THBT Juveniles Should be Tried as Adult

by JiKriss 9:16 PM 0 comments

Under most state laws, juvenile offenders do not commit "crimes". They commit delinquent acts, some of which are acts that would constitute crimes if committed by an adult. The trial phase of a juvenile case is an adjudication hearing. This means that the judge hears the evidence and determines whether the child is delinquent. The court may then take whatever action it deems to be in the child's best interest. The purpose is to rehabilitate, not to punish.

However, the clashpoint in this debate is whether juveniles are mature enough to see the consequences of their actions and thus if they can be punished more severely in adult courts, should they commit serious crimes (rape, murder...).
One of the basic problems and unpleasant clashes is the rather infamous "where to draw the line". Is there really a difference between an 15-year-old and his friend who is 14 years old plus 364 days?


We need to clarify what are the juveniles? 15 years old people or 12 years old people or whatever you could choose as long as you think that [...] years old is mature enough to responsible for the crime he has done

The points in this motion would be:

Serious problem: Are crimes committed by juveniles a serious problem?

The serious problems we say here is for the problems like murders, rape, and others crimes that harm a large parts of society. why do their crime considered as serious? Because of costs to government to operate the criminal justice system (police, prosecution, courts, probation, incarceration, parole). Medical costs to individuals and government because of injuries suffered due to crime. Property stolen or damaged resulting from crime. Loss of productivity to society because of death, medical and mental disabilities resulting from crime. Loss of work time by victims of crime and their families. Loss of property values in neighborhoods with high rates of crime. Pain and suffering of crime victims, their families, and friends, as well as communities plagued by crime. Loss of a productive "citizen" when a juvenile offender is not rehabilitated and continues to commit crime.

Maturity: Are juveniles mature enough to see the outcome of their actions?

PROS:
Society does view adolescents as mature individuals in most cases. The society recognizes that teenagers are able to make decisions for themselves (age of consent, driving licenses at 16, ...) and thus do not need protection from the state. Why should court proceedings be any different?

CONS:
Adolescents are too emotionally immature to be tried as adults "Adolescent decision making is characterized by emotional and cognitive immaturity, intense peer pressure and heightened attitudes toward risk. Therefore, it is no surprise that adolescents make choices that are less responsible than those made by mature adults in similar situations. Although children may know right from wrong, their inability to consistently make responsible decisions makes them less blameworthy than adults." - Laurence Steinberg, a psychology professor at Temple University.

Deterrence: Would adult-like sentencing act as a deterrent?

Deterrence for juveniles does not work. Juveniles, unlike adults, are more prone to emotional (irrational) behavior and are much less likely to think through all their actions. Thus, even if penalties are harsher, they have no significant impact.

Justice: Are juveniles in juvenile courts being punished too mildly?

Crime is always a crime, consequences are always the same. No matter the exact age of the criminal, certain damage cannot be undone (murder, rape, ...). Victims and/or their families do carry the consequences, therefore is is just that the offender gets punished appropriately, based not on age, but severity of the crime.

Adult courts do not necessarily mean longer sentences. "Moreover, studies report conflicting findings on whether juveniles receive harsher or longer sentences in adult court. Thus, it is not clear whether transfer policies are serving their intended goal of enhancing punishment and deterring recidivism (an act of repeating an undesirable behavior after he/she has either experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or has been treated or trained to extinguish that behavior." Torbet, supra note 154; Campaign for an Effective Crime Policy, Public Policy Reports: A Series of Reports on Major Issues in Criminal Justice: The Violent Juvenile Offender: Policy Perspective 5, July 1996

A shorter sentence does not necessarily mean a "milder" sentence. Our laws were designed not to punish as harshly as possible, but to punish appropriately. This means taking into consideration various circumstances, age (maturity) of the criminal, severity of the crime, etc. Therefore we should not aim for sentencing each and every criminal for life, but rather evaluate their cases on individual bases.

SOURCE: debatepedia.idebate.org