In the last few years, crime the rate of committed by teenagers has risen significantly in many countries. While some individuals argue that young offenders should never receive the same punishment as adults, others believe that the sentences should be equal to all ages.
On one hand, statistics show that the younger committees are still in the state where their emotional and cognitive thinking skills are developing. They are more likely to be influenced by their own impulsive thoughts, not aware of the consequences followed by their own actions. Not only by their own thoughts, they tend to be more affected by other wrongdoers than adults. For example, a top student of my class joined a group of kids, who drink and party daily, overwhelmed by their strong influence to others,walked into the same path as them, which resulted him to a drop out of school along with the others. Clearly, not all of the wrongdoings were entirely his own fault, yet the good-for-nothing people had him held under their own control.
Adults, however, usually have a higher level in understanding of what is illegal and what is not. They have more self-control in their minds. Studies show that the more mature their brain is, the stronger a person’s ability becomes to take responsibility for their own actions. For this reason, adults are fully aware of the risks and consequences of committing a crime.
Therefore, applying the same punishment to both groups would be unfair, as teenagers do not yet have the same level of judgment or decision-making ability.