Lionel Tate. William’s, who was involved in a fatal shooting spree in Santana High School, and Tate who was involved in the wrestling death of his six year old playmate were both sentenced to life in prison under California’s proposition 21 law. This law states that any juvenile offender 14 years of age or older who commits a violent crime or a serious sex offense for the most part, are no longer eligible for juvenile court. Prosecutors are allowed to directly file charges against juvenile offenders in adult court for a …show more content…
This law was put forth to dissuade the youth from committing violent crimes and therefore an equitable punishment for those who would commit violent crimes came out as a result. This law went into effect on March 7, 2000 and caused a lot of controversy. Many of the victims are in favor of this law whereas, some experts and supporters of the criminals are against it. There are many opposing sides to this law, and where I take my stand amongst these opposing sides has a lot to do with my community, during my upbringing. Proposition 21 is an unjust law and should be revised or relinquished.

Proposition 21 remains a subjective matter! Many expressions of opinions have went into this law. This law has brought a new prospective to youth violence in California as we know it. It was put forth in an attempt to seize youth violence. Unfortunately, this law did not come in time for Maggie Elvey who was a victim of a senseless crime. As a parent, Maggie Elvey couldn’t fathom the thought of teenagers being capable of extreme

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