Minors tried as adults

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
I'm sure some of you have been reading about the three kids in Jersey who were apparently planning a Matrix inspired killing spree. I noticed at the bottom of one article that the county prosecutor intends to try the as-yet unnamed 14 and 15 year olds as adults.



This is something that I've been noticing more and more frequently in reports of violent crimes performed by teens. What do AIers think of this? If the law is to be applied differently to minors, should exemptions be made in certain circumstances? Or is it wrong to ever treat one minor differently from another?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    thuh freakthuh freak Posts: 2,664member
    i dont think minors should ever be tried or treated as `majors`/adults. they aren't allowed the opportunity to vote on the laws they're accused of breaking, so they shouldn't be held to the same metrics. thats not to say that they shouldn't be punished at all, but so long as we keep a rigid age barrier between voters and nonvoters, we should keep that same barrier between tried-as-adults, and tried-as-kids (imo).
  • Reply 2 of 12
    keyboardf12keyboardf12 Posts: 1,379member
    One of problems is that the moment a politician or other person submitted a bill to change this he/she would be lambasted as a liberal commie and told that he or she is unamerican. Then a person would come out run against him or her on a platform that he is too soft on crime.



    So to answer your question, IMO its wrong. But do i see "hide the boobs" asscroft changing the law?



    No way in hell.
  • Reply 3 of 12
    sondjatasondjata Posts: 308member
    I fthey could treat that 14 year old black kid as an adult for imitating WWF moves then these kids should be done the same.
  • Reply 4 of 12
    kneelbeforezodkneelbeforezod Posts: 1,120member
    What bothers me is the fact that some minors end up being treated differently under the law to others charged with similar crimes. It seems that a minor charged with a high-profile violent crime (be it a Columbine-style shooting or a backyard wrestling incident) is more likely to be tried as an adult than a minor who's similarly violent crime (related to something more everyday like a drug deal or robbery) did not make headlines.



    My gut feeling here is that prosecutor Vincent Sarubbi sees an opportunity to grab himself some column inches (since high-school shootings are such a hot button issue) and that people won't complain too much (since high-school shootings are such a hot button issue).
  • Reply 5 of 12
    groveratgroverat Posts: 10,872member
    Why in blue **** have juvenile law if you're going to try every goddam teen that gets in the news as adults?



    My 3-year-old nephew knocked over a parking cone one time. They should probably take him out back and shoot him in the face for it.



    Idiots. ****ing idiots.



    Throwing these obviously screwed-up kids into bigboy jail is definitely going to make them better people and members of society.
  • Reply 6 of 12
    sammi josammi jo Posts: 4,634member
    If a 14 yo who is tried as an A D U L T ends up being found by a court not guilty, then presumably that free and newly reclassified A D U L T can go and drive to the movie house and watch an A D U L T-rated movie, follow up with a visit to a local bar, celebrate with an alcoholic drink or 3, have sex afterwards and the next day could check out of home freely as an A D U L T and perhaps enlist in the military.



    Or....is this "adult" re-classification by the court on a case by case basis more catering to the demands of those who want to dole out the most severe retribution on the basis of revenge, rather than justice?



    There are thousands of adult criminals out there with the mental capacity of children....how would we feel about trying them as such? Is that any less absurd?
  • Reply 7 of 12
    outsideroutsider Posts: 6,008member
    Deciding which kids should be tried as adults and which ones shouldn't is a blurry issue, and the only thing not blurry about it is the actual age of the accused, so go by that criteria. So try juveniles (under 18 ) as juveniles and adults as adults. No exceptions.
  • Reply 8 of 12
    groveratgroverat Posts: 10,872member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Outsider

    So try juveniles (under 18 ) as juveniles and adults as adults. No exceptions.



    But how willy power-hungry local politicos get run on the local news talking about how we need to set a "hard precedent" for kids thinking about shooting other kids?



    Gotta be "tough on crime". 'Cuz the harder you crack down the better things get!
  • Reply 9 of 12
    gizzmonicgizzmonic Posts: 511member
    14 year olds, tried as adults, going to adult prison, and we all know what goes on there.



    If it was a drug charge, then the kid can't get any government assistance for college.



    So...after 4 years of being stuck in with all the other criminals, you're out of jail and you can't go to college. You were arrested and charged 4 years ago as "Columbine Jr."



    That certainly doesn't seem like the path to take if you people to improve their lives, or to minimize crime.
  • Reply 10 of 12
    keyboardf12keyboardf12 Posts: 1,379member
    Quote:

    That certainly doesn't seem like the path to take if you people to improve their lives, or to minimize crime



    Yep. But that;'s not what it is all about. Its about the current power structure keeping that perception of fear and crime going so that politicians can demagogue and keep themselves in place.
  • Reply 11 of 12
    andersanders Posts: 6,523member
    Wow. Unamity.



    Here 15 or above goes to court and are i princip seen as adults. But when it comes to the sentence the age of the offender is taken into consideration up until about 20-21 years. People under 18 very seldom goes to jail
  • Reply 12 of 12
    aquafireaquafire Posts: 2,758member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Anders

    Wow. Unamity.



    Here 15 or above goes to court and are i princip seen as adults. But when it comes to the sentence the age of the offender is taken into consideration up until about 20-21 years. People under 18 very seldom goes to jail




    Pretty similar to Oz. except in the case of repeat offenders, the parents are charged with the offence..

    That doesn't seem a good option either, but it does pull a few kids and parents into line.
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