Children Committing Murder: Article Analysis

Words: 1174
Pages: 5

not have the same mind-set or knowledge that an adult has. A minor does not have the years of experience and acquired intelligence an adult will have. Furthermore, since juveniles still have an undeveloped mentality, placing a minor who is still in the process of learning and growing into an adult, in an all felonious environment, can permanently traumatize a minor who is still capable of rehabilitation. Directing children into a dangerous facility with males/females who are possibly and most likely double the age of the minor and who are undoubtedly convicts, will not help their state of mind but rather worsen it. In the article “If 12-year-olds Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser knew that the internet character they worshipped was a fantasy, …show more content…
Although this might appear true in some cases, that is not always accurate or appropriate to argue because children all have different methods of comprehension and different state of minds. As I see it, children are only aware of what is taught or witnessed around them. As Clarence Waldron argues in his article “Why are so many Children Committing Murder?,” children grow up evolving and taking in everything that is around them and what is provided, what they are taught, and what has made an immense impact on them both positive and negative. “When we see children murdered or murdering, we should realize that they are a reflection of us and the culture in which we live and accept.” Even though growing up in a vicious environment is not the main motive for juvenile murderers, it is one potential influence for some juveniles and should be considered when a minor is being tried, because it is a part of the child and his/her experience growing up. With that, children cannot be held accountable for all the violence they acquired directly or indirectly, in the environment they evolved in because not all minors are competent enough to look past all the violence and grow up unaffected. It would be unjust to expect all minors to evolve equally despite environmental factors because all minors flourish in a different environment leading to different …show more content…
Because they are young, minors are initially more destined to rejuvenate and get back on the right path as compared to adults because most adults already have a developed mind-set. As Paul Thompson claims in his article “Startling Finds on Teenage Brain,” since minors are still developing, they do not have adult mentalities, therefore, should not be tried as adults especially since minors are accountable for massive loss of brain tissue in their teen years. “While research on brain-tissue loss can help us understand teens better, it cannot be used to excuse their violent or homicidal behavior. But it can be used as evidence that teenagers are not yet adults, and the legal system shouldn’t treat them as such.” Minors are not adults. For example, if an adult would be pulled over by a police officer while under the influence, the consequences for the adult would be less severe than the consequences a minor would have to face for driving under the influence as well. If a minor is not charged as an adult when facing a different offense, why should he/she be charged as an adult when facing other convictions? In the article “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences,” by Gail Garinger, Garinger states “Young people are biologically different from adults. Brain imaging studies reveal that the regions of the adolescent brain responsible for controlling thoughts, actions and