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Should Teens Be Tried As Adults MAG

By Anonymous

   Should teenagers be tried as adults? Opinions differ. Some people argue that teenagers don't know what they are doing when they commit a crime and are still too young to comprehend what is right and wrong. I totally disagree. I am old enough to know that committing a crime is wrong and that if I commit one, I will be punished. Anyone who says teens can't tell right from wrong is either too old to remember what being a teenager is like or they are a teenager who has committed a crime and don't want to be tried as an adult. In either case, they are wrong. All teens know that killing is wrong, yet they do it anyway and get away with a light sentence because of their age. Even if a teen didn't know it was wrong, it doesn't mean it's right. They should still be punished. If they aren't, they willthink that crimes are okay and continue to commit them.

Teens today don't fear the law because they don't think they will get caught. And if they do, they know they have a good chance of getting off because they are tried as teens and not adults. We have to get tougher on crime. There should be a law that everyone over eleven years old will be tried as adults. That way more teens would be discouraged from committing crimes. They would know that murder would get them a very long sentence instead of staying in juvenile hall until they are eighteen. If we want to cut down on teen crime, we have to have tougher laws. ?




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This article has 323 comments.

numbernine said...
on Oct. 24 2010 at 1:41 pm
*taxation...
numbernine said...
on Oct. 24 2010 at 1:40 pm
"Taxaion w/o representation" has absolutely nothing to do with a teen who has murdered someone...
notmental said...
on Oct. 24 2010 at 1:38 pm

Someone who flips out because someone called him stupid is NOT mental; he's a spoiled brat with an anger issue. If he had been dealt with as a child, that girl would not have been killed. I'm sorry, but that boy needs to punished as an adult. He KNEW what he was doing. Blaming everything on mental illness' gets so many cold-blooded criminals out of jailtime and onto the streets so they can murder more people.

Sorry, JLilly, but you're wrong.

Chloe-e-e-e said...
on Oct. 24 2010 at 1:32 pm
Yeah, but they could make a wing especially for teens. My thing is they should be treated as adults and given the same sentencing. Too many teens are getting off easy and thinking they can do anything and not get punished. That's wrong and if it keeps up this way, we'll have a bunch of arrogant serial rapists and killers on the loose thinking the police can never catch them. This problem needs to be dealt with the moment it happens. Not when they're adults and likely to commit more vicious crimes.
TommyOoOoO said...
on Oct. 24 2010 at 1:28 pm
Um, you can ask a five year old if murder is wrong and they can tell you. Blaming it on your "brain not being fully developed" is what is getting teen murderers off the hook everywhere. Your brain is not so underdeveloped that you don't know it's wrong to kill. If that's how you see it, you're being completely ignorant.
numbernine said...
on Oct. 24 2010 at 1:26 pm

What if a teen murdered someone? And I mean, thought it out, planned it murder. That is not going to change. They took away a life.

If they get sent to juvi, they will automatically be released when they turn 18. Then they'll be free to do it again.

I believe that with murder, anybody, no matter what age, if it's deliberate and not in self defense, should be sent to prison. Not juvie where they'll be out in five years.

TheJust ELITE said...
on Oct. 24 2010 at 1:18 pm
TheJust ELITE, Ellenton, Florida
254 articles 202 photos 945 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I feel that a hero is somebody who will stand up for their values and what they believe in and that can take any form. People that have values and have thought them through rather than those who just do what they&rsquo;re told.&quot;-Skandar Keynes<br /> <br /> &quot;When it&rsquo;

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Awesome point Lilliterra! :)
YunqqNiki said...
on Oct. 21 2010 at 11:04 am

I think thatttt`1 is to young . Dey only young bullz at 11 .! I think the agee` limit should be oldr.

Worrdd .!

xAllegria BRONZE said...
on Oct. 2 2010 at 1:53 am
xAllegria BRONZE, Singapore, Other
1 article 2 photos 112 comments

Favorite Quote:
&Ccedil;a fait tellement du bien d&rsquo;aimer les gens qu&rsquo;on aime, que &ccedil;a finit par faire mal. Je sais pas comment on survit a &ccedil;a. Non franchement, je sais pas. LOL (laughing out loud) &reg;, Lola.

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It's a fact that teenagers aren't as good at judgeing consequences as adults, or even children. Obviously they would realise it for a serious crime such as the ones you are mentioning, but that IS a reason why so many teenagers get into fights with their parents. Just saying.
BrokenInnocence said...
on Oct. 1 2010 at 4:42 am
no its not this is wa more serious a matter
patt said...
on Sep. 30 2010 at 11:23 pm
wow! i'm just here to do an essay and i agreed that tees should be sentenced as adults. it is like saying why should a kid get half price on a plane ticket and an adult full price.
tiger said...
on Sep. 30 2010 at 11:17 pm
so do i=) silent death cool
my babe said...
on Sep. 30 2010 at 11:13 pm
thats a dusy wickedprincess!!!!
Lilliterra said...
on Sep. 25 2010 at 7:03 pm
In many cultures in both the past and present, age 15 (or younger!) is considered an adult. So many teens haven't been taught right and wrong? Are they gonna automatically learn it on their 18th birthday?
nessa_45 said...
on Sep. 24 2010 at 9:57 am
i think you are right. My 4 year old little brother knows that it is wrong to kill, so if an 11 year old cant depict that killing is a serious crime then what are parents teaching there kids, if that is the case then we should focus on how parents are raising there children.
WickedPrincess said...
on Sep. 10 2010 at 9:12 pm
have u been around these kids? these murders? no? well i ahve an prison helps them rehabilitation teacehs them nothing
taytay said...
on Sep. 10 2010 at 9:10 pm
Thats only only one person! kids need rehabilitation built to help their generation!
AAAS said...
on Sep. 10 2010 at 9:31 am
I think Teens know when they are doing something rong but it doesn't mean they can ignore there parents or something.
WickedPrincess said...
on Sep. 10 2010 at 8:12 am
When I was 13 I interned at a lawyers office. I met a boy only one year older than me who murdered his sister by choking her to death. I talked to him a little bit as the lawyer I worked for was defending him. Did he know what he did was wrong? Yes. Did it seem impulsive? Yes. He had been to juvenial dentention 11 times in the past year. All it taught him was who his drug dealer should be an knew ways of violence. He ended up in prison. After one year I saw him again an there was a huge difference. It taught him to grow up. It taught him what he did was wrong. For an adult crime you should be tried as an adult
taytay said...
on Aug. 31 2010 at 10:36 pm
I agree that teens should be punished for their actions 100% BUT for one thing the argument is that teens brains havent fully developed like a 30 year olds has. were impulsive, we dont think things through before we do them a lot of the time and thats just how it is. and also if teen went to adult prison, what good would that do for them? t hey could make some great friends that would last a lifetime! not.  and juvy is no walk in the walk! and its made for teenagers to try to get a second chance BECAUSE of their age they didnt fully get their chance. and adult prison has NO rehab made for kids where as in juvy thats what they do! why pay tax dollars on a system we created to help our youth not destroy them, if they arent going to use it? thats just my and several poltitions views