Update: Juvenile Justice

Update: Juvenile Justice. Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 14 Dec. 2006. Web. 20 Sept. 2010. http://www.2facts.com/article/i0702550.

·         Juvenile court is separate from regular criminal courts.

·         Offenders are under the age of 17.

·         In the 1980s and 1990s, there became an increasing rate of juvenile crime, and it became extreme.

·         Some cases, the prosecutor could decide whether to charge the juvenile as an adult.

·         “Juveniles can be more greatly influenced by certain factors, such as abuse, than adults can, and their treatment by the law should reflect that, critics argue.”

·         Juveniles are more likely to have a negative impact from prison than adults.

·         The death penalty is used when it is deserved.

The Juvenile Justice Debate:

·         Most states argue whether juveniles should be charged as adults because of the offense/ offenses they have done.

·         “The juvenile justice system is too lenient to effectively deal with underage crime.”

·         “Tough legislative and judicial policies are responsible for the recent drop in juvenile crime.”

·          “Attorneys argued that executing someone for a crime committed when he or she was a juvenile violates the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.”

·         Society states that people under the age of 17 are unable to legally drink, smoke, or join the military, so why can juveniles be treated as an adult for the cost of a crime.

·         There are a few other countries besides the United States that execute juveniles. (the Congo, Iran, Pakistan, Yemen, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia)