should teenagers involved in violent crime be tried and sentenced as adults?
541683
There are many aspects to your question and it could generate many pages of debate on here.\n\nIn my opinion it depends on the situation, and every case would have to be evaluated individually.  Science has proven that the brain continues to grow and change until about the age of 21, so a teenager's brain has not yet fully developed to understand the implications of any crime in an adultlike manner.   The teenager's brain is not fully mature.\n\nA question that has to be considered is the teenager's background.  Many (not all) young people who commit serious crimes had a horrendous time as a child, and were often victims themselves of abuse, often of many types of abuse, often abuse that society turned a blind eye to.   Such kids are emotionally damaged, and need intensive help to recover and be rehabilitated, if that is possible, and it certainly cannot happen if they are sent to adult prison.  They need in depth assessment to determine the extent of their pathology, if any, and the chance of recovery.\n\nAs a society we sometimes find it very easy to throw kids away.  It is usually much easier to lock them up and forget about them than it is to correct the damage.  No doubt there are problems with the juvenile justice system in any country, and there are no simple answers, nor is there any one answer that fits every situation.  But most of the time (again, not always) when kids commint a violent crime, there was something that made them that way.  Often the source of the problem can be identified and the kid can be turned around.  But it takes a bit time and energy and a huge amount of understanding and compassion and patience to do so.\n\nA society is known by how it treats those who most need help.
267103
Yep, I think there should be a law that if you are guilty of aggravated assault on a child under 10 you should get the death penalty.  It seems like other crimes ie murder, drug etc under specific circumstantces I could be capable of these things, and I think I am a reasonable human being but child molestation? I don't have in me to do that. People that do are special type a of deviant. Some will say that they can't help it or that its similar to homosexuality, meaning that it was considered against nature until recently and that people can not help who they are 'attracted' to. But this is bulls hit; children will never have the mental matureness to consent to sex. Adults do. They have free will and should make appropriate decisions.  Castration is an option but there are plenty of ways to violate a child without a penis. Life terms, what's the point, just wasting money, and rehibilatation does not seem to work. I wish everyone would stop being so PC and bending over backwards protecting the civil rights of criminals. As a society we need to protect our weakest members. A day doesn't pass by that I don't read about a child molestation somewhere in America, the more we hear about it the more normal it seems and this is a dangerous place to be as a 'civilized' nation.
93117
They can commit a crime at any age.  How they are treated by the courts has everything to do with the extent of the crime and their age at the time the crime was committed.
455813
I believe that teenagers should be tried as juveniles no matter what their crime, they ARE juveniles. Young minds are not as developed as adult minds and at such a young age people cannot understand the far reaching consequences of their actions. I think it's cruel to try a child as an adult.
100768
Since Michigan law has no minimum age for charging a child as an adult for murder, the maximum would likely be life. Non-violent crime, like the one Amy committed, does not apply, so she would likely not be charged at all, especially if she cooperates.
719138
You can be charged with a state crime at any age.  It is simply a matter of whether you will be tried as an adult or as a juvenile.  Children as young as 10 have been charged as adults.
457445
they should face the same length of sentence (in a juvinile detention center) for the crime committed and if they turn 18 while serving their sentence, they should be transfered to a state prison.
912701
Yes, I think such websites should be more specific. There is a world of difference between an adult molesting a child and a teenager having a relationship with someone who is a couple of years younger but happens to still be a minor.
986312
i am a teen and i recently just read a question on yahoo saying 'how do we make teens more responsible?' i was surprised at how many adults were saying that all teens were criminals. i am not, in fact i get straiight a's in school and have my own job. i was disgusted and felt like swearing and giving abuse. the fact is everyone fights against authority. if someone was telling you to go to bed and to do the dishes i am sure you would say 'i am my own person, you have no rite to tell me wot to do!' i do, i say it in my head, not to my parents because i respect them and they respect me, so everytime i do something which is responsible, i get treated in a more mature way. i bet tha not all adults stick to the speed limit even if you are just over by 5 m.p.h. the only thing is, not just teenagers fight against authority
964365
As the survivor of crime, I can say the following:\n\nYES -- we need to have the laws looked at very carefully -- these Juveniles can get away with multiple crimes (that if I, an Adult, were to commit -- I'd be in jail for several decades) -- and the RESPONSE that the Law Enforcement Agencies/Legal System provides.\n\nThe Juveniles KNOW that the Legal System, Law Enforcement Agencies, and Judges will just have a revolving justice for them -- Oh, poor Juvenile -- you committed a crime -- here is your arrest, by the way parent, you have to take them home right now, then bring them to court, where they get slap on the wrist to only beat you again, rob you again, continue to victimize the parent over and over again -- and the parent can't even protect themselves or be safe in their own homes.
659505
I am against it. I dont care about adults who ACTUALLY do the crime, but to kill a child because he did something wrong, that is inhumane. i mean it all is, but if they are an adult and did it purposefully, they need that punishment. But a child doesnt know any better and it doesnt solve anything. Thats cruel and unusual punishment.
202664
If the minor is under 12 yrs old I'd say "NO"\nBut at Twelve I think your pretty aware of the things you are doing and the effects of them.\nAnd there have been a couple of murders in the U.S. that were very thought out, planned. and commited by tweleve and thirteen year olds. I think they should not only be tried as an adult But punished as one to.
475414
we put them in there from keep doing it again and might hurt someone.and putting them in jail they could instantly learn that what they did was the wrong thing to do.they should know that doing something bad would make their life a living hell in jail and they dont want to go to jail again.how old are you?
677152
That's a good idea, actually- but I don't know what the sentence should be...\n\nMaybe three years mandatory in prison (minimum!)- without the possibility of getting out early. But if the crime is premeditated and cruel, then the sentence should be more severe.
608177
I am not sure what your are speaking of. Restate your question. Juveniles (in most states) are adjudicated in a separate court away from adults. Most are held there until a Juvenile reaches their 16th birthday, unto which any new charges will be tried in regular court.
786706
Making people "do the time" (i.e. imprisoning them) is not always the best solution anyway. For non-violent first time offenders, non-custodial punishments (e.g. a period of community service) have been shown to produce a far lower re-offending rate than banging people up.\n\nRe the example above - I think that something that happens behind closed doors between two consenting adults should not punished. It may be distasteful to you, but then again, it's none of your business.
1126342
Are you trying to ask, Violent youths who have been charged as an Adult? Every State has different Laws that govern juvenile offenses. First see what your State Laws are and compare them to other States. Look for previous cases involving juveniles and the death penalty.