Should juveniles be tried as adults

Should juveniles be tried as adults? This paper evaluates if juveniles should be tried as adults

In the 1700s, laws did not distinguish between juveniles and adults within the criminal justice system. According to a PBS Frontline online article, “Child or Adult? A Century Long View,” children as young as seven years of age were charged, tried, and sentenced in adult criminal courts. This posed many problems, given that there were typically no distinctions made between age, gender, and mental illness, so prison and jail populations were mixed with juveniles and adult criminals.

The criminal justice system dealt with juveniles the same way they did adults, which created an unfair and difficult situation for minors.

As society progressed and became more civilized, lawmakers began to see the issues with this system and worked to create a separate juvenile justice system in the late 1800s. This was a positive change because it allowed for different punishments that were more developmentally appropriate for juveniles, such as rehabilitative instead of punitive measures. The goal of the juvenile justice system is to reform offenders so that they do not reoffend, whereas the adult criminal justice system punishes offenders in order to deter crime.

Given that the goals of the two systems are different, it seems logical that juveniles should be tried in juvenile court rather than in adult court. There are many reasons why this is the case. First, research shows that minors are more likely to reform when they are tried in juvenile court and given rehabilitative services. Second, juveniles who are tried as adults are more likely to reoffend than those who are tried in juvenile court. Finally, putting juveniles in adult prisons puts them at risk of being exposed to violence and hardened criminals, which can further damage their development and increase the likelihood that they will re-offend.

There is no single answer to whether or not juveniles should be tried as adults. However, the evidence seems to indicate that trying juveniles as adults is not beneficial to either the offender or society as a whole. It is important to consider all of the factors involved in each case before making a decision, but in general, it seems that juveniles should be tried in juvenile court rather than adult court.