xj0hnx
Diamond Member
- Dec 18, 2007
- 9,262
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teens face similar consequences as adults when they commit serious crimes, but they get none of the benefits adults enjoy.
Which benefits? smoking? Drinking? A Mortgage?
teens face similar consequences as adults when they commit serious crimes, but they get none of the benefits adults enjoy.
Which benefits? smoking? Drinking? A Mortgage?
There are lots of them. Teenagers generally have majorly restricted freedom as compared to adults under the law. Driving, drinking, smoking, the ability to enter into contracts, the right to vote, etc, etc. Usually the justification for this is that teenagers are still children being raised by their parents and aren't prepared to take on all of life's responsibilities. (and I agree!)
That being said it's a bit strange to punish someone like a fully responsible individual when you don't treat them like one otherwise.
You can drive at 16, 14 in some cases. Smoking and drinking, lol great "benefits".
That being said it's a bit strange to punish someone like a fully responsible individual when you don't treat them like one otherwise.
You can drive at 16, 14 in some cases. Smoking and drinking, lol great "benefits".
It happens everyday when the punished commits a heinous and vicious crime. And rightly so.
So we agree that this person is not of sound and mature enough mind to enter into a contract where they must take responsibility for the exchange of money, but we consider them of sound and mature enough mind to take responsibility for matters of life/death/serious injury.
That seems awfully silly to me.
So we agree that this person is not of sound and mature enough mind to enter into a contract where they must take responsibility for the exchange of money, but we consider them of sound and mature enough mind to take responsibility for matters of life/death/serious injury.
That seems awfully silly to me.
I think "silly" is a flip and nonsensical word to use to describe this comparison.
When a teenager commits an awful crime, the system has to deal with the consequences in a way that respects the kid's rights, but which also protects society. I am reminded of David Brom, a Rochester, MN kid who killed his parents, brother and sister with an axe at age 16 when I was in high school. Had he been tried as a juvenile, he would have to have been released less than two years later, which would have served neither him nor the people of his community. The Columbine shooters, had they survived, would have been in the same boat, and their community would have been burdened with the danger of living near proven, likely unapologetic spree killers.
I personally think there is a minimum age threshold below which people shouldn't be tried as adults, but it's not 18 IMO - more like 13 or 14.
To me that is simply evidence of policy failure, not an argument for making 14 year olds equally responsible as full grown adults when there is significant scientific evidence that shows this simply isn't the case.
'We have shitty juvenile crime laws' is an argument for improving our juvenile crime laws. It is not an argument for ignoring science.
Did you miss entering into a contract, one of the most important benefits anyone can have as well as the removal of someone else's ability to restrict your movement, actions, etc in the form of parents?
Great benefits indeed. Enormous, life changing benefits.
Then what would you propose for a policy change?
In terms of the science aspect of this, there is no question a 15 year old is not thinking the same way as an adult, but it's not as though turning 18 magically transforms a child into an adult. In reality even a 20-year-old, say, doesn't have the same perspective and sense of consequence that at 30-year-old has. In practice the overwhelming majority of teenagers know right from wrong and refrain from committing crimes - it's not like they are a different species than adults in that respect.
In general I view the age of teenage offenders as a mitigating factor, but where (like David Brom) they have transgressed in such a way that justice mandates a very harsh sentence, those are the breaks. Realistically I don't think anyone who kills multiple people should ever be free, whether the killer is 50 or 15.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_of_minors
Too bad that in some circumstances we do allow minors to act as adults on their own behalf. Minor proves they have cause, and ability to act as an adult, we let them, minor commits a crime as vicious as an adult, we charge them as one.
/facepalm
The idea that children in specific and rare circumstances might be able to petition a court for accelerated rights in no way changes the structure of our system for the other 99.9% of society.
You know you can just admit that there are lots of rights that adults have that kids don't. It's okay.
/facepalm
The idea the "children" should always be treated like children in no way changes the fact that sometimes they need to be treated like adults.
You know you can just admit that there are lots of times when children can, and should be treated like the adults they act like.
-see a bearAuthorities say Ratley (victim) had sent Treacy (perp) text messages about the suicide of his brother.
The defense told jurors Treacy was treated for five months after seeing his brother's body hanging from a tree, and that the messages sent him into a state where he couldn't control his actions, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
Nice job on trying to change the argument. You asked what rights adults had that children didn't. I told you. I'm sorry you didn't like the answer.
As for the rest of your post, I disagree.
Actually, telling people you are going to break the law then doing exactly what you said you were going to do is something a kid would do.If you do a man's crime you should expect to be punished accordingly.
Sorry, no, I didn't change anything. I simply pointed out that there are times when children do get the rights that adults have, and there are times when children get charged as adults for crimes. I'm sorry you don't like reality.
Not possible for me to care less.
but at the same time that victim deserves everything she got.
Just because someone picked on him does not give him the right to beat a little girl's head in.
When they break the rights of others is when they can get treated like an adult for adult actions and associated consequences.