Some individuals claim that serious crimes commited by youngsters should be treated as stringent as adults’ convictions. Personally, I partly disagree with this suggestion based on some major reasons that are explained in this essay.
On the one hand, there are some persquasive rationales that support the claim that young people who committed serious crimes should not deserve lighter sentences only due to their ages. This is because, regardless of age, the consequences that any criminal causes to their victims in these illicit acts are unrepairable. Crimes like robberry threaten the victims’ personal assets which might be vital for securing their families and their own lives, while for violent attacks, not only could they result in permanent injuries or even death for the ones involved, but they also create fearness and other emotional pains for the surrounding community. Given the seriousness of these consequences, the only way to bring about the sense of justice is to impose the same level of deterrent to the young offenders as if they were adults.
On the other hand, despite the reasonable justification for stringently punishing young criminals for their serious crimes, its actual application could bring about many obstacles and problems. By convicting them like adults with comprehensive intention and purpose to commit illegal activities, legislative bodies may fail to capture the actual nature of a youngster, which is being easily influenced by external factors such as online suggestive contents. Young people may not completely develop their moral sense to fully understand what is right or wrong, and together with the eager of proving themselves, they may blindly follow any action they saw or heard in order to satisfy their esteem. In these cases, providing mandatory education to correct their behaviours would be more effective than a blanket punishment that match the level of seriousness of adult’s sentence.
In conclusion, although there are mixed opinions on determining whether stringent sentences should be imposed to all young offenders, I think that legislative bodies should consider each illicit act based on the underlying motivations. If the offenders are proven to be heavily impacted by external factors rather than pure inner motivation, it is more appropriate for them to receive a combination of strict education and lighter punishment.