Differences between Juvenile and Adult Offenders' Punishment (Essay Sample)

The Crutches Assault Case
Name
Institution
* Differences between Juvenile and Adult Offenders’ Punishment
A: State Law on Juveniles Aged 16 and 17 Years
Juveniles are teenagers aged below eighteen years. Juvenile delinquency, therefore, refers to the offenders who are yet to reach eighteen years of age. Juvenile delinquents should get a different treatment for the adult offenders. The criminal law requires adults to receive punishment for the offenses committed. Such disciplines include incarceration and even death penalties depending on the type of crimes committed. Juvenile should however get rehabilitation after committing crimes for them to change and abide by the law. The state law, however, states that youths aged between 16 and 17 should get charged in adult courts (Hahn, et al., 2007). The children shall thus get punishment for the offenses committed instead of getting corrections for the crimes so that they avoid such crimes later. The law allowing the minors aged between 16 and 17 years to get prosecuted in adult courts shall, therefore, contradict the rights of juveniles. It is always necessary for the courts to accuse minors of delinquent act as opposed to crimes as done to adults. Taking children to adult court will, therefore, divert the aim of the proceedings that should be to rehabilitate them.
The Crutches Assault Case involves three girls aged 15 years and a boy aged 17 years. They assaulted a boy in crutches and a passerby who attempted to defend the victim. The assault was so severe that it left the two boys paralyzed partially and had skull fractures as well as brain swelling. According to the state law, the three girls shall get to juvenile courts since they are still minors aged below 18 years (Loeber & Farrington, 2012). The 17 years old boy’s case is however different since he falls in the bracket that the state law requires heading to adult courts. The boy shall, therefore, get into incarceration and serve a jail term shall he get into adult courts. Taking the boy to adult courts shall instead deny him the chance of rehabilitation that juveniles should receive upon committing crimes. The Crutches Case therefore unveils the differences between adult and juvenile delinquency. It, thus, calls for consideration for changes of the law to allow the juveniles receive the much-needed rehabilitation upon committing crimes.
B: “Youthful Offender Sentencing Alternative” Bill
Opinion towards the Proposal
The consideration by the Legislature to change the proceedings for children aged between 16 and 17 years old who commit a crime other than first and second-degree murder to get into correctional facilities rather than adult jails is a good idea (Loeber & Farrington, 2012). It is a great injustice to the juveniles to face incarceration for committing offenses rather than murder since they are still minors and their judgment is different from those of adults. The youths should, therefore, get similar treatment to their colleagues aged below sixteen years and find the much-needed rehabilitation. Taking the juveniles to adult courts charge them with crimes and not delinquent acts. Since the youths who get into adult courts face criminal charges, they will then get into the adult prisons infringing their rights to get into juvenile jails. Therefore, the Legislature needs to prepare a bill that will find an alternative to the minors and prohibit the authorities from treating them as adults, yet they have not reached that age.
Criteria to Apply the Proposal to the Juveniles
The best rules to apply in determining the most suitable proposal to the juvenile law is the consideration of the age. So long as the delinquent is below 18 years of age, they should all get similar treatment at the hands of law enforcers. The law should not categorize some juveniles as seniors and minors. According to the law, 16 and 17 years old youths should receive similar treatment to adults is a breach of child rights since the law considers all people below eighteen years of age to be minors (Loeber & Farrington, 2012). It is therefore upon the Legislature to give the children’s right a priority when formulating the court procedures for juveniles who commit serious offenses apart from first degree and second-degree murder. The Legislature should understand the need for rehabilitating children who find themselves on the wrong side of the law so that they change and become law-abiding citizens in the future.
The crutch assault was a serious one considering its consequences as it left the victims with severe injuries in brain swelling and fractured skull apart from partially paralyzing them. It may amount to attempted murder although the perpetrators never used firearms in committing the offenses. Despite all the damages caused by the assault, the offenders were minor and deserve treatment as juveniles through court proceedings. Hence, the victims, mostly the 17-year-old should face other sentences apart from incarceration (Loeber & Farrington, 2012). Taking the boy to a rehabilitation center will provide him with essential lessons to understand the impact of his poor behavior. The boy shall, therefore, live to regret the offense and never conduct such an act for the rest of his life. Treating the boy as an adult during proceedings may just damage him as he will find himself in undeservedly adult prisons. Hence, the best sentence for the crutches assault offenders is taking them to juvenile jails where they can learn to change their behavior and become responsible citizens in the future.
* Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation refers to the process of restoring a person’s life or actions to healthy through a series of training or therapy. It may apply to the restoration of the presence of drug addicts, mentally challenged individuals, accident victims or law offenders. People who suffer mental illness need to get into places where they can recover their minds and behave appropriately. Some of the diseases result from depression due to drug addiction or psychological torture. There are rehabilitation centers where this group of individuals can get both medical attention and counseling for them to resume their healthy lives. Some accidents may leave people unable to conduct their typical behaviors such as talking, walking, or even eating. After such disasters, it is necessary for the victims to head to correctional facilities where they can learn to resume their healthy life (Elrod & Ryder, 2013). The juvenile jail is, however, the most common rehabilitation centers as they help in reforming minor offenders.
The minor offenders always find themselves in such problems due to influences beyond their control. The minors have little control over their actions and may find themselves in crimes that they never intended to do. For example, the children in the crutches case never had a primary aim of injuring the victims. It was quite a surprise that the four minors went ahead to beat their colleagues to the extent of paralyzing them. Such actions occurred to emotions that built up due to the involvement of a stranger to the incidence. Peer influence is a significant problem among juveniles since they do funny things while in a group of peers. The actions the youths sometimes do in a group may be regrettable. However, it should never be the end of life for the minors when they commit offenses since they can still get back to healthy living through planned corrections. Rehabilitation is available for minor offenders through correction facilities or juvenile prisons set aside for the purpose (Elrod & Ryder, 2013).
Individuals sentenced to incarceration always go there to serve the crimes they have committed. The government has considered imprisonment as a way of helping the law offenders to change their behavior and become good citizens. Incarceration centers do not necessarily serve...