Do you believe youth offenders of the law should be treated the same as adults?

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   Oilersmythposted 12 years ago

   Do you believe youth offenders of the law should be treated the same as adults? Why?
   
   All I'm asking is do you believe the government should be more soft when dealing with youth offenders?

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   JThomp42posted 12 years ago

   This depends on a few factors. The first being the age of the offender, then the degree of the crime. In my opinion if a 16 year old has killed someone with ill intent, they should be tried as an adult. Also if a 16 year old is caught drinking and driving they should face the same punishment as adults, they can spend their time in juvenile detention centers instead of an adult jail, but they should never just be released to their parents.

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   ShyeAnneposted 12 years ago

   Emphatically, No! A human being that is still a youth by age, law or design, should not be treated the same as a full fledged adult. Those fledgling humans, regardless of heinousness of actions andor crime, were guided , nurtured and taught, by those that came before them. We, as a society cannot expect stellar, functional, moral behaviour from children that have had fractured lessons.

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      ShyeAnneposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I want to clarify my answer.  I must have read the question incorrectly the 1st time.  I believe we have a responsibility to help our youth be well and make better choices, regardless of the crime they committed.  Children learn what they live.

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      Oilersmythposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with you. Youth don't have the same mentality and worldview as adults. They still have time to develop and form opinions, ethics and morals. Therefore, to make them good citizens, we should treat them and train them, rather than jailing them.

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   Larry Wallposted 12 years ago

   I think the solution is to avoid the two choices and come up with a third alternative. Children under the age of 17 that commit crimes like murder, rape, etc, should be subject to extended jail sentence, which get longer for the older children. They should not be mixed with the adult population that is in prison. They should be separated and more attention given to developing social skills and learning marketable skills. Upon reaching the age of 18, a judge would then review the progress of the offender and decide if he should complete his sentence in a typical prison, be committed to an institution for the mentally ill or given a longer prison term. A 10-year-old who gets a gun, knows it is loaded and then kills someone has to be held accountable. He consciously committee a horrible act. He may have mental issues that can never be resolved or he may have never been shown the love and affection that might have altered his personality. However, he has to be punished for the crime. It should not be an automatic get out of jail free card at 18. His progress and the circumstances of the crime need to be evaluated at that time and the courts have to decide, after consulting with the proper health and mental experts if additional incarceration is warranted--not only to punish, but to protect society.

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      Oilersmythposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Your idea of how youth should be treated is perfect. I agree with you on every aspect of this.

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   novascotiamissposted 12 years ago

   I totally agree with Larry. Children should be held just as accountable as adults as they know that they are doing something wrong. It seems that these days crimes committed by children are getting more & more severe. I'm totally shocked how many murders, robberies & rapes are committed by young people.  Not punishing them simply because of their age would encourage more such crime. To me punishment is a deterrent. I feel that Larry has got the right approach with regards to imprisonment. Children should definitely not be mixed with adults as this would probably have a very negative impact on them. The sentence should not only be a punishment but also a chance for education and psychological coaching with the goal to get them out of their mess before they enter adulthood.

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      Oilersmythposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Here in Canada, the Youth Criminal Justice Act provides a softer punishment to youth, depending on the crime and past convictions. If it's a first time serious offense, they get a punishment such a community service and get counselling.

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