Recently I was watching Beyond Scared Straight, a show that broadcasts a juvenile crime prevention program that takes place in prisons around the U.S. In this episode a 17-year-old boy, Jerahn, was facing up to 35 years in jail for credit card fraud. Many would agree and say yes that this boy being nearly an adult should be mindful of his own actions and deserves his sentence. While others,like myself, believe that he should receive a less severe punishment and not be tried as an adult. Each year American juveniles are given sentences that affect their lives greatly. Instead of isolating these juveniles from the world, we should try to reintegrate them back into society by putting them into juvenile facilities that will eliminate them
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This then results in family, friends, and community being a major part of the development of the young. People argue that juveniles are aware of their actions but what they fail to acknowledge is juveniles are easily influenced by others. Joseph Wickliffe states, “The family is, therefore, an important factor in the forces that determine delinquency. The family determines a child’s class, structure, and development, and the nourishing process is vital to the formation of a child’s development. Family exerts the most influence on a human being. Any severe disturbance in one or both parents can produce a devastating negative impact on a juvenile”(“Why Juveniles Commit Crimes”, Yale). Therefore, this expands on a family being an important part of a juvenile 's development because they are one of the biggest influences and juveniles tend to conform to rules in their family setting. When juveniles are in families with no good role models or the absence of a family member it raises the risk of them committing crimes and receiving harsh consequences. Juveniles are mentally unable to make good judgments and if the people around them who have a vast impact on their lives were positive influences the juveniles would not be impelled to commit crimes leading to imprisonment, so why should some …show more content…
If juveniles continue to be tried as adults and receive life sentences, then we are putting away teens who could possibly grow and develop into people who could innovate or change the world for the good. Many have said that the young are our future so a mistake by the young should not stop their future that could have been meaningful to take place in a cell. To quote Judge Thomas Edwards,”...even the people who are a little bit hard-nosed in the system, such as your average prosecutor, will sometimes grudgingly admit that, with a 14-year-old, given the proper level of accountability and the proper types of programs to change their behavior, we have a chance at salvaging these kids” (“The Reasons For Treating Juveniles Differently”, PBS). .Adolescents are noncontrolling of and can not help the influences in their lives, the natural body changes that occur with time and being able to acquire acceptance from others. Adult punishments are not deserved by juveniles because they are not psychologically, physically, or socially matured
This then results in family, friends, and community being a major part of the development of the young. People argue that juveniles are aware of their actions but what they fail to acknowledge is juveniles are easily influenced by others. Joseph Wickliffe states, “The family is, therefore, an important factor in the forces that determine delinquency. The family determines a child’s class, structure, and development, and the nourishing process is vital to the formation of a child’s development. Family exerts the most influence on a human being. Any severe disturbance in one or both parents can produce a devastating negative impact on a juvenile”(“Why Juveniles Commit Crimes”, Yale). Therefore, this expands on a family being an important part of a juvenile 's development because they are one of the biggest influences and juveniles tend to conform to rules in their family setting. When juveniles are in families with no good role models or the absence of a family member it raises the risk of them committing crimes and receiving harsh consequences. Juveniles are mentally unable to make good judgments and if the people around them who have a vast impact on their lives were positive influences the juveniles would not be impelled to commit crimes leading to imprisonment, so why should some …show more content…
If juveniles continue to be tried as adults and receive life sentences, then we are putting away teens who could possibly grow and develop into people who could innovate or change the world for the good. Many have said that the young are our future so a mistake by the young should not stop their future that could have been meaningful to take place in a cell. To quote Judge Thomas Edwards,”...even the people who are a little bit hard-nosed in the system, such as your average prosecutor, will sometimes grudgingly admit that, with a 14-year-old, given the proper level of accountability and the proper types of programs to change their behavior, we have a chance at salvaging these kids” (“The Reasons For Treating Juveniles Differently”, PBS). .Adolescents are noncontrolling of and can not help the influences in their lives, the natural body changes that occur with time and being able to acquire acceptance from others. Adult punishments are not deserved by juveniles because they are not psychologically, physically, or socially matured