Trenia Pardue

ELA Honors
Mr.Cook
14 October 14

Violent juvenile offenders should be tried as adults.
Violent juvenile offenders should be tried as adults because they commit serious
and fatal crimes. According to the text, the Minnesota legislature debated a bill called
Emilys Law to lower the age of someone who could be tried as an adult. Lawmakers
named the bill after a girl who died after being sexually assaulted and thrown against a
wall by a 13-year-old. This crime was serious. These juvenile offenders are killing
innocent human beings! They should not have less time in jail than adults who commit
the same crimes. Most of these children who are ages 13 and up should know what is
right and what is wrong, same thing with adults. The juveniles should have the same
amount of time spent in jail for the crimes they commit. We cannot let them slip by
because they are young. If the juveniles do the crime, they have to do the time; it is as
simple as that.
Violent juvenile offenders should be tried as adults because they are no different
than adults. The only difference with juveniles is that they are younger. Being younger
than an adult does not give juveniles the right to take away the life of another person or
commit crimes and receive a soft punishment. Punishment needs to be harsh on these
violent juveniles, so they know the consequences of their actions. According to the
Colombian Senator Roy Barreros, he says, He who kills like an adult should pay like an
adult. This quote is in fact ,correct. If juveniles want to commit crimes like adults, then
they should be treated like adults. Giving juveniles rehabilitation time or being
sentenced to 6 months or less is not good enough for these delinquents to learn. There
needs to be hard, concrete punishments that adults receive to teach the juveniles about
the consequences of committing heinous crimes.
Others may argue a different side. They may say that the juveniles are just
children or that they might have a mental illness, but lets be logical here. You mean to
tell me that 13-year-olds dont know the difference between right and wrong? They do
and they understand the difference. Having a mental illness as a reason to soften up on
the punishments is reasonable, but it still does not cover up for the fatal crimes being
committed. These juveniles know what they get into and what they are doing. Once the
crime is committed, they should understand the consequences that will come about.
According to the text, Mexican authorities recently arrested El Ponchis, a 14-year-old.
He is accused of multiple crimes, including beheading four people and pushing their
bodies off a bridge. This was serious business done by a violent juvenile who knew
what he was doing. It may seem like they have a mental illness or people might say
they are just children, but they know exactly what they want to do. This is why violent
juveniles should be tried as adults.