12/10/2017
The Child is a Criminal vs. The Criminal is a Child
Should children that commit a crime be tried as adults?
Nakia Jackson
ENG 215 PROFESSOR DILLARD ASSIGNMENT 5 WEEK 10
The Child is a Criminal vs. The Criminal is a Child
While there is much controversy that exists regarding whether a juvenile criminal should
be punished the same as an adult criminal, it is my intent to explore juvenile delinquency, the
statistics, the crimes that are committed, and the events that trigger them. As most may only look
at it from a moral standpoint; there are also many psychological and analytical points that could
be addressed. Those that commit crimes should be penalized according to the law. Age should not
be a factor in the case of serious crimes. One cannot simply say yes or no to such a general
statement, instead it should be handled on a case by case basis utilizing the facts of the case and
the mental state of the offender.
The creation of the separate juvenile court system was established in 1899 with a strong
emphasis placed on neglected and abandoned youth. The adoption of the ideal parens patriae
allowed the state to intervene on behalf of these children and take them in, in an attempt to protect
them from the neglect they faced at home. This lead to the state being able to take over the role of
parent, making decisions in the best interest of the child. As a result, both children who had
participated in criminal activity and those who were in need of attention as a result of absent
parents were placed in reform schools and juvenile detention facilities. Eventually, however,
“major problems developed as a result of this combination of delinquent, dependent, and neglected
children… under the same rubric” (Adams, Addie, Firestine, Griffin, 2011).
In 1971 the courts refrained from granting juveniles jury trials, maintaining that juvenile
and adult criminal trials are fundamentally different, and that the introduction of a jury to juvenile
delinquency cases would detract from the typically more informal environment of juvenile trials.
A powerful increase in the rate of serious juvenile crime resulted in an increase in punitive
laws. In particular, the 1990s demonstrated a time of unprecedented change, as state legislatures
The Child is a Criminal vs. The Criminal is a Child
began to crack down on juvenile crime and change laws in an effort to reduce juvenile crime. All
but three state legislatures enacted reforms making juvenile justice policy more punitive than it
was before. These reforms made the youth transfer to adult court easier for prosecutors and
increased the standard sentencing lengths of many crimes.
The “Get Tough” movement included increased rates of juvenile sentencing as adults and
placement in adult prisons. Despite the fact that juvenile transfer laws have been proven and shown
to fail in deterring crime, and some research even suggests that transfer may increase subsequent
offending, juvenile transfer rates continue to grow as the media continues to demonize these youth
offenders. The most recent Supreme Court case, also decided by a 5-4 vote, ruled that mandatory
life-without-parole sentences handed down to juveniles convicted of homicide are
unconstitutional.
Despite recent legislation restricting the circumstances of how juveniles tried as adults may
be sentenced, the juvenile justice system has become more focused on individual accountability
and punishment. Juveniles in the United States are receiving longer sentences and are increasingly
tried in adult courts, with the smallest estimates suggesting at least 1% of juveniles being waived
to adult courts (Adams, Addie, Firestine, Griffin: 2011,). This number is in addition to those who
commit crimes that carry automatic transfers such as first-degree murder. Most of these transfers
result from crimes against persons, but property and drug offenses are often petitioned as well.
States have a variety of different ways to try youth as adults, including judicial waiver,
prosecutorial discretion, statutory exclusions, and blended sentencing practices.
Because of a pervasive fear of society many people believe that children who commit
violent offenses will be released from prison at an age that allows them to continue their criminal
The Child is a Criminal vs. The Criminal is a Child
career, many children receive excessively harsh sentences, in an attempt to keep these so-called
youth predators behind bars much longer than their crime requires or deserves. They are punished
not for their actual conduct, but for what they may potentially do in the future. In 2002, “there
were an estimated 2,225 youth under age 18 serving sentences of life without parole”
(NCJRS,1999). Resources for rehabilitation are not often employed on these youth as they will
never have the option of healthy reintegration into society. They are detained to isolate them from
society at large; their cells are simply holding units for them.
Individualism shapes a system of personal accountability, encouraging youth to take
responsibility for their actions and to make their own reparations. I am looking only at the
institutions of the juvenile justice systems and detailing how this system has strayed from its
