Conner Meier

Speech outline #4
Topic: Children should not be prosecuted as adults for any crime
Audience Analysis: General Purpose: To persuade
Specific Purpose: To persuade the audience that, children should not be prosecuted as adults
Thesis: Children should not be prosecuted in adult courts for extreme crimes because its unsafe
and worse for them.
INTRODUCTION:
I.

Patrick entered an Alabama prison at the age of 16.In a little more than a year
behind bars; he has witnessed more than 30 stabbings. He learned some lessons:
Failing to turn over his property when a prisoner demands it puts him at risk of
being stabbed, as does refusing a sexual overture. This thought hangs over him
constantly. He is always on guard, ready to fight for his survival (attention,
Pathos)

II.

Recently I have gotten the opportunity to look into this topic (Credibility)

III.

Of Children being prosecuted in adult courts. (preview topic)

IV.

Through my research I felt it best to discuss three main points such as kids and
their lack of understanding, effects from kids being in the adult system, and why
juvenile systems are so important. (preview main points)

V.
BODY: (casual pattern)
I.

II.

Kids tend to be nave

a. According to an article in Pittsburg post gazette Jordan Brown, 11 years old
at the time, was certainly not an adult last year when he is alleged to have
fatally shot Kenzie Houk, 26, with a 20-gauge shotgun as she slept in the New
Beaver farmhouse they shared. Now 12, he can't vote, drink alcohol, get
married, enlist in the armed services or make medical decisions for himself.
He's not an adult, but he is being treated as one by the Pennsylvania criminal
justice system. (facts & Statistics)
b. Brookings Institution have issued reports that show juveniles who have been
tried as adults are 34 percent more likely to commit crimes than young people
tried in the juvenile justice system. (Logos, Facts and statistics)
Kids in the adult system

III.

a. We read in an article from the New York times An estimated 10,000 youths
under 18 can be found in adult jails or prisons on any given day, according to
federal statistics data from a 2005 study showed that youths made up only
1 percent of the inmates in jails and prisons, but 21 percent of the victims of
sexual violence. (Logos, fact stat)
b. Derrick* has been fending off sexual advances and assaults since arriving at a
prison in Alabama at age 16. Many young inmates simply submit to older
inmates because they know the guards probably wont help them.
c. With this we can begin to see the dangers of being in the adult system as a
youth.
Importance of juvenile facilities
a. Research shows that children prosecuted in the adult criminal justice system
are more likely to reoffend than those held in the juvenile justice system. But
thousands continue to be sent into adult courts every year in the Deep South.
The SPLC is working to reform this practice. (fact)
b. [I]n adult court, they want to lock us up, Sander A., a Florida youth, told
Human Rights Watch for a recent report. In juvenile court they want to help
us make better choices. (testimony)
c. Over the last decade, numerous juvenile justice reform initiatives have come
to pass, with major implications for juvenile detention facilities. With many
states turning towards community-based alternatives and other diversion
programs, the core function of juvenile detention in the 21st century has
undergone sweeping changes, with many advocates and system-involved
personnel adopting policies and procedures that emphasize rehabilitative and
therapeutic services in lieu of strict punitive measures.

CONCLUSION:
I.
II.
III.

IV.
V.

So in closing, (signal close)

When kids are tried as adults they there safety goes down and there chances for
rehabilitation goes away. (review topic)
Whether it be the kids lack of understanding or not the dangers of being in adult
prisons is not worth it especially if there is a chance of rehabilitations in the
juvenile system. (review main points)
Though many people may disagree with this I want to challenge you to look this
topic and search for yourself then do the right thing. (challenge)
Thinking back to Patrick, ask yourself, what if Patrick was put through the
juvenile system, and would he have been rehabilitated? Something we will never
know, but one thing we do know is his life may never get better. (end
memorable, pathos)

Presentation Aids:
None

Supporting Materials (Citations)

"Children Tried as Adults Face Danger, Less Chance for Rehabilitation." Southern Poverty
Law Center. 30 Oct. 2014. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.
<https://www.splcenter.org/news/2014/10/30/children-tried-adults-face-danger-less-chancerehabilitation>.
"Kids Are Not Adults! And Trying Them as Adults Is Both Inhumane and Ineffective."
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Web. 28 Feb. 2016. <http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/OpEd/2010/06/03/Kids-are-not-adults-And-trying-them-as-adults-is-both-inhumane-andineffective/stories/201006030260>.
"Children Can Never Be Safe in Adult Prisons." The New York Times. The New York
Times, 08 Apr. 2012. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/09/opinion/children-can-never-be-safe-in-adultprisons.html?_r=0>.
"The Role and Purpose of Juvenile Detention in the 21st Century." Reclaiming Futures. 2013.
Web. 29 Feb. 2016. <http://reclaimingfutures.org/what-were-here>.