Should Children Be Tried As Adults Essay

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A child that commits a serious crime should not be tried as an adult due to a lack of brain development in adolescents. According to Laurence Steinberg, a psychology professor at Temple University, “Brain systems implicated in basic cognitive processes reach adult levels of maturity by mid-adolescence, whereas those that are active in self-regulation do not fully mature until late adolescence or even early adulthood.” As an individual gets older, so do things like their brain, and body. According to Steinberg, in a child's brain the intellectual region matures quicker than the emotional and social regions. In the past, studies show that because of the lack of development in the brain non logical decisions can be constantly made. Decisions included are those where common sense is necessary. If the brain is not mature enough, a child could make a mistake due to the fact that it was not thought out. This pertains to a child commiting a crime because the child is not mentally or emotionally able to make a decision that requires common sense. Therefore saying a…show more content…
“Campaign for Youth Justice (CFYJ) claims that placing juveniles in adult jails increases the likelihood that they will later be re-arrested for more serious crimes. Thus, the organization reasons, the practice of prosecuting juveniles as adults decreases public safety and should be abandoned”. This organization is stating that if a child is sent to an adult prison it will not help the individual or society. They claim that a rearrest is imminent. If the child is instead sent to a treatment facility they may gain the tools necessary to not become a repeat offender. Therefore making them less of a threat to themselves and the public. Another example of why children should not be tried as adults is jails are not a safe place for the youth and can give the child yet another traumatic experience. “It is extremely
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