Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number Essay -- Essays Papers

Age Aint postcode But a NumberDuring the last thirty years, on that point has been an increase in violent crimes committed by minors. In many of these cases, the minors be faced with harsher charges than what the law declares, such as being charged as adults. The majority of the United States justifies the ripen 18 as when an individual is no yearlong considered a minor. Yet, in the past ten years, the United States has seen the old age of individuals being charged as adults drop. For example, in 1993, Nathan Dunlap a seventeen year-old from my hometown Aurora, Colorado was sentenced to the death penalisation and eight years later, twelve year-old Lionel Tate of Fort Lauderdale, Florida was charged with flavour in prison. Currently the United States government has established age requirements for a minor to be charged as an adult because it is a quick and nominate pragmatic definition (Overton 109). However, a simple age limit is not the proper rule in determining cha rges against an individual. Since each American has a distinct mindset due to their experiences, upbringings, and morals, our laws should reflect that diversity. The court system of the United States should replace the method of use the chronological age of a minor to their mental age when determining the charges against an individual, because it is the state of ones mentality that leads them to commit a crime. During the late eighteen-hundreds, the U.S. added a branch of law that specifically focused on juveniles. The reparation of the nations first juvenile court for children under the age of 16 undefended in 1899 in Chicago, Illinois. The purpose of the juvenile court was to restore criminals instead of prosecuting them as adults. The social reformers that propos... ...rd ed. New York Arnold Publishers, 1999. 16-53.- History of Intelligence Testing. IQTest. Google. 4 Feb. 2005 .- audience with Deborah Yurgelum-Todd. Frontline Inside the adolescent Brain. 2002. PBS.org. 6 Feb. 2005 .- Interview with Jay Giedd, M.D.. Frontline Inside the Teenage Brain. 2002. PBS.org. 6 Feb 2005 .- McKibben, Ginny. Court Files Hold Details of Slayings Accounts of Dunlaps Confession. The Denver Post. 1 Jan. 1996. ProQuest. 28 Jan. 2005 .- Overton, Willis F. Chapter 3 Developmental Psychology Philosophy, Concepts, and Methodology. Handbook of Children Psychology. fifth ed. Ed. William Damon. New York John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1998. 109. Age Aint Nothing But a Number Essay -- Essays PapersAge Aint Nothing But a NumberDuring the last thirty years, there has been an increase in violent crimes committed by minors. In many of these cases, the minors are faced with harsher charges than what the law declares, such as being charged as adults. The majority of the United States justifies the age 18 as when an individual is no longer considered a minor. Yet, in the past ten years, the United States has seen the age of individua ls being charged as adults drop. For example, in 1993, Nathan Dunlap a seventeen year-old from my hometown Aurora, Colorado was sentenced to the death penalty and eight years later, twelve year-old Lionel Tate of Fort Lauderdale, Florida was charged with life in prison. Currently the United States government has established age requirements for a minor to be charged as an adult because it is a quick and ready pragmatic definition (Overton 109). However, a simple age limit is not the proper method in determining charges against an individual. Since each American has a different mindset due to their experiences, upbringings, and morals, our laws should reflect that diversity. The court system of the United States should replace the method of using the chronological age of a minor to their mental age when determining the charges against an individual, because it is the state of ones mentality that leads them to commit a crime. During the late eighteen-hundreds, the U.S. added a br anch of law that specifically focused on juveniles. The location of the nations first juvenile court for children under the age of 16 opened in 1899 in Chicago, Illinois. The purpose of the juvenile court was to rehabilitate criminals instead of prosecuting them as adults. The social reformers that propos... ...rd ed. New York Arnold Publishers, 1999. 16-53.- History of Intelligence Testing. IQTest. Google. 4 Feb. 2005 .- Interview with Deborah Yurgelum-Todd. Frontline Inside the Teenage Brain. 2002. PBS.org. 6 Feb. 2005 .- Interview with Jay Giedd, M.D.. Frontline Inside the Teenage Brain. 2002. PBS.org. 6 Feb 2005 .- McKibben, Ginny. Court Files Hold Details of Slayings Accounts of Dunlaps Confession. The Denver Post. 1 Jan. 1996. ProQuest. 28 Jan. 2005 .- Overton, Willis F. Chapter 3 Developmental Psychology Philosophy, Concepts, and Methodology. Handbook of Children Psychology. 5th ed. Ed. William Damon. New York John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 199 8. 109.