Children at an early age experience rebellious thoughts and actions, such as murder, and should be punished as adults. Yet because of the young age, people may think to judge them differently, but Jessica Wilde, the author of “The judiciary should not make age-based exceptions”, disagrees. She makes a point that kids are able to think for them selves just as adults can. As a baby, you are born with morals or none at all, and that is an unchangeable foundation. Some people may be under the impression that minors don’t understand the significance of their action, so therefore they should be let off with rehabilitation and new identities. Jessica believes other wise. All juvenile crimes should be treated the same, and provide fair punishment, so that the product is justice for the victims.
Some people believe that juveniles, who commit crimes, should be tried as kids not adults. By putting juveniles through rehabilitation, there is not always a guaranteed success of the child being fully cured when they are released. Alex Roys states “But by putting them through jail, the kids will most likely come back worse then they went in; they could be put into a lot of danger.”
Jenna quickly argues, “Just because they are being tried as adults, doesn’t mean they would go to jail. They could be put on parole or something.” The reason why all juveniles should be punished the same is because it would not be just for the criminals that committed lesser crimes. Also if an adult committed the same crime as a juvenile they would get the pity or slack the child would get. Therefore all juveniles should be punished equal to adults for their crimes committed, not as juvenile individuals on their own.
Even children make mistakes, but does that mean they should be punished differently than adults would for the same mishap? I think not. Children, at the young age of 10, have been reported to committing murder “for fun,” yet there only punishment was to be relocated and given new identities. Most people keep in their mind the young ones age, but when an older person commits the same crime, there is no second thought to a death penalty. This is not justice. The world seems to think that with age you gain wisdom and responsibility, this is true indeed, but it does not mean that even children don’t understand the concept of right from wrong.
Jessica Wilde states, “A lack of morals cannot be treated or cured in rehabilitation centers” (1). Think about it, if you had been a victim of murder and were able to watch your case brought to court, what punishment would you want to bring upon the person, but don’t think about the age. Now think about how you would want to punish a 10 year old verses a 40 year old, how come there is the tendency for most people to feel pity for the young. Wilde also inquires that “All crimes committed by juveniles should and must be treated in the same regard, if not to punish heinous acts, then to provide justice to the families of victims” (2).
In conclusion, children understand that with great action comes great consequence. As justice for the victims’ families it would only be fair to give them a fair sentence, age not considered. All juveniles, no matter how savior the crime may be, should all be tried equally, as adults.