Should children be judged like adults? Would it be acceptable to tell a twelve year old child who committed a crime that he is sentenced to life in prison? Would it be acceptable to sentence a child to the death penalty, to ruin his life by ending it in prison? There are many different perspectives on children who commit crimes and how they should be treated. Some people would say no, children shouldn't be judged like adults because they don't know any better and their brains aren't fully developed yet. Meanwhile, other people think that if you can commit the crime, then you can serve the sentence. People also say that kids can't drink like adults, vote like adults, and drive like adults, so would it really be fair to try them as adults if they aren't even equal to adults? Then again, others think that children have a lot of brains and common sense and know very well whether they are doing something wrong or not and that they should know better. Another argument is that charging a child as an adult violates the juvenile law relating to children under the age of eighteen. And finally, others say that a crime is a crime regardless of age. If we looked up the word justice in the dictionary, we would say that justice means being fair, and equity is the quality of being fair and reasonable. By this definition, making children pay like adults is just the opposite, as it is neither fair nor reasonable. The question therefore remains whether juveniles should be tried as adults, which they are not, or should they be tried as juveniles, which they are. The battle between charging children as adults and charging them as juveniles is a very controversial argument. Since there is a 50/50 chance that someone will say yes or no, this is what I... middle of paper ...... commits a crime, they know what they do, they can understand the results. While a child whose brain is not developed is unaware of many things in life, and until he reaches that adult age, he should be treated as what he is. the-children-who-killed-a-seven-year-old-mortal-kombat-style-be-tried-as http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/juvenile-delinquency-what- happens- typical-case-32223.htmlhttp://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/juveniles-youth-adult-criminal-court-32226.htmlhttp://www.buzzle.com/articles/should-juveniles- be- tried-as-adults.htmlhttp://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/perspectives/kids-are-not-adults-and-trying-them-as-adults-is-both-inhumane- and- ineffective-249594/http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/releases/2006/02/06.html