Serramonte High School
I'm a teen-ager and I know how strange and crazy teen-agers can be. But we can't have real teen criminals loose around the country without getting punished. If that happens, they'll just do it over and over again until they get really bored and start doing something even worse.
That's why I think teen offenders who commit crimes such as murder or rape should be punished as adults. Killing or raping would be going over the teen border just a bit too much.
In most cases teens are responsible for their actions. Some people might say that they're just kids, but if they are old enough to commit such crimes, then they should be old enough to be punished as adults. If a crime is committed, such as murder, it doesn't really matter what the age of the murderer is; it still is a crime and should be punishable by law.
There are many reasons why people disagree. Some think teens are still too young to be tried as adults because in today's society, teens often feel pressure. That's why we have parents, guardians, counselors and others to help us.
"I disagree," said Jodie Miralles, 17, about trying teens for adult crimes, "because it would affect their future and make them more rebellious."
Some teens come from abusive homes, and the court should take into special consideration that they are often confused and sometimes unaware of what they are doing.
"I think it's because there's not much family support, no consistent rules and regulations," said Serramonte High School Principal Judy Reagan.
I also think the reason more teens commit crimes is because there is just not enough support for them. There aren't enough organizations and support groups for teens. I think that teens are very important to the future, and it would really help if the government took more time and effort to get teens involved in more educational and recreational groups.
Michael Hopper, a social worker for the `Youth Making A Change' group, thinks that government, civil groups and community groups should work together to create more resources and opportunities for their generation.
As a teen, I know how complicated life can be, therefore, I know of no justifiable reason for killing, raping or assaulting anyone. Actually, there should be no reason for taking anyone's life at all. Life is for us to learn, and the government should help in the process by giving some people a second chance. We shouldn't just leave them in cells and assume they'll realize things on their own.
Instead, we should have special programs for teen offenders in jail so that they can help young people start to realize what's right from wrong. Teen offenders should start to learn there's more to life than being in and out of a jail cell.