Analysis: Should Juveniles Be Tried As Adults

Should Juveniles be Tried as Adults? In 1998, 15-year-old Jose, and his teenage friend, were arrested for murdering a Mexican immigrant. Though facts demonstrated that Jose played a lesser role in the assault and attempted to help the victim, he was tried in adult court with involuntary manslaughter even at a young age. This incident, as well as many related cases across the country, make aware of the incessant question, to what extent should we try juveniles as adults? To shed light into this debate, the Supreme Court has made actions demonstrating its point of view. Over the years, the Supreme Court has gradually ruled in many cases to give greater rights to juveniles charged with crime. In 1966, through Kent v United States, the Supreme …show more content…
Juvenile delinquents are often not the monsters media portray them to be, and it should be the job of the juvenile justice system to reform them, as opposed to reacting to the media scare. Upon examination, it is not hard to find that the viciousness of the crime is often exaggerated in juvenile court. For example, Erik Jensen was sentenced to life without parole on the charges of accomplice to murder even though the murder was performed by his friend. The only wrong he committed was being unfortunate enough to be present at the crime scene when it occurred, but now he is faced with no option but to die in prison. Cases such as the aforementioned are not uncommon, and many inmates convicted as juveniles have hardly performed a wrong. The purpose of the juvenile justice system is not supposed to be Judgment Day and cage children like animals, but to examine the reason they got there in the first place and offer guidance and potential freedom. Other times, kids who commit crimes are simply reacting to the negative environment they are entrapped in, and acting in self-protection. Marquese, a seventeen inmate of the juvenile system, is termed a frequent flyer because of the many times he has been thrown into jail. While it may be attempting to assume badly of Marquese’s character, in reality, he is in fact purposely committing petty …show more content…
As Paul Thompson, an assistant professor of neurology in UCLA investigated, children experience a drastic reshaping of the brain during their adolescent years, yet the frontal lobe, which inhibits our violent and rash instincts, is still vastly immature during our teens. Without a full understanding of the wrongs they commit, teenagers are prone to act “stupid”, however, since they are in the middle of change, their “stupid actions” should in no way concretely define the person they are. In fact, as Paul Thompson points out, “teens need all the help they can get to steer their development onto the right path”. The juvenile justice system should exactly be doing that, as opposed to being blinded by a phase that every human being goes through. In reality, cases have proven Thompson’s point. For example, after Jacob Ind, committed the commonly heinous-perceived crime of murdering his mother and stepfather, he recounted his feelings of thinking he wasn’t in trouble at all. Quite literally taking on arms to end his sexual abuse from his stepfather, he felt like ending their lives were no big deal, and was more worried about the pot he had hidden in his bedroom than being convicted for murder. In his interview, Jacob states that he has only now feel regret for his actions, proving that he, and