Juvenile Crime plays a major role in today's society. The government follows it’s policy that no crime goes unpunished. Controversy that surrounds the United States courtrooms today is whether or not a minor needs to stand trial as an adult for committing a serious offense. These decisions made by the judge or jury in the opening hearing eventually affect the rest of the suspects life. Juveniles being tried as adults remains that the minor is too young and immature to understand the consequences of what he or she did wrong. Juveniles need to be punished according to the severity of the crime in which they committed. Ultimately, juveniles should stand trial as adults.
An offender who is too young to be tried as an adult is a juvenile offender. “The age at which a person can be tried as an adult varies between states, but is ordinarily the age of seventeen or eighteen (Larson, Aaron).” Though many states allow only children 14 and older to be prosecuted as adults, others have set younger minimum ages or no limit at all. Twenty-three states currently have no minimum age. Some would disagree with the minimum age based only on the fact that juveniles are committing more shocking crimes and need to be held responsible. Others agree, believing that juveniles have not fully developed mentally due to the fact that they have not lived, learned, or matured completely. Juvenile advocates believe youth should be punished but also improved and given a second chance at life. “Young people often make foolish decisions not because they are evil and beyond redemption, but because they are young (Goeman, Melissa Coretz).” Additionally juveniles have not yet reached the maturity level to know right from wrong.