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Deja Portis
Mr. Newman
English 101: Rhetoric
18 November 2014
Murderous Children
Every single day there are a variety of court cases whether its an adult, teenager, and
even some elderly. With those cases comes the verdict, whether a person is guilty or innocent,
and the opinions of individuals on if those verdicts were fair. Opinions such as those tend to
spark a lot of controversy and one specific topic is teens being tried as adults. Take an example
of a 16 year old stabbing his friend to death, would that make it acceptable for him to be tried as
an adult? When discussing the treatment of teens on trial like that some believe that at times it is
proper for them to be charged as adults while others argue that it would be unjust to treat them as
anything else besides juveniles. Although I concede that some are against teens being punished
for the rest of their lives, there is always a possibility of a teen becoming a murderer and being
tried as an adult would be the best consequence of what that teen had done.
To begin with, when hearing that a teenager is going to court most may instantly consider
them just a juvenile delinquent. However, that is not always the case, being that the severity of a
crime determines the level of punishment received. To further go into that take an example of
one teenager killing another person. Such situations like those should automatically be excluded
from consideration of simple juvenile punishment. Supporting that thought, president and chief
executive of the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, David LaBahn believes that being
charged as an adult should only be allowed if the law provides procedures to protect their rights

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and the publics. In other words LaBahn believes that though unjust crimes comes with high
consequences, a person should still be guaranteed their basic rights and protection from public
out lashes. I agree because the teenager will already be suffering from overwhelming court
hearings and accusations, with the public bashing that may only make matters worse.
On the other hand, those that are against a teen being tried as an adult such as the policy
director for the Campaign For Youth Justice, Carmen Daughtery, would consider that as a harsh
practice that serves no purpose. She believes that it serves no purpose because it leaves the kid
in jail with no physical and emotional support. Although I grant that any person that has killed
someone may experience emotional problems, I still maintain that being tried as an adult is the
best way for them to pay for the gruesome decision. Daughtery then goes on to say that
imprisoning a teenager would not do anything for the society or hold the child accountable for
their actions. She is trying to say that adult level punishment for a teenager would be pointless
because he or she may not getting anything out of it. My own experience with court and just
simply having to do community service was enough for me to know my actions that led to me
fighting was not worth that. That situation confirms that a teenager being placed in a position
where he is tried as an adult would teach an even bigger lesson than a juvenile would with
community service hours.
Opposing that, others may believe in treating a teen with the highest consequences while
Liz Hare being the president of the National Organization of Victims of Juvenile Murders, she
would argue against teenagers being tried as an adult. She states that the best type of court would
be one that determines punishment by looking at all factors of the crime before instantly going to
adult court. However, Hare contradicts herself. At the same time she argues that juveniles being
tried as adults is not in her favor, she also implies that it is sometimes necessary saying that

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there is no denying that the answer sometimes is yes. Hare was saying that for the most part
considering a juvenile an adult is only harming them, but at the same time she understands it may
be best if it fits the criminals motive. For instance if a 16 year old killed his friend on purpose
out of uncontrolled anger, that may be a serious issue for an adult case since he knew what he
was doing. Similarly, a member of the groups board of directors that Liz Hare is in, Jennifer
Bishop Jenkins, reasons for being against adult cases is because juvenile offenders often suffer
from psychological and sociopathic conditions. Ultimately, Jenkins and Hare agree that a teens
brain is still developing which makes them vulnerable to problems in jail such as becoming
psychotic on top of the memory of killing someone.
On the contrary, a teenager killing someone is not much different from an adult killing
someone. You would think that a teenage murderer would not be treated as an adult, but there are
things that makes it acceptable. For instance, a teenager would be fully aware of what he doing
just like an adult would. Those against them being tried as an adult may argue that a teenager
still has a developing mind that disables them from being fully conscious. Though I concede that
point may be true, I still insist that there will be some part of their brain that knows what they are
doing otherwise they would not have been able to pick up the weapon of choice and murder
another individual. Also if you take a situation where a teenager murdered another person and
they call the police themselves they are obviously completely aware of what they had done and
that it was not a good choice. Along with a teen and adult having the same mindset, a murder is a
murder no matter who does it. If one can take away the life of another person they deserve to
spend the rest of their life in prison. If a teenager knows they will get off with just simple
juvenile punishment they may take advantage of that and partake in terrible crimes such as
murder. Therefore, any teenage murder should suffer the same consequences of an adult.

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No matter what sob story or reasoning a teenager may have for murdering another
person, there should be no mercy for them and they should be tried as an adult. Letting them get
away with that will only cause an increase in the juvenile murder rates. Also, take the mind of
the parents who lost their child to a careless murder, it is almost guaranteed that they would want
the murderer in jail whether he or she is a teenager or not. Those that are against them being tried
as an adult have never had someone they love being killed by another teenager, which if they did
there is a huge possibility that they may change their mindset. All people should open up their
eyes to the fact that young murderers are becoming more common and make sure that they are
not let off easily.

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Works Cited
Daughtery, Carmen. Trying Kids as Adults Is a Harsh Practice That Serves No Purpose. New
York Times: Room for Debate. New York Times Company, 19 Aug. 2014. Web. 18 Nov.
2014.
Labahn, David. Adult Charges Are Appropriate If a Child Is Found Competent. New York
Times: Room for Debate. New York Times Company, 19 Aug. 2014. Web. 18 Nov.
2014.
Hare, Liz. Bishop-Jenkins, Jennifer. Some Young Offenders Are Beyond Redemption. New
York Times: Room for Debate. New York Times Company, 19 Aug. 2014. Web. 18 Nov.
2014.