Juvenile Justice

The decision of whether young criminals should be tried in juvenile courts or adult courts has created a lot of controversy throughout the years. Juveniles should be tried as juveniles. The ones who are tried as adults often undergo a very harsh punishment, considering the fact that they are very young. Being tried according to their age is fairer.

The film “When Kids Get Life” directed by Ofra Bikel shows the cases of several teenagers who got sentenced to life without parole. One of the kids is Andrew Medina. He was fifteen when it happened. He was charged for felony murder, even though it was never completely clear who was the one who killed17-year-old Kristopher Lohrmeyer. “Two of the other suspects made deals with the prosecutor, pleading guilty to second-degree murder and naming Andy as the triggerman,”(Frontline: When Kids Get Life.) But that was not the reason why he was convicted, but for being part of a carjacking at the time of Lohrmeyer’s murder. He got sentenced to life without parole. A year later, Andy was sent to a much more strict adult jail because police officers claimed that he was leader of a dangerous gang that started a riot in a facility. He did not know what they were talking about, but could not do anything about it. Andy is currently in the Colorado State Penitentiary, the state’s “supermax facility”, where he has served more than four years locked down in solitary confinement twenty-three hours a day. For a teenager, this punishment is too severe, especially because it was not even clear if he was the one who committed the murder. The fact that the police officers made a false allegation of Andy being part of a gang and got sent to an atrocious prison, makes the whole situation worse. He was merely a teenager when everything happened and should have been tried according to his age.

The same film, “When Kids Get Life”, states the case of Trevor Jones- a sixteen year old that was charged for felony murder. He was trying to scam $100 from a classmate, who wanted to buy a gun from him. But Trevor accidentally pulled the trigger and killed Matt Foley, who was seventeen. At the trial, the jury determined that what happened was reckless manslaughter, a very bad accident. But because it happened while he intended armed robbery, he is responsible for the death that was caused within the crime. He got sentenced to life without parole. His age and the fact that he did not mean to pull the trigger should have been considered at the time of determining his sentence. Life without parole is a very rough punishment for a teenager and should not be allowed to be assigned to him or her.

“When Kids Get Life” also tells the story of Jacob Ind. He was fifteen years old when he was charged for first degree murder for killing his mother and stepfather, after years of mental, physical and sexual abuse. At the time of the trial, Jacob’s brother explained that the reason why he killed them was in order to end the abuse that had been going on for years. Prosecutors said that he was exaggerating the abuse to give Jacob an excuse to kill. The jury felt sympathy for them, but said that her “hands were tied” at the moment of determining his sentence because there are not any exceptions in the sentencing law for first-degree murder, regardless of age or circumstances surrounding the murder. Jacob was sentenced to life without parole. The felony he committed is serious, but he should have been tried in a juvenile court. That way, he would not have been sentenced so severely.

Although, juveniles should be tried in juvenile courts, some should be tried as adults. A lot of people believe that age should not be considered at all when the felony is extremely severe. In the state of Colorado, some of the worst murders were caused by teenagers. An example is Nathan Ybanez’s and Erik Jensen’s case- two high school students from an affluent suburb in Denver. Erik came from a secure, prosperous household, but Nathan came from a violent one. A year after they met, Nathan killed his mother. Erik was involved in the crime because he was with him at the time of the murder. They were both sentenced to life without parole. People think these cases should be tried in adult courts. Justice needs to be served and they need to pay for what they did. In my opinion, if a murder caused the death of several people and have absolutely no reason to be excused, then they should be tried as adults.

Juveniles should be tried in juvenile courts. Being charged with adult sentences is a very harsh punishment considering their age. Andrew Medina was fifteen when he got sentenced to life without parole because of a murder that he possibly did not commit. Officers also alleged that he was part of a gang and sent him to spend the rest of his life in a very strict prison. Trevor Jones also got sentenced to life without parole at the age of seventeen because of reckless manslaughter. Even though it was an accident, the victim’s death occurred while Trevor intended armed robbery and was accused of felony murder and will spend the rest of his life in prison. Jacob Ind was sentenced to life without parole. At the age of fifteen, he killed his mother and stepfather in order to put an end to the all kinds of abuse they were putting him through. The jury did not recognize the fact that it was primarily self-defense and accused him of first degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence. These are the cases of only three kids who got life without parole but there are so many more. These kids miss out on so many things in life because they will spend most of it locked in a cell. One accident or mistake can ruin their lives forever. That is why I think juveniles should be tried in juvenile courts.
















Works Cited:
Frontline: When Kids Get Life. Dir. Ofra Bikel. WGBH Educational Foundation, 2007. DVD.