Juvenile_Justice

Juvenile Justice When a juvenile is being sentenced to a crime should they have the same punishments adults' I don’t think so, juveniles brains are not fully developed and they are yet to learn many important things about life. In the article “kids are kids until they commit crimes” by Marjie Lundstorm from the newspaper The Sacramento Bee, March 1, 2001, there are several examples showing that juveniles should not get the same penalties as adults it they commit a serious crime. For example the author states that “It is a vexing question these days for the under eighteen crowd the group we routinely write off as only kids.” Also, he says that they are only kids until they make a mistake and commit a crime then people are eager to call them adults. In addition to the story of Lionel Tate was told to help with argument against stiffer juvenile penalties for crime. Another article, “Many Kids Called Unfit for Adult Trial” by Greg Krikorian from the newspaper The Sacramento Bee, March 3, 2003, also used facts and examples to promote the case against harsher penalties for teens. In this article the author explains that juveniles may be incompetent to stand trial because of their emotions and they aren’t educated enough to contribute to their own defense and that it is a violation of rights to be prosecuted when you are not competent to defend yourself. There is expert testimony from Laurence Steinberg, who is a psychology professor and he did research about juvenile justice. This article also uses some real-life examples of juveniles who have done wrong. For example, there is the story of Thomas A. Preciado who stabbed to death a minimart clerk. Finally, the article titled “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains” by Paul Thompson from the newspaper The Sacramento Bee; May 25, 2001 also did not support more serious penalties for crimes committed by teenagers. This article discussed research which showed that massive loss of brain tissue occurs in the teen years. The research also showed that this causes loss in brain cell connections in the areas that control impulses and risk taking. Several real court cases were used in this article, like the one about Brazil who was found guilty of second-degree murder. In conclusion I think that there are some things wrong with our justice system when children are being charged as adults for crimes. Juveniles don’t have the same thinking ability as adults and should be treated differently in the justice system.