Ulises Ramirez

Mr.Cook
ELA
10/14/14


As of the 1900s a law was changed that allowed children/teens to face punishments as
minors instead of facing punishments as an adult. Ever since then there has been a controversy
concerning whether or not this was a good idea. I believe children should be sentenced as adults
because they should be accountable for their actions and tried as adults. Children are facing soft
punishments for brutal crimes they done.
Youths who commit crimes are criminals; they are walking our streets, living as our
neighbors, and in many instances committing additional crimes. I totally agree with the quote of
Roy Barreros that said He who kills like an adult should pay like an adult.This is completely true,
El Ponchis is a prime example of this quote. El Ponchis , a 14 - year old boy who is accused of
multiple crimes, including beheading four people should definitely be charged as an adult. He was
very gullible and should very well be charged as an adult for this heinous crime. As citizens we do
not want delinquents like this to run free because of their soft punishments and continue to
commit crimes like this when they get out. He should be charged as an adult because he killed like
one.
Another instance of the quote He who kills like an adult should pay like an adult being
genuine is the columbine shooting in 1999. 2 high school teens Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold
brought high powered weapons to their high school and decided to shot their classmates and
teachers. This is one of the most horrific crimes ever in the United States. This is another prime
example of the quote from Roy Barreros . These 2 teens if they were alive today probably wouldnt
have faced an adult punishment they would have have undoubtedly been out already looking to
commit more horrendous crimes. If I knew somebody who hurt or killed someone I loved, I would
want him or her to experience the worst possible punishment for his or her actions.
Many people disagree say children/teens shouldnt be charged as adults because they were
forced into something they did not want to do. For instance the 17 year old who shot several
innocent people in Washington DC. The teen was forced by his mentor to become a killer he didnt
want to be. He thought the ransom would be used to set up a community for other neglected and
abandoned children. Children should not be sentenced as adults as well because many of them had
tough childhoods as they grew up that forced them to become the way they are. Instead of forcing
them to be with 30 year old men in an environment they shouldnt be. Kids should just receive
psychiatric and psychological treatments.