Should Juveniles be Treated in the Adult Courts?

Whether juveniles are to be treated in adult courts, is a complex question with numerous for and against justifications. Considering the long-term implications on society the decision of which side to stand for requires careful analyses of pros and cons, which are more complex than it may seem at first sight. Below I am providing opinions for and against considering juvenile crimes in the adult courts. 

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Disadvantages

Everybody should be treated according to the law as the law is equal for every citizen in the current developed world. In the implementation of the law, the justice system should not discriminate between adults and juveniles. Treating juveniles for offensive crimes will bring instability to society. The juvenile should have a separate justice system where they are treated as juveniles committing crimes are strongly motivated by the environment they are living in. Even adults with different crimes are treated differently that's why everyone could not be treated in a similar way.  Poor neighborhoods are the core impact of crimes. Rehabilitation works while deterrence does not. Some juveniles were innocent and were tried in the adult courts that brought bad impact on their personality. Putting juveniles into adult prisons will negatively affect their lives in the long run. While putting juveniles in rehabilitation programs would …. New Jersey has a rehabilitation program for juveniles who have committed crimes. Everyone

People of different states are likely to be treated differently the same principle should be to adults and underage members of society. It is not fair to treat a teenager of age 13 with the same strictness and high level of expectations as an adult, just because the 13-year-old teenager is still under the guidance of his parents and has a limited set of rights in the society yet while an adult is completely responsible for his/her deeds.  Criminal and victim rights should be properly considered even the punishments should not be harsher. So, the juvenile justice system should be lenient and provide chances for juveniles to return to society and become a better part of it. Rehabilitation institutions could be organized under the juvenile justice system. Their specialists would work on the personal development of young criminals, thus, giving them one more chance to become a good member of society. History has proved that juveniles, who were put into the juvenile justice system, were less inclined to the crimes. For instance, if a juvenile is trialed in adult court and at the age of 14 was sentenced to 10 years in prison, he/she turns 24 by the time being released from the prison. Thus, his/her prime time of personal development is ruined, and this people are less likely to adjust themselves in life. Therefore, the justice system is not reliable and juvenile is left with no other option other than wrongdoings. Everybody has the tendency to commit a crime. Every person will regret committing the crime after they did it. Juvenile justice should provide rehabilitation for the training of the juveniles. 

Advantages

Criminals who get the punishment are less likely to commit crimes again. Everyone is mature enough and knows what they are doing and what the consequences are. Research shows that 75% of criminals say that if they were punished, they would not have committed a violent crime.  Physical abuse can also occur in juvenile prisons. The rights of both criminals and the victims should be protected. Juveniles are pushed to do the crimes by society. Research has found that in 91 out of 100 cases when criminals and victims sat together the conflict was resolved. If you give the advantage of family background to juveniles. Then, adults have their own families and are impacted by society. Therefore, this point does not stand. Circumstances are the same but you cannot divide them by providing this justification. We can use precautionary measures to prevent juveniles from crimes. One can never understand the hearts of victims even if the crime has been done by a juvenile. If a teenager is not punished in an effective way, he/she will become a criminal in the future. Therefore, they should be treated equally so that they know the consequences of crimes. The criminal should be punished but it may have some lower punishments for the juveniles. Technical education and vocational training could be provided with adults in the prisons. Data shows that a 13-year-old raped and killed a 10-year-old girl but was released later due to his juvenile status. There are many other such examples that stress that juveniles should be punished as adults. 

Conclusion

A crime is done by a juvenile while defending him/herself could not be justified. It may also stand for the adults in a similar manner. Although the environment has an impact, it works for adults in the same way. Punishment and education can go along to bring benefits to society in the justice system. Putting precautionary measures is a vague justification, as every society is implementing precautionary measures. It is challenging to implement precautionary measures that juveniles do not commit offensive crimes. Juveniles should be provided with psychological training. They should be taught how to manage anger and, if required, be put in a rehabilitation institution where the specialists and the same as ‘them’ juveniles are learning to control themselves and, thus, contributing to the establishment of a safe and peaceful society. Conditions in courts could be improved by psychological management and decreasing abuse in adult courts. Any framework that could save more lives by punishing the criminals and providing rehabilitation in the prisons is extremely beneficial. Due to abuse cases in prisons, juveniles could be separated from adults in prisons. Violent juvenile has already taken the basic right of another human being; therefore, they should be punished. Rehabilitation can be provided in prisons where the research shows that 47% of individuals take high school diplomas in prisons. Juvenile is easy to be rehabilitated therefore, more rehabilitation facilities should be provided in juvenile courts.