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Abasi Kelley
Mr. Newman
English 101: Rhetoric
1 December 2014

Teaching Pre-teens a Lesson

On August 4, 2014, in Michigan a 12-year-old fatally stabbed a 9-year-old. The 12-yearold was classified as an adult in the juvenile system. In May, in the Milwaukee suburb of
Waukesha, Wisconsin, two 12-year-old girls stabbed their friend 19 times and were both faced
adult assault charges. Throughout the 21st century, there has been numerous homicide cases
recorded in the U.S. Most cases involved adults ages 21 and up with very few being children in
their pre-teen years. In discussions of the pre-teen homicide cases, one controversial issue has
been if is it sometimes proper for them to be tried as an adult or is it unjust to treat them as
juveniles in general. Some debaters believe that pre-teens should be tried as adults if they enact
or commit homicide, while others are against the idea because they believe it is morally wrong.
Although I concede that the idea of trying pre-teens as adults if they enact any form of homicide
is harsh, they still deserve to be tried nonetheless as adults because they need to face the
consequences and account for their iniquitous actions.
Despite the fact that pre-teens are children, they are capable just like anyone else of
committing wicked crimes regardless of their young age. It does not matter if a child is young or
not, committing homicide is absurd nonetheless. Liz Hare, president of the National
Organization of Victims of Juvenile Murderers, believes that children at a young age know that

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killing another human being is wrong. In her article Some Young Offenders are Beyond
Redemption as a response to the controversial issue, she states, while juvenile advocates often
note that a youth's brain is still developing, we all learn from an extremely early age that killing
is wrong. Clearly, others and I could vouch for Hares claim because its accurate. A majority
of people have learned at a young age from a parent or guardian that killing another individual is
wrong and unacceptable and that there are consequences that follow. Since this is the case, why
did the pre-teen in Michigan who committed homicide and the other pre-teen in Wisconsin who
tried to commit homicide go through with their dreadful deeds? Its more than likely that their
parents had lectured them about the concept of killing people and how its wrong. Because of
this, pre-teens regardless of age who try commit or is successful in committing the act homicide
need to be tried as an adult and put behind bars.
Furthermore, regardless of the person's age and depending on the situation, if a pre-teen
deliberately commits homicide and is found guilty, the individual should be tried as an adult.
David LaBahn, president and chief executive of the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, would
agree that pre-teens should be tried if they are found responsible. In LaBahns article Adult
Charges Are Appropriate If a Child Is Found Competent he states, there are times when very
young defendants should, if the law allows, face adult criminal charges as long as proper
procedures protect their rights as well as the publics safety. The essence of LaBahns argument
is that at certain points, young offenders should face adult charges as long as the necessary
precautions are taken to protect their rights and the publics safety. Although I agree with
LaBahn up to a point, I cannot accept his overall conclusion that the offenders rights should be
protected. The offender committed the act of homicide and because of this he serves as a threat
to the community. Offender or not, the individual needs to be tried as an adult and sent to jail to

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accommodate for his actions as well as for the protection of the public. This would allow the
public to sleep at ease, knowing that a killer is not walking in their neighborhood.
Aside from some critics believing that pre-teens who commit homicide should be tried as
adults, there are some with opposing views, believing that they should not be tried because it is
just morally wrong. Carmen Daugherty, the policy director of the Campaign for Youth for
Justice, believes that trying pre-teens as adults for homicide is a horrible practice because of the
consequences that will follow the offender. According to Daughertys article Trying Kids as
Adults Is a Harsh Practice That Serves No Purpose, the offender will be put in a system that
puts him at great risk of being harmed, physically and emotionally and the offender will
spend decades deprived not only of his liberty, but of his humanity. Basically, Daugherty is
saying that the prison system will forever break the offenders mentality and deprive his standing
in society. Though I concede that the prison system will more than likely change the individual,
its for his or her own good. The individual needs to be put in a prison type of environment
because it will allow him or her to reflect upon their crime and possibly aid them in their quest to
become a better person.
In addition to some critics believing that pre-teens should not be tried as adults because
of various reasons, I still believe that they should be tried because they have the mindset of an
adult. Critic Marc Mauer would say otherwise. Mauer, the executive director of The Sentencing
Project and the author of "Race to Incarcerate", views that in the case that a pre-teen commits
homicide, especially in the Michigan case, the pre-teen she not be tried as an adult because he or
she cannot account for their actions. In Mauers article Charged as Adults Children Are
Abandoned When They Could Be Saved, he argues that a 12-year-old lacks the maturity to
appreciate the consequences of his actions and is not capable of aiding his attorney in presenting

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a legal defense. Mauer is insisting that young children lack the adult like nature to accept their
actions and that they wont be of help to their attorneys. I think Mauer is mistaken because he
overlooks the fact that children, especially pre-teens, know exactly what they are doing and they
choose not to account for their actions because they know that they will have to face
consequences if they speak up. Children dont want to get in trouble, therefore they give the
illusion that they dont know how to account for their wrongdoings. .
Homicide is an issue that needs to be dealt with in the most efficient means possible in
order to help society become a better place. People commit homicide every day and it needs to
be stopped at once. It does not matter if a pre-teen or any other age group commits the crime of
homicide. Its a adult crime and because of that the offender deserves to be prosecuted and
locked behind bars for an extremely long period of time. Only then will our society become a
calmer yet safer place for everyone.

Works Cited

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Labahn, David. Adult Charges Are Appropriate If a Child Is Found Competent. New York
Times: Room for Debate. New York Times Company, 19 Aug. 2014. Web. 16 Nov.
2014.

Hare, Liz. Bishop-Jenkins, Jennifer. Some Young Offenders Are Beyond Redemption. New
York Times: Room for Debate. New York Times Company, 19 Aug. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.

Daugherty, Carmen. Trying Kids as Adults Is a Harsh Practice That Serves No

Purpose. New York Times: Room for Debate. New York Times Company, 19 Aug.
2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.

Mauer, Marc. Charged as Adults, Children Are Abandoned When They Could Be Saved. New
York Times: Room for Debate. New York Times Company, 18 August. 2014. Web. 16 Nov.
2014