Michol Zahoran
A common controversial subject in today’s world is if a person under a legal age of 18 should be tried as an adult or a juvenile after committing a crime. When deciding on a solution to this problem there are many factors to consider such as the degree of the crime, the age of the suspect, and their mental capacity.
When someone commits a crime they must face the punishment. When an adult steals, such in a way of breaking and entering someone’s house and robbing them, it is common for this adult to receive a few years in jail. What about if two 14 year -old boys break into a home and steal some jewelry form the family? I plan on showing statistics about inmates, such as that the average age of an inmate is 36, to prove if jail is suitable for a juvenile ( Pastor to Prisoners). [This does not appear to have been proofread to any major degree. Also, what do you hope to accomplish by doing this? If jail is a bad place for a juvenile, so what? They did the crime ... Just think about these issues, at this point.]
If a 17 year-old person intentionally kills someone it is possible for them to be tried as an adult. When Christopher Simmons murdered Shirley Crook, he was a juvenile but placed on death row (Rimer). In this project I plan to show examples of criminal cases in which juveniles are tried as adults and the different punishments they receive.
Also another important point is what laws protect juveniles from receiving the same punishment as adults when they break the law. For example as of March 7, 2005 it is illegal for juveniles to receive the death sentence as a punishment (Lane). I plan on presenting different laws that protect juveniles from receiving certain punishments and evaluating and problems present within those laws.
This problem is difficult to solve. Who has the right to decide if juveniles hold the same responsibility as adults? Is it morally correct for the law to protect a 17 year -old murderer while an 18 year- old who committed the same crime faces capital punishment? If possible I will find a solution that creates an appropriate equilibrium between juveniles and adults and the punishment they should receive for their crimes.
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I would also be very interested in your looking at some definitions of "adult" and "juvenile" to try and figure out what standard is applied for determining if someone can stand trial as an adult. Also, I think you should try and consider questions of intent: at what point do we become aware of the consequences of our actions, etc. I think these things will help fill out a project that, at this point, seems a little scant. Also, ask yourself: "why would someone want to read my paper?" Are you trying to show that these laws are bad? That they are wrong? That our country has trouble dealing consistently with youth crime? You need a more solid thesis for this project to truly kick into high gear.]
WORKS CITIED
Lane, Charles. “Kennedy Reversal Swings Court Against Juvenile Death Penalty.”
“Pastors to Prisoners”. 8 November 2005. <www.pastortoprisoners.org>.
Rimer, Sara. “In Similar Cases, One Inmate is Executed, One Wins Stay”. 29 May 2002. 8 November 2005. <
http://infoweb.newsbank.com∞>