It is argued by some individuals that young offenders need to receive adult punishment. I am in disagreement with this viewpoint, and in this essay, I will explain my reasons.
First and foremost, young people are not fully responsible for their actions, which leads to making it unfair for them to be punished the same as adults. The reason for this is that some individuals are brought up in families with criminal records, who are highly active in committing various types of crimes, resulting in those children being exposed to extreme neglect and violence in their childhood, as well as witnessing criminal activities, or anti-social behaviours. Therefore, they are more likely to accept those inappropriate attitudes as normal and acceptable, making them more vulnerable to performing illegal actions. The Social Learning Theory, also known as Social Cognitive Theory, primarily developed by Albert Bandura, a well-known psychologist whose work on the theory began in the 1940s, would be a noteworthy example. He posits in his theory that the actions done by adolescents are significantly under the influence of what they learn and imitate from the behaviours they see in the environment, particularly from their families, peers, and the media, respectively. As a result, young people had better not be treated and punished like adults, as they are not completely responsible for their misbehaviour.
Apart from this, young individuals need re-education and re-socialisation, not punishment, which results in having more potential for reform and rehabilitation. This is because they have less mature brain development, especially in the areas that control planning, impulse, judgment, and decision-making, leading to being unable to foresee and weigh the consequences of their actions, and more prone to acting recklessly and impulsively. In consequence, as they have the potential to do such actions, they can also have more potential for education and reform, leading to reducing the likelihood of recidivism. As an instance, a study conducted by Giedd, D. et al. in 1999, who used Magnetic Resonance Imaging to examine the development of the brain in adolescence, demonstrated that the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which involves executive functions, such as impulse control, planning, and decision-making, continues to develop into the mid-20s. This finding suggests that adolescents are more likely to engage in criminal activities due to their still-developing brains. As a result of this, young people should not receive adult punishment, as their brain is still not mature enough to figure out the consequences of their misconduct.
However, some concerned parties are of the opinion that crime is a crime, regardless of age. They believe that young people who commit crimes are fully aware and responsible for their actions, so that they should not be punished differently or leniently, based on their age. As convincing as this point is, I disagree with this point of view, as treating them the same as adults might have some negative and adverse consequences that are counterproductive. For example, if they are housed in adult facilities, they might be exposed to some harsh and dangerous environment that might exacerbate their negative behaviour, and increase the risk of re-victimisation, making it more difficult for them to reform and rehabilitate. Another notable example can be the study conducted by Griswold, in 2002. The study pointed out that young offenders who were housed in adult facilities for a short period of time, were significantly influenced by repeat offenders, and that could not be rehabilitated, even after addressing the root causes, such as prior crime they had committed. As a result, young citizens should not be treated and punished like adults because it can have more drastic impacts on them.
By way of conclusion, I once again reaffirm my position that young people had better not be punished the same as adult perpetrators, as they do not possess the sole responsibility for their actions. Besides, they do not have mature brains, due to being in their brain’s developmental stage, so that they do not have the capability to predict the consequences of their criminal behaviours.