Good Example Of Adult Judgement For Adult Crime Research Paper

In this paper, there will be considered the criminal responsibility of teenagers who have committed an "adult" crime, or rather two points of view in relation to this issue. Is it necessary to judge the teenager who committed murder as an adult, or should the culprit be put in the place of rehabilitation?
There are people who believe that an "adult" crime must be accompanied by an adult punishment, there are also more loyal followers of justice measures who argue that the juveniles cannot be tried in adult courts, as they have all chances to become a productive member of society. One and the other sides put forward a number of arguments defending their innocence. So it must be analyzed the arguments and made some conclusions regarding this issue. Before making any conclusions, the legislation norms should be considered.
The first part of my work will consist of the consideration of the children age categories who are judged for a certain crime. Is it necessary to raise the age limit at which a child can be tried as an adult and why? Is it appropriate to judge children in adult courts? The second part will consist of arguments in support of opinion about judging children is inhumane and wrong.
Before talking about ways to solve the problem of the punishment of adolescents, it`s necessary to determine the causes which encourage teenagers to commit crimes. In most cases (approximately 63%), violence or misconduct committed by juveniles were aimed at adult individuals. Adolescence is one of the most difficult periods as during this age (from 12 to 16 years) there is a hormonal chaos in the human body what makes the personality to become more unpredictable. An important factor is the education that must include individual approach. Much depends on the parents and professionals dealing with adolescents in various educational institutions.
Today in our society there are enough things and phenomena, which may have a negative impact on the development of the personality and teenager`s behavior. Open forms of violence on television, in video games and in society in general. This trend is reflected in the psyche of a teenager and can lead to impaired perception of the world. There should be also considered the issue of the incompetence of some adults in communicating with adolescents in critical situations. Sometimes a misunderstanding leads to very serious consequences. Today it`s hard to imagine a family in which the teenager would not be allowed to watch TV or play video games. The pace of development of the teenagers` intelligence in our time is very different from the same age children 10 years ago. The flow rate and volume of information become increasingly higher with each passing day. Information which is aimed at certain age groups should be adapted and controlled. It`s quite difficult to resolve the problem to the very end, but it`s absolutely possible to reduce the number of tragic cases.
Juvenile delinquency is a part of crime in general, which is subject to the same laws as adults, but still has its own peculiarities. It is established that the main causes of juvenile delinquency are: the growth of homelessness, education of children in dysfunctional families where the parents are alcoholics, drug addicts or with a criminal record, poor financial situation. It also should be noted that most of the film production has a negative effect on the development of children, promoting violence, smoking, alcohol and drugs. One of the biggest problems is the lack of educational programs for children (Whitted, Delavega, Lennon-Dearing, 2013).
The U.S. Supreme court ruled that 18 years is the age at which the individual ceases to be a child and is ready to answer for their actions as an adult. Many argue that the juvenile who committed a murder or other serious crime should be punished to the fullest extent of the law; to be convicted in adult court and receive a relevant detention period. This point of view is substantiated by the fact that if the child knows how to charge the weapon and how to fire it, then he/she should know what entails this act. TV and other media are clear enough to describe the seriousness of the crime and teenagers are able to distinguish good from bad. Besides, the justice system exists to punish criminals for crimes against people or society, otherwise what`s the sense? Judging teenagers for a serious crime in adult court the others will be less willing to repeat the same fate (Liz Ryan, 2010).
Minors sentenced to punishment in the form of imprisonment, must serve it in special educational institutions. The imprisonment cannot be applied to teenagers who first committed a crime of a small gravity. And the punishment of the imprisonment to persons who have not attained the age of 16 at the time of the offence can`t be appointed for a period of more than five years, and in some cases more than three years. In sentencing the juveniles, the court takes into account the conditions of their life and upbringing, the adults` influence, the level of development and other minor features. After all, they have a lack of life experience and maybe there is a lapse in education, they may not assess a particular situation and to choose the line of conduct to be wrong in the interpretation of the content of concepts such as courage, maturity (KHALID, 2013).

Between 1997 and 2011, 46 states reduced their rate of commitments for juveniles.

“There is a more general movement,” explained Delbert Elliott, an emeritus professor at the University of Colorado who studies juvenile crime. “We are past the mentality of, ‘You do an adult crime, you do adult time.’” (Childress, 2010).
In her article about "to judge adolescents and children in adult courts is inhuman", Liz Ryan mentioned the case of 11 years old Jordan Brown, who in 2009 shot Kenzie Houk and killed her. Liz claimed that despite the fact that Jordan was a minor, the Court of Pennsylvania tried him as an adult just because the judge believed that the boy can`t be corrected in the future. The main reason for this decision was the fact that Jordan refused to plead guilty. Liz said it's impossible to compare adult with a teenager and especially with a child, calling it "social madness". She thinks the fundamental problem is with the sentencing options currently available, as they do not adequately address the problems with children who commit serious crimes. Science has clearly proven beyond a doubt that the brain is not mature until the mid-20s. Since a child's brain cannot function as an adult's, it is absurd to suggest that a child should be treated as an adult. Instead, what we need are sentencing options commensurate with the crimes in light of the age of the criminal. For example, it is absurd to suggest that this 14 year old be set free upon reaching a certain age. There is nothing about a child criminal reaching a certain age that magically transforms him or her into a mature, responsible adult member of society. There are children (and adults) who can be rehabilitated and there are children (and adults) who cannot, some are sociopaths, some are psychologically unfit, some will never be safe, healthy, and productive members of society. The test for release needs to be one of readiness for society, regardless of the age of the criminal or the nature of the crime. Juvenile convicts should not be in prisons with adult convicts. They should spend their juvenile years in juvenile prisons and then they should be transferred to adult prisons when they reach adult age. In any case, no criminal of any age should be released back into society until he or she has the skills and ability to do so appropriately. The vast majority of our criminals of every age will be released. The society needs a system that separates them from society when they are unsafe, works with and teaches them how to live in a non-criminal way, uses half-way houses and other re-entry programs, and only releases them when they have proven that they can handle being free in society (Liz Ryan, 2010).
In 2003, according to FBI statistics, the United States had one of the lowest crime rates over the past two decades. The RAND (Research and Development) study showed that prison is not the best method of fighting crime. $1 million investment in educational programs for "problem teens" is able to prevent the commission of 258 crimes per year. Psychotherapy and training programs for their parents can prevent 160. Investment of $1 million in penitentiary system is preventing 60 crimes per year.

Conclusion

Having considered two positions regarding the issue of children`s and teenagers` conviction for the crime, it can be concluded that today the problem remains unresolved to the end. In spite of the loyalty of a democratic society there can be observed some cases when, in fact, the moral principles associated with children's understanding of responsibility are violated. Everyone will agree with the second point of view stating that "to judge children in adult courts is not entirely correct". The arguments presented by advocates of children's rights regarding psychological factors, show the child's brain is significantly different from the adult. That implies the child performance of the crime will always differ too. When the need of punishment of children for crimes of any severity arises it is necessary to resort to a lawsuit, but it is not necessary to use adult courts. Finding the right approach to the problem it can be solved more efficiently. The society shouldn`t use an adult punishments for children who may not fully understand for what they are deprived of a normal life. If a child has committed a crime, the first who responsible for it are adults involved in his upbringing. So, the child is not capable of hurting anyone or to deliberate harm. Therefore, considering all the details of the child`s mind drawing on psychology, it is possible to determine that until a certain age, the children live in a half-conscious world and not fully able to assess the seriousness of certain events. To judge children as adults is unprofessional and inhumane.
Everyone deserves a second chance and everyone should be given this chance, especially speaking about children. Using the right approach in the rehabilitation of a child who`s been in the situation associated with a crime, there should be immediately examined all the details and a detailed study of the personality for the future education must be conducted. Perhaps the child has a chance for a bright future inside the society. But who will be the child, if you bring him/her to the court, asking difficult questions, passing sentence and isolating after all?

Works Cited

KHALID, ASMA. "Should Young Murder Suspects Be Tried As Adults?". Nov 5, 2013. http://www.wbur.org/2013/11/05/massachusetts-juvenile-murder-cases Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
Whitted, Kathryn, Elena Delavega, and Robin Lennon-Dearing. "The Youngest Victims Of Violence: Examining The Mental Health Needs Of Young Children Who Are Involved In The Child Welfare And Juvenile Justice Systems." Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal 30.3 (2013): 181-195. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
Reaves, Jessica. "Should the Law Treat Kids and Adults Differently?" May 17, 2001.
http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,110232,00.html Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
Ryan, Liz. "Kids are not adults! And trying them as adults is both inhumane and ineffective." June 3, 2010. http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2010/06/03/Kids-are-not-adults-And-trying-them-as-adults-is-both-inhumane-and-ineffective/stories/201006030260 Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
Childress, Sarah. “Why States Are Changing Course on Juvenile Crime.” December 17, 2014. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/criminal-justice/stickup-kid/why-states-are-changing-course-on-juvenile-crime/ Web. 17 Mar. 2015.