As we have learned more about how people develop over time, as a society, we have begun to ascribe a greater significance to the concepts of childhood and adolescence. The field of developmental psychology questions how people grow and change over time in a myriad of ways. Student developmental theories look at how people learn, what institutions want them to learn, and how we know when we've done well or done poorly.
I feel as if American society has gotten out of hand with trying minors as adults. The standard is 15 in some states, but nonexistent in others. In whose mind is trying an 11 year old as an adult a good idea? If an 11 year old person is going around killing folks, that's a (extreme) cry for mental help. How does giving a 13 year old two life sentences seem like the right thing to do? It seems to me that, for the most part, teens are seen as teens, and kids are seen as kids, until they commit a serious crime. But even as we observe theories of moral development, typical 11-15 year olds do not reason on the same level as adults do. I am not at all saying that young people bare no responsibility when having committed certain (heinous) acts, I am saying that the level of responsibility and therefore the levels of punishment, rehabilitation, or other corrective measures should not be the same for someone who is considered under the law an adult.
A whole different can of worms is adults who reason or have the cognitive ability of an adolescent, but I digress. It's bothersome that a kid can't buy a pack of cigarettes (like an adult), but can be given life sentences (like an adult). I will never pretend to have all of the answers, but I cannot ignore what I see to be a problem. Our criminal justice system doesn't even pretend to be rehabilitative, so when, literally, a kid is locked up for 30 years, what do we expect of them once they're released? We have juvenile courts and juvenile detention facilities, but refrain from using them in "certain" cases, which happens pretty often now. Why even have juvenile anything, let's just go back to seeing kids and teens as little adults. C'mon kids, back to the 12 hour work days and forget about clothing or toys with you in mind!
When dealing with people in general, but when especially dealing with young minds, intentionality is everything. What are our intentions when treating juvenile offenders as adults? What are we hoping to gain, and what are we hoping that they will gain?
I welcome your thoughts
