What I think

Is a kid a kid, at least until he commits a horrible crime? The United States has a huge debate going on. Many people believe that when a juvenile commits an adult crime, they must be punished as an adult. There are also people who believe that a teenager doesn’t have the mental capacity to truly understand their crime and shouldn’t face adult punishment. The adult system wasn’t designed to punish juveniles, but that is what is happening today. Although, young in age and development, juvenile criminals who commit adult crimes should be handled in the adult criminal department system because anyone willing to risk life or death in anyway should be able to face the consequences at hand.

Some people believe that it is not right to treat a 10 year old, or those under the age of 18. Because of mental development they believe that anyone under the age of 18 cannot mentally comprehend the understanding of life and death. The article, “Supreme Court to Rule on Executing Young Killers” by Adam Liptak, talked about how people are able to sell the differences between kids and adults. First, he says that there are some cases where the people defending the youth hurt them instead of help them. Second, He states that the jury mistake teenagers for not showing remorse.      

Teenagers should be tried as an adult if they purposefully try to commit murder or have the intent to seriously damage or harm another human being. If a child has a weapon, or any part of their body hurts or kills another person, they have become a danger to themselves and others. Children that are willing to go through the risk of hurting or trying to kill someone else, deserve to face the consequences. If the child didn’t mean for that person to die, but yet they did, they still need to face judgement.  Harming another human being, or killing them fast or slow, doesn’t matter. No matter the level of brutality, the punishment must fit the crime.

If a child had a weapon, how did the child get that knife or gun? Parents should keep their weapons out of the reach of their children or locked in a safe. The parents of the child should also face some kind of punishment too. Parents are responsible for their children's actions, parents are supposed to keep weapons locked away and out of children’s reach.  

No child should face it alone, but at that time, they will have to. The united States Government has made it a point that anyone who has committed any crime that the courts describe as an adult crime, will be tried as an adult. Even if that means a child under 18 would have to face the consequences of an adult crime.