Kill a Monkey, Save Yourself
Boys Who Act Like Men
Savona, NY, Eric Smith, 13, cut off four year old Derrick Robie on his way to a park recreation program and offered to show him a shortcut. Derrick went with Eric hesitantly but unfortunately never arrived at the park. Later that day the Derrick's body was found just outside the park brutally beaten (Wartik 98).
Controversy exists of whether a juvenile delinquent should be punished the same as an adult would. Anyone who commits capitol crimes, including teens, should be penalized to the fullest extent of the law. Age should never become a factor when it pertains to serious crimes. Many researchers claim that the child does understand their misdeeds or that they were brought up to think that their behaviors are acceptable or justified. There may be some truth to those claims; however, the reality of the issue is far more complicated. Therefore the question becomes: should childhood offenders of capitols offenses be treated as adults? The answer should be definitely. If they are willing to make conscious decisions that put others in harms way then they deserve the adult punishment that follows.
To begin with, there are countless reasons for why a children act in the manner that they do and why they continue to put forth such dangerous and even fatal tactics. Research identifies that factors ranging anywhere from inherited traits to complications suffered while in the womb can significantly increase the odds that a child will become violent (Johnson 234). Experts argue that no one is fated to a life of violence, misdeed, or delinquency. They believe that parents who expose their children to frequent abuse, intense neglect, poverty, media violence, and access to guns play a role in molding children into criminals. The father of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer questions, "If potential for evil is in the blood that some of us pass on to our children" (Wartik 23).
Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, both ten at the time, of Liverpool, England, made global headlines in November of 1994, when they were convicted of murdering James Bulger, age two. The two boys, allured James away from his mother in a shopping center, took him to a nearby railroad track, brutally beat him and left him on the tracks to be cut in half by the a train (Wartik 56).
Many experts do not agree that biology alone produces children who murder. They believe that violence is a trained behavior. It's a simple argument of nature vs. nurture. Some believe being abused or observing domestic violence is a nature factor in juvenile violence. Being mistreated or neglected is clearly another factor. The majority of murderers come from violent and terrible childhoods. Birth complications also raise the probability that a child would have a unlawful record by the time they would turn eighteen. Nurture is also key in molding young children (Wartik 45).
In a 1988 study of ...
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Many experts do not agree that biology alone produces children who murder. They believe that violence is a trained behavior. It's a simple argument of nature vs. nurture. Some believe being abused or observing domestic violence is a nature factor in juvenile violence. Being mistreated or neglected is clearly another factor. The majority of murderers come from violent and terrible childhoods. Birth complications also raise the probability that a child would have a unlawful record by the time they would turn eighteen. Nurture is also key in molding young children (Wartik 45).
In a 1988 study of serial killers, it was determined that more than 1/3 displayed destructive behavior such as setting fires, abuse or neglect towards animals, and property destruction among teens and preteens. In the same year, a study of 13 murderers, ages 13-17; it was found that more than half of the juveniles had showed signs of brain dysfunction, resulting from drops, accidents, and other traumas (Wartik 34).
Furthermore a child's risk of developing a criminal record is influenced by a parent's use of illegal substances, alcohol, or tobacco while pregnancy. Research also shows that someone who is antisocial has slower brain-wave activity and a lower heart rate than their non-antisocial peers (Wartik 67).
Media violence is another factor in creating aggression. That is, the violence that children are exposed to everyday such as: violent television shows, games, computer sources, and watching domestic abuse in the home or crime on the streets mold the child into believing that this is how the world works (Wartik 78). A fifteen year old boy from Savona murdered his brother with a hand gun all over cold medicine (Wartik 104).
In Somerville, MA Deanna Cremin, a seventeen year old high school junior, was found dead behind an elderly housing complex. She was discovered half naked and strangled. The police are convinced that she was acquainted with her killer (Johnson 59A). However, the answer behind the question of biology or background of the child lies somewhere in the middle. Biology and the nature factors cooperate to turn a child from a normal, happy child to an antisocial menace. Stories of teen murderers often work against research, "It was a wonderful family, this was just a wicked kid," but if you look under the rug you'll usually find that a tremendous amount of cruelty has happened to the child (Wartik 65).
Most often, these disturbing experiences have lasting results on the child. The driving force of children that respond to certain situations violently is that they themselves are terrified of being the victim (Toch 213).
"It is easy to think the infant or toddler is too small to understand violence, in fact, specifically that the experience is likely to take on particularly sinister and magical dimension." According to Beverly Jackson "Where violence is wholly unexpected, is combined with the actual loss of a parent or caregiver who is the center of the baby's world, the depression of a loved one or caregiver due to the loss, the fear of going outdoors, the belief that parents cannot be trusted to protect them, the impact is all the more severe." (Robinson-Briggs 120).
A major effect of violence on a child is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In many cases, if a person or child witnesses or become a victim of violence they later become offenders of it. "The damage doesn't end when the bullets stop flying" (Robinson-Briggs 103). A child is more likely to have a criminal career if they are introduced to the justice system early (Hyde 71). The law believes that children require and should be given different treatment or aid when they have committed a felony to bring their criminality to a halt. There are several instances where they're not even considered criminals. The court cannot see itself taking away the freedom of a teen offender; therefore, juveniles don't have many of the same rights in court that we have (Strauss 189).
For a juvenile they right to remain silent they also have the right not to answer any questions without their parent/guardian present (Strauss 202-3). Three teenagers went into a classroom with a bat, billy club, and a hunting knife and attacked Jason Robinson, sixteen year old freshman. One went after him with a bat, and a second plunged a hunting knife into Jason's stomach killing him on the spot. "Young people,do not shed their rights at the school house door." Students can press charges against their school if their rights are not protected and upheld (Olney 7).
In at least once a month, it's been estimated that 9% of 8th grade students have carried a gun, knife, or other weapon to school. And a little over 250,000 guns go to school each and every day (Toch 45). This has become such a problem that many schools have drills specifically for driving by shootings. Some precautions that schools are taking are installing fences around the campus, metal detectors, and promoting random locker searches (Toch 78).
Many students have a misconception of when it is "okay" to harm someone whether fatally or not. They feel it is acceptable to shoot someone: "Who has stolen from you". Or "Who has done something to offend or insult you". An astonishing 20% of High School students agree with this statement (Toch 67).
The definition of a juvenile delinquent is a person within a certain age bracket who commits acts that are forbidden by law. Often, there is confusion about whether it is better to rise or lower the juvenile age limits (Hyde 27). If a juvenile commits a crime that would be a crime if an adult did it, he will be treated as a juvenile delinquent rather than a criminal. A juvenile can be arrested and/or charged for insignificant offenses such as: running away, staying out past curfew, disobeying his parents along with other offences. (Strauss 202-3).
So now there are three major types of prevention's in place for juveniles. They are Juvenile Court, Teen Court, and The Young Offenders Act (YOA). Juvenile court act in the "best interest of the child," they decide on punishments that fit the crime (Strauss 191). They uphold the belief that if they want to act like a criminal they need to be treated as such (Olney 89).
Another preventive form is Teen Court. Teen Court is intended to steady first time offenders. The juries are made up of teens. One reason is because teen juries tend to be tougher than the juvenile court judges. Teen Court members believe that "In any age of uncertainty and cynicism about the goals and efficiency of juvenile justice, Teen Court has the potential to become a model for the juvenile justice policy in years to come" (Williamson 187). The teen members hear the case and settle on a sentence that fits the offense (Williamson 210).
The last method is The Young Offenders Act or YOA. This act established that the age of criminal responsibility is 12 years old, and said that youths can only be prosecuted if they commit a capitol crime. Many believe that this act has absolutely no effect on teens. It's never dealt with children under 12 and babies young adult's ages who are 16-17 who should be treated as adults. In turn, this act actually increases crime on the juvenile level.
After reviewing this research, it is clear that juveniles and young adults are prosecuted very differently from adults. We haven't managed to come to a happy medium. At times they leave with a slap on the wrist, other times they sit in jail for years and years without fully understanding the severity of their offense. However, no matter what the age there should be no doubt that the punishment should fit the crime if committed on a capitol level. On the same hand, they need to re evaluate some of the rehabilitation efforts and keep in mind that though these children may have been raised to believe that this behavior is acceptable, it is not.
Works Cited
Bennett, Georgette. Crime Warps: The future of Crime in America. Garden City, NY: Anchor, 1987
Carmenati, Marlene "Youth and Crime: Is the young offenders working?" Law Now June/July 21-26.
Eldelfonso, Edward. Law Enforcement and the youthful offenders: Juvenile Procedures. New York: Wiley 1967.
Hyde, Margaret O. "Juvenile justice and Injustice" New York, New York Margaret O. Hyde, 1977.
Johnson, Jason B. " Slain Teen's family: Cops eyeing 7-10 suspects." Boston Herald. 7 ,April 1995
Olney, Ross R. Up Against The Law. New York, New York: NAL Penguin Inc.1985.
Robinson, Lori S, and Jimmie Briggs "Kids and Vilence" Emerge November. 1993:44+
Strauss, Jean. Up Against The Law. New York, New York: Pentacle Press, Inc, 1970.
Toch, Thomas. "Violence in Schools" U.S News & World Report:30+
Wartik, Nancy. "Why some kids go wrong?" McCalls. April, 1994.
Wiener, Valerie Winning the war against youth gangs: A guide for teens, families, and communities. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1999.
Wilson, James Q. Crime and Human Nature. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1985.
