Should Teens Be Tried As Adults | Teen Ink

Should Teens Be Tried As Adults MAG

By Anonymous

   Should teenagers be tried as adults? Opinions differ. Some people argue that teenagers don't know what they are doing when they commit a crime and are still too young to comprehend what is right and wrong. I totally disagree. I am old enough to know that committing a crime is wrong and that if I commit one, I will be punished. Anyone who says teens can't tell right from wrong is either too old to remember what being a teenager is like or they are a teenager who has committed a crime and don't want to be tried as an adult. In either case, they are wrong. All teens know that killing is wrong, yet they do it anyway and get away with a light sentence because of their age. Even if a teen didn't know it was wrong, it doesn't mean it's right. They should still be punished. If they aren't, they willthink that crimes are okay and continue to commit them.

Teens today don't fear the law because they don't think they will get caught. And if they do, they know they have a good chance of getting off because they are tried as teens and not adults. We have to get tougher on crime. There should be a law that everyone over eleven years old will be tried as adults. That way more teens would be discouraged from committing crimes. They would know that murder would get them a very long sentence instead of staying in juvenile hall until they are eighteen. If we want to cut down on teen crime, we have to have tougher laws. ?





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This article has 323 comments.


eshsgirl2012 said...
on Apr. 20 2012 at 1:28 pm
I'm a teen. I'm less than a month away from being 18. Have I commited a minor crime. Of course, what teen hasn't? Anything severe. Never. Instead of making up excuses and blaming it everyone, how about BE an adult and be a man. (in my case woman) If we want the freedom, well we should have the responsibilities and consequences. Simple as that.

eshsgirl2012 said...
on Apr. 20 2012 at 12:59 pm
So, I'm reading this write now because I have to do a research paper on "Should children who commit certain crimes be treated as adults? If so, is there a lower age limit to this policy?" I'm 17. At age 10 I knew it was wrong to kill. Nobody can say otherwise. Parents all teach their kids when young it's wrong to hit someone. As they get older, parents teach them it's wrong to hurt around age 8-10. At age 10, I was told, it is wrong to kill and hurt someone sexually, etc. (I was taught all this while my parents were getting divorced. Messy divorce. My dad tried hurting my mom.) I was taught IT'S WRONG. Listen, if you know it's wrong to hurt someone and you know a gun can hurt someone seriously, you should be tried as an adult. Simple as that. You can't tell me otherwise. The fact that someone would want to hurt another severely means they have issues. They should be treated BUT also punished for their crime.  it's only fair.

on Apr. 13 2012 at 6:37 pm
I'm doing a research paper about juvenile & i disagree kids should not be tried as adults it don't matter if they know Whats wrong & Whats right their still just kids. If u diagree u can just shove it up your ass!

fairness said...
on Apr. 11 2012 at 12:24 pm

Children are killed by children. Teens are killed by teens. and still we refuse to punish them because they are too young to understand that what they are doing is wrong. It's an excuse too often heard after lives are lost and ruined. Without a tougher punishment system, society is left with a high percentage of delinquents and a rising percentage of crime victimes. 

But I wonder how many supports of "not wanting to tried juveniles as adults" would still be supporters if one of their family [members] were the victim of the teen murder. Justice is suppose to be for the victim not for the condemned.

But dont get me wrong, I am an advocate of second chances, I just believe that if you commit adult crime, you get adult time.


fairness said...
on Apr. 11 2012 at 12:12 pm

The juvenile court was created to handle juvenile’s offenders on the base of their youth rather than their crimes committed. However, studies have shown that youth today are taking advantage of this lenient and outdated system and are committing violent crimes because they believe they will get off easy. United states must hold criminals accountable- regardless of their age- and impose a tough punishment system. To that end, juveniles should sometimes be tried as adults. It's not a war on youth, it is a battle against the immeasurable loss of human life, personal security and wasted human resource. 

Now dont get me wrong, I do not believe that institutionalization is a solution to America's social problem. I am an advocate of second chances. But I do believe that if you do an adult crime, you do adult time. Minors that commit certain serious crimes should be tried as adults. Some youth are even to known to commit crimes without thought because they known they cannot be tried as adults. 

I guess my point is being without a tougher punishment system, society is left with a high percentage of delinquents and a rising percentage of crime victims.


MARC said...
on Apr. 11 2012 at 11:47 am
I agree with this article up to a certain point. 11 years old is to young, I would understand 13 or 14 year olds. But it also depends on the crime they commit.

on Apr. 9 2012 at 3:55 pm
I do not agree. Teens should not be tried as adults. I see where you are coming from, and I have had crimes committed agenst me by teenagers, believe me I’d like them to be tried as adults out of anger. But we are all not the same, be intelligent enough to understand this. Though many of us are fortunate to understand right from wrong, a lot can not. Like dirtybirdy35 said, it can have a lot to do with your home life aswell. Kbye.

MellyBelly said...
on Mar. 23 2012 at 1:50 pm
MellyBelly, Winnipeg, Other
0 articles 0 photos 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
Life is short but not too short so make the most out of it.

I don't agree with being 11 and tried as an adult. 13 or 14 seems more appropriate but I agree with you on the tougher sentences for those who are close to 18 but still get lighter sentences for killing someone.

KatsK DIAMOND said...
on Feb. 15 2012 at 8:01 pm
KatsK DIAMOND, Saint Paul, Minnesota
57 articles 0 photos 301 comments

Favorite Quote:
Being inexhaustible, life and nature are a constant stimulus for a creative mind.
~Hans Hofmann
You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.
~Ray Bradbury

I completely agree!

on Feb. 15 2012 at 3:45 pm
n3xtusplaya DIAMOND, Honolulu, Hawaii
83 articles 23 photos 232 comments

Favorite Quote:
"It's better to be hated for who you are than to be loved for what you are not."





~Luara Moncur

this is so true! and i believe if you want to commit it you need to be willing to face it...

Bruff said...
on Feb. 15 2012 at 12:06 pm
Honestly, I think the age of 18 should be upheld in all situations. There are really no positive consequences of people going to jail and 16 and staying until they are 45. However Juvinil hall is about reform. If committing a crime at 11 gets one tried as an adult, then by all means, teens should get all the rights of a legal adult.

on Feb. 8 2012 at 4:20 am
I figured it would make sense.

swaggie mu said...
on Feb. 7 2012 at 10:31 am
i 2nd dat.

ross2444 said...
on Feb. 7 2012 at 8:37 am
i agree with dirtybirdy35

swaggie mu said...
on Feb. 6 2012 at 9:39 am
i 2nd that.

on Jan. 25 2012 at 8:33 pm
An eleven year old child can only be as responsible as their parents, they can only be tried as an adult if they have the authority, rights, and respect of an adult. Otherwise, I deem this statement of eleven year olds being tried as adults one-sided, because eleven year olds do not recieve the same esteem as adults, I'm fifteen and will have to wait until I am an adult you recieve this, also, emotions run wild through teen years, which can result in highly influenced decisions that cannot be contained the child alone.

brittneyy324 said...
on Dec. 16 2011 at 8:13 am
brittneyy324, Daf, Virginia
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments
I agree with YungB. If they want to try us as adults, we should have the same freedoms. We should be able to own property (with morgage, etc.), smoke, and have no curfew. Does that sound reasonable? Not likely. You would say what, "They are to young to handle that freedom"? Well, I think it should all go hand in hand. It makes sense to me- Be tried as an adult, give us the privileges as one too.

on Dec. 16 2011 at 7:06 am
CrazyGirl01 SILVER, Gibbon, Minnesota
7 articles 2 photos 20 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light." ~Albus Dumbledore

I think it depends on the gravity of the situation. Like if 16 year old commits murder, he should be tried as an adult. But there are some cases where a teens brain isn't fully developed, ergo shouldn't be tried as an adult.

DirtyBirdy35 said...
on Dec. 15 2011 at 8:47 pm

1. 11 is way to young...

2. What kids do could be because of their home life... if they're under age put them in juvi get the help while they're away from their home life and try to fix it... what's putting them in jail going to do? if they're abused at home they're going to think it's okay and normal... so if they did it to someone and went to jail or something they're going to want to know why the heck they're there...

3. Not all kids are the same... not all kids know right from wrong... what can be right to one kid can be wrong to another... low income families are raised different then higher income families... if this essay was for school id probably get more facts then two paragraphs bud


DirtyBirdy35 said...
on Dec. 15 2011 at 8:43 pm
you might want to learn how to talk before you comment