Ethics play a huge rule in determining whether juveniles should be tried as an adult. Is it morally right? In some cases yes but in some cases it is not. If a juvenile is mentally disabled and cannot understand the concept of what he did was wrong and then he should not be tried as an adult. For example, Anthony Laster is mentally disabled. When he was fifteen, he stole two dollars from a student’s pocket. He was charged with strong –arm robbery, extortion and petty theft. He was tried as an adult and could have faced up to thirty years in prison. Fortunately, he only had to spend four weeks in jail (Twohey). It is morally wrong to expect a mentally disabled juvenile to spend thirty years in prison for a crime; especially if he does not understand what he did was wrong. Also while doing my research I did not come upon any cases of someone under the age of ten that intentionally committed a crime. Therefore, I believe it is unethical to try a mentally disabled person or a child under the age of ten as an adult. Most people that fall under these two categories do not understand that what they did was against the law. If a person cannot understand the concept of the law then it is unethical for them to be tried as someone who can.

Another part that ethics play in this case is that all crimes that are committed are unethical. That is why it is against the law. Although it is not always true, America likes to portray itself as ethical. One way America can help make this portrayal true is by punishing unethical people that break the law fairly. Unfortunately this does not appear to be happening. For example in drug cases, statistics show that fifty- five percent of African- American juvenile offenders are tried as adults while only forty-four percent of white juveniles are tried as adults. In 1997, two-thirds of juveniles placed in adult prisons where minorities (D’Amato). “According to a report released by the Building Blocks for youth Initiative, African American youth are 16% of America's youth population, 26% of youth arrests, 44% of youth detained after arrest, 46% of youth committed to public facilities, and a whopping 58% of youth admitted to adult prisons in America” (Schiraldi). One of America’s most admired people Martin Luther King Jr. said “"Injustice anywhere threatens justice everywhere" (Schiraldi). By treating African –American youth differently then white youth America is practicing injustice and is being unethical.