What are the thoughts and feelings that run through the little scheming minds of minors when they commit crimes? Do they intentionally commit crimes because they feel like it? The controversial issue of trying kids as adults or not has been undecided until now. The reason behind “stop trying 13 – year-olds in court as adults” is that kids should have different penalties and should be treated differently than adults.

I firmly believe that just as said in the article, “fourteen is too young to be considered an adult” because you are still growing up (Hendricks 1). As part of growing up, some kids start going down the wrong path. Some kids start to do bad stuff, like stealing or bullying. If kids are not disciplined or taught that this stuff is bad when they are still young, they will carry it on into adulthood and will commit even worse crimes like murder. Also, while going down the wrong path, people confront bad moral phases. As said in the article, “Keaire Brown, 14, will be tried as an adult for a murder she’s accused of committing when she was just thirteen,” this proves to me that she is still a kid and is going down the wrong path (Hendricks 1). Judges should consider Keaire different from an adult’s penalty, because she is still learning and has the chance to understand her actions, whereas adults should already know right from wrong. Since we are all humans, and we all make mistakes, don’t you think we should all deserve a second chance? This is really important for children, because they are still in their learning phase and adults can teach them the good things. I affirm that going to some sort of rehabilitation will help some people, especially kids, because we are all still learning and growing. People should notice the unfairness of what is going on and should be more considerate. In a similar case, like Keaire, “Antwuan Taylor, also will be tried as an adult in a homicide that occurred when he, like Brown, was 13” and this is an unjust act upon the children (Hendricks 1). The court should take more action on deciding to keep these laws in affect, especially for the younger ones. The court system should make a finalized rule, to either have kids tried as adults or not, not to have different cases. Since the court doesn’t really know the situation of Keaire when she, “Brown allegedly shot 16-year-old Scott Sappington Jr. in the head at point-blank range”, they can’t automatically try her as an adult, when they don’t have the evidence it was her. This is considered to be unjust and false (Hendricks 1). The saddest part about it is that, “it’s also shocking that ours is a society in which kids so young are denied a chance at rehabilitation in the juvenile system”, and they don’t even consider juvie for the kids (Hendricks 1). The court should also think, if they charge a kid as an adult, and are proven as guilty, then they should think how the kid will be treated in an adult prison with serial killers and God knows what. Mike Hendricks argues that children should be treated differently:

Excuse me, but I am not interested in having legislators justify why they erected this ridiculous system in the early 1990’s in response to a spurt of violent crime among juveniles. The fact is, kids are not adults. Their brains are wired differently. They don’t think things out the way we do. Most states recognize this. Not until you’re 18 are you assumed mature enough to vote, sign contracts, make out wills, sign leases or decide on medical treatment without parental consent. (1)
The opposing team will not only refute my idea to stop 13 year olds as adults in court, but also will fight me to it. One particular, arguable aspect of juveniles is that, “All crimes committed by juveniles should and must be treated in the same regard, if not to punish heinous acts, then to provide justice to the families of the victims” (Wilde 2). The opposing party will try to argue the fact that whatever age you are, you have committed the same crime, therefore you will have the same punishment. According to the article, “Juvenile Criminals Must Be Tried As Adults”, “A lack of human morals cannot be treated or cured in rehabilitation centers,” totally contradicts a part of my argument (Wilde 1). This is only a mere conception of an opinion. This is surely, most definitely not true for every single child out there. They say that kids know what they are doing. When the two ten year olds killed a baby, they had no clue what they were doing; they were only ten years old. There could have been something mentally wrong with the kids to do this. The opposing team tries to deny the fact that kids should be treated differently than adults, and should all be considered the same.

In conclusion to the matter being, it is not fair for the most part of the younger society, who might seem to commit crimes, to have the same penalties as adults. The laws should be done over and the kids should be dealt with in another situation, instead of jailing them with people triple their age. Kids benefit better from having gone to jail with people that might influence to do worse. Instead the children can go to a therapist or a jail for younger people.