Should Juvenile Offenders Be Punished Just As Adults?

My first thought on this is yes, when the crime is to the utmost severity, violent juvenile offenders should be viewed and punished just as adults. With this said, age should also be considered first. At what age do we punish a child for an adult violent act? I am not sure, probably past puberty into the early teen years; thus, being the age they know right from wrong when it comes to violence, like 13 or 14 and up. When I read chapter 11, the first 3 examples appalled me and made me sick to my stomach. I never dreamed a group of 3rd graders could be so cruel and plan such things; much less, the 10 year old that violently killed the 90 year old. This is truly sickening and shocking, I am truly hoping these issues are rare and not the norm. …show more content…
These are the cases, where we need to take into consideration the rehabilitation of the individual. A 6 or 7 year old surely can be rehabilitated if given the chance. Some of the 14 and 16 year olds can as well. Family dynamitic and the social environment they are coming from needs to be considered. At these very young ages, I honestly do not think the child fully understands what they did. Somewhere in their family or environment this was a taught or a seen behavior. This is where prosecuting this child, for the neglect of an adult, is taking two wrongs trying to make a right (Holloway, 2015). There are times when the child or teen can be rehabilitated and become a great person. However, you put them back in the wrong environment, with the wrong people, and this is where the system has now failed the