Albert Felix

Government
Mr. Ocons

Debate

Should children be tried as adults?

How can they possibly be tried as adults, when they are physically incapable of thinking
like one?
Juveniles are not allowed to drink, drive, get married, and if they sign legal contracts,
their signature is invalid.
Why? You might be asking yourself?
Well its because adolescents are physically incapable of making mature, responsible,
well-processed decisions; and this isnt just because of lack of inexperience in life.
Adolescents brains are not fully developed until at least the age of twenty.
Teens brains are not fully developed until at least the age of 20. They lack whats called
the prefrontal cortex, which is the lobe of the brain that helps with reasoning and
judgment.
They also lack a fully developed cerebellum which is the area of the brain that helps
control impulse.
Impulse is a sudden strong and unreflective urge or desire to act.
Without these two physical characteristics that separate the men from the boys or the
women from the girls, teenagers can not possible be expected to endure the same
consequences as full matured adults.
Research shows that the rate at which juvenile violators of the law turn their lives around
as opposed to older violators is remarkable.
With the use of rehabilitation, psychological guidance, and some punishment is efficient
to teenagers who are convicted of crimes.

Rebottle

Sentencing a 12-year old girl to life in prison just seems morally unjust, especially when
she has a high probability of turning her life around with some help.
I do however think that the severity of the crime is important.
I also believe that, in some specific cases, some children who conduct heinous and
outrageously violent crimes should be sentences more severely, but not as an adult and no
child in the world should have to spend their entire life in prison. Its morally unjust and a
cruel and unusual punishment and therefore is against the Eight Amendment. Their
basically babys that adults are sentencing to death because they dont know any better.