What Makes An Adult
Whenever someone commits a crime many things are taken into account when attempting to decide what steps should be taken in dealing with that person. We examine a person’s motives in committing the crime, their state of mind during the crime, their history, and any extenuating circumstances. The judge or jury take into account the defendants age as one of the primary considerations in how to handle the trial. If someone is deemed a “minor” than they are sent to a much different type of prison facility for a much shorter length of time. If, instead, they are deemed to be an adult they are then sent to a real prison. These types of decisions are always difficult, but when dealing with violent crimes committed by young people the debate is always a serious one. Some people believe the parents should be the ones punished for the acts of the youth, while others feel if one is capable of committing such heinous crimes than they should go to jail no matter their age. Some people feel that society is to blame for most every crime committed, and no one should be held accountable for their actions. Most people are less extreme than that though and feel there is a line somewhere that separates a child not responsible for his actions and a competent adult ready to face the full results of his actions. In this paper I will explore just what criteria should be involved in this line and how people who fall below it should be treated differently, if at all.
So what is it that makes an adult an adult and a child a child in the eyes of society? For most things the government finds it easiest to establish a single age before which a child is a child, and after which they have the freedoms of an adult. At age 18 a youth is considered adult enough to serve in the armed forces protecting the country, but the government does not find him adult enough to choose whether or not to consume alcohol until 21, so clearly the legislature is not of one mind...