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KaterinaMahdavi
Ms.Gardner
English10Period4
10May2016

TheCagingofJuveniles
Fartoooften,adolescentswhohavecommittedheinouscrimesaresentencedto
juvenileprisonorrehabilitationbasedontheirages.Insomelocationsjudgeshavethe
abilitytomovechildrenscourtcasestoadultcourt.However,moreoftenthannot,adult
courtandprisonareruledoutalmostimmediatelybecauseoftheageandlackof
developmentthejuvenilepossesses.Infact,childrenadvocatesthinkminorsshouldnot
besentencedasadults,butfocusonrehabilitationinstead.Juvenileswhoreceiveharsh
punishmentsarentscaredstraight,itmaycausethemtoreoffendsooneraftertheir
release.Adolescentsshouldbetriedandchargedasadultsaftercommittingafelony,no
matterwhattheiragemaybe.
Numerousassertadolescentssentencesshouldfocusonrehabilitation.Whilea
largeportionofthepublicfindsitdifficulttoproducesympathyforchildrenwhocommit
heinouscrimes,somearedisgustedbythethoughtofachildneverseeinglightoutsideof
aprison.AccordingtothejuvenilecourtinCookCounty,Illinois,childrenareless
developedthanadults,andinmoreneedofrehabilitationthanpunishment(Gass).
Typically,anyoneundertheageofeighteenisconsideredachildandwillbetriedinthe
juvenilecourtsystem."Werealizekidsunder16arenotallowedtosmoke,legallythey


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arenotallowedtohaveconsensualsex,theycan'tjointheArmy,theycan'tvoteall
because,asasociety,wehaveconcludedtheirbrainsarenotsophisticatedtohandlethose
functions,"saysMr.Kling."Butwhenkidsdobadthings,wedecideallthesuddenwe
aregoingtotreatkidsasadults,saysRichardKling,alawprofessoratChicagoKent
UniversityofLaw(qtd.inGuarino).Torecapitulate,thepublic,childrenadvocates,and
youthprogramadministratorsbelieverehabilitationshouldbethefocuswhensentencing
juveniles.Infact,somestateswillnotpermitthetransferofadolescentsintoadultcourt,
evenforpremeditatedmurder.Whilerehabilitationmaygivejuvenilesanopportunityto
turnaroundtheirlives,theyshouldbeappropriatelypunishedwhentheircrimesareof
similarseveritytofirstdegreemurder.
Admittedly,rehabilitatingjuvenilesmayenablethemtoturnaroundtheirlives
anddecreasethenumberofjuvenilecrimesinthefuture.Nevertheless,notallpeoplecan
berehabilitated,yetsocietyhasntfullygraspedthisconcept.Thesechildrenwho
committhesecrimesdonotfitintheadultworldorthejuvenilesystemstatesDan
Mears,acriminologyteacheratFloridaStateUniversity(Miller).Thepossibilityof
childrencommittingseverecrimesbecauseoftheirearlyexposuretosocialmediais
likely.Thenagain,theymaymerelypossessmentalhealthissuesblindingthemtotheir
needforrehabilitation.Accordingtothearticle
ShouldPrisonersBeRehabilitated
,
juvenilesfailedthemselvesaswellassociety.Rehabilitationenablesjuvenilesaslight
chancetoturntheirlivesaroundhowever,itisnotaguaranteethatitwillworkforevery
offender.Ifrehabilitationwillnotworkeverytimeitissentenced,whyshouldsociety
allowittobeanoptionwhenthecrimeisassevereasfirstdegreemurder?


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Criminalsofallagesshouldunderstandtheiractions.Juvenilesmustunderstand
theconsequencesoftheirchoices.Manyfeelpunishmentsforharshercrimesshouldnot
berestrictedbyage.CrystalLombardo,thechiefeditorofNLCATP.org,says,just
becausetheyaretechnicallynotanadult,thatdoesnotmeantheyshouldnothaveto
learnhowactionshaveconsequences[nomatterwhatyouragemaybe](
7VitalPros
andConsofJuvenilesTriedasAdults
).Humanscontinuetodevelopuptotheir
midtwentiesstatesMarkGuarino,anSIRSIssuesResearcherhowever,theyarestill
accountablefortheiractions(Gaurino).Ifchildrenarecapableofcommittingadultcrimes
assevereasfirstdegreemurder,theyshouldbecapableofenduringadultdiscipline.
Childrencanpremeditateschemesasstraightforwardassneakingdownstairstosteala
fooditemstatesGuarino.Thissimplescenariocaneasilyevolveintoamoreelaborate
levelofpremeditationasthechildgrows,leadingtoextremeandinhumaneactsof
violence.Ifdrasticpunishmentsaregivenearlyon,itcouldlessentheprobabilityof
adolescentscommittingothercrimesinthefuture.Ageisanimportantfactorwhen
consideringtheconsequencesforchildrenhowever,theseverityofthecrimeisofmore
importancethananumber.Ageshouldnotstopthecourtsystemfromsentencinga
juveniletoadultprison.
Ifnotchargedasanadultnow,juvenileswillmoveontomoreseverecrimesas
theygrow.Lombardoalsostates,Tryingjuvenilesasadultsalsohelpstodeterthecrime
ratebymakingmoreseverepunishmentsavailabletocriminals(
7VitalProsandConsof
JuvenilesTriedasAdults)
.Ifjuvenilesarenotsentencedtoanyformofpunishmentfor
committingacrime,theymayfeelasiftheyhavebeenletoffthehookandtheir


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actionsdidnotcauseanyeffecttothepeoplearoundthem.Thismaycausetheoffender
toreoffendbecausetheywerenotpunishedfortheirfirstoffense.Juvenileshavethe
abilitytogrowanddevelopintomorethreateningpeopleandcommitcrimesofhigher
severityifnotchargedwhentheyfirstoffend.Lombardobelieves,Harsherpunishments
aremoreeffectiveinhaltingcrimeandmakingjuvenilesvulnerabletostiffer
punishmentscouldhelptokeepthemfromcommittingmoreviolentcrimesforfearofthe
punishment(
7VitalProsandConsofJuvenilesTriedasAdults)
.Rulingoutadultprison
andleaningtorehabilitationmaycausethechildtowaveoffthevitalimpactoftheir
actions,showingthemtheyhavemorethanenoughabilitytocommitafelonyand
receivearestrainedpunishment.Willtryingadolescentsasadultsactuallyhelplowerthe
juvenilecrimerate?Willstricterdisciplineforsomeadolescentsmakethejusticesystem
appearmorereasonable?Tryingjuvenilesasadultsmakesallcrimesequalandallows
formorejusticeintheeyesofLombardo(
7VitalProsandConsofJuvenilesTriedas
Adults)
.Juvenilesmustbechargedasadultsnowinordertopreventthemfrom
committingfurthercrimesinthefuture.
Shouldadolescentsbetriedandpotentiallychargedasadultsdependingonthe
severityoftheircrimes?Shouldjuvenilesbesentencedwithadultlevelpunishments,
suchasadultprison?Shouldagebeanimportantfactor?Ageissupposedtobetaken
intoconsiderationwhenpunishmentsaregivenforcrimes.Inmostcases,beingtriedin
juvenilecourtresultsinlesserpunishment.However,tryingjuvenilesasadultsfor
violentcrimesisatrendthatcontinuestobeontheriseaccordingtoLombardo(
7Vital
ProsandConsofJuvenilesTriedasAdults)
.Ifadolescentsaresentencedtoadultprison,


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theywillbeoffthestreetsandthepublicwontbeexposedtosuchdangerousand
disturbedpeople.Sentencingjuvenilestoadultprisonwillkeepthemintheoneplace
theydeservetobe,awayfromthepublicandisolatedtopeopleofsimilarviolencelevels.
Juvenilesshouldtakeresponsibilityfortheiractions.Whendealingwithfelonies,the
severityofthecrimeitselfshouldbetheonlyelementtakenunderconsiderationbythe
judge,public,andauthorityfiguresinvolvedwithinthecase.Adolescentsknowthe
distinctionbetweenrightandwrong,chargethemasadultsandmaybetheywillstart
thinkinglikeone.


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WorksCited
Gass,Henry."WhyConnecticutMayTry21YearOldsAsJuveniles."
ChristianScience
Monitor
.18Nov.2015:n.p.
SIRSIssuesResearcher.
Web.26Apr.2016.
Guarino,Mark."IsAdultCourtRightPlacefor12YearOldSuspectsin'Slender..."
ChristianScienceMonitor
.04Jun.2014:n.p.
SIRSIssuesResearcher.
Web.26
Apr.2016.
Miller,CarolMarbin."KidsKillingKidsTestsJusticeSystem."
McClatchyNewspapers
.
Jan.202008:n.p.
SIRSIssuesResearcher.
Web.26Apr.2016.
"ShouldPrisonersBeRehabilitated?"
ThePremierOnlineDebateWebsite
.N.p.,n.d.
Web.06May2016.
"7VitalProsandConsofJuvenilesTriedasAdults|NLCATP.org."
NLCATPorg
.N.p.,
n.d.Web.06May2016.