Negative Case: January/February 2000

A 14-year old boy intends to rob a store, and on an impulse he brings a gun with him to scare the clerk. As he is robbing the store, the clerk starts to move towards the exit. The boy, terrified the clerk is going for a gun, loses his head and in fear shoots the clerk who dies instantly. The boy is tried and convicted of murder, and is sentenced the death penalty. On his last meal, the boy requests a beer and it is denied because he is not yet 21. This boy can give his life as an adult but cannot receive the benefits of one. It is scenarios such as this that lead me to negate the resolution which states Resolved: Violent Juvenile Offenders ought to be Treated as Adults in the Criminal Justice System.

[ I would like to challenge my opponent on the following definitions taken from the American Heritage Dictionary and Websters Dictionary: violent- extreme physical force or rough action.
*juvenile- young, not fully developed, immature, not yet adult.
*offend- to violate a law or rule.
*ought- moral obligation or duty.
*treated- to regard or consider a certain way.
*adult- one who has attained legal age, fully grown, fully developed and mature.
*criminal- pertaining to the administration of penal law as distinguished from with law.
*justice- the administration of the law.
*system- a set of interrelated ideas, principals, rules, procedures, or laws.]

The highest value of today's round is that of Justice. Aristotle defines justice as "equality for equals and inequality for inequals." Juveniles are not considered equals to adults and therefore should be considered inequals. They do not receive equal rewards of being an adult so why should they receive equal punishment?

I will support my value with the criteria of Aristotle's Theory of Justice. Aristotle's theory is based on the fact that justice is given when you treat those with the same nature as you with equality and with a different nature as you would inequality.

I will negate the resolution with two contentions: Juveniles are not equal to adults and therefore should not be treated as adults, and the juvenile justice system best provides for justice when dealing with juveniles.

Let's first direct our attention to Contention One: Juveniles are not equal to adults and therefore should not be Treated as Adults.
They are not equal because they do not have the same physical and psychological characteristics as adults and are not provided with the same rights. First, Juveniles do not have the same physical and psychological characteristics as adults. Juveniles do not think in the same manner as adults. As Barry C. Field of Bad Kids: Race and the Transformation of the Juvenile Court writes, "developmental psychological stages and that their operational processes, legal reasoning, internalization of social and legal expectations, and ethical decision making change as they pass through these stages. children's moral reasoning . . . differs qualitatively from that which adults use." Juveniles are more subjective to peer pressure than adults and may commit crimes because of this. Juveniles have been proven to eventually grow out of committing crimes. A new wave of exceedingly violent games and movies lessen the ability of juveniles to comprehend the consequences of their actions. The courts acknowledge this difference and use the term mens rea often with juveniles. Second, Juveniles do not receive the same benefits of adults. For example, juveniles supposedly do not have the logic required to vote yet they are supposed to be able to have that same logic when they commit crimes. If they are not given the benefits, they should not receive adult punishments. The juvenile justice system is best prepared to deal with juveniles which leads me to

Contention Two: The Juvenile Justice System Best Provides for Justice when Dealing with Juveniles.
It provides best for justice because the juvenile is given a just punishment, allows for rehabilitation, and protects the juveniles from unavoidable brutality. First, the juvenile is given a just punishment. The juveniles are being punished for their actions. They usually serve time in a juvenile detention center and/or forced to do community service. Children should not receive the death penalty when they do not usually have the reasoning capabilities of an adult. The juvenile justice system helps teach them this reasoning and offers a chance for rehabilitation. Second, the juvenile justice system provides for rehabilitation. Juveniles have not gotten a chance to go out and experience the real world and do not have the means or knowledge to live in society yet. If juveniles are sent to prisons, they will be surrounded by other hardened criminals and learn how to live from them. When they are eventually let out later in life, they have virtually no living skills and are bitter towards society and have difficulty in providing a living and will probably turn to crime. As Sarah Glazer of CQ Researcher wrote, "Rather than rehabilitating juveniles who have gone astray, the system often seems OT release hardened criminals only to enable them to claim new victims." These juveniles are at an age where you can influence them to turn them away from crime now and prevent future crimes. The adult criminal system cannot provide this. Rehabilitation has been proven to work. David C. Anderson of The American Prospect states, "A 1990 meta-analysis weighed 80 evaluations of rehabilitation programs. The programs were found to reduce recidivism by as much as 50 percent." Third, the juvenile justice system protects the juveniles from unavoidable brutality. Is it right to put a ten year old in with a bunch of hardened criminals? Of course not. This subjects the child to beatings and sexual assaults that the child is not physically ready for. As CQ Researcher states, "Youths sentenced as adults go to adult prisons. And in most places that means sending them to schools for crime or handing them over to adult sexual predators say reform minded experts." These juveniles are not physically or emotionally equal to adults and it would be difficult for them to protect themselves. The adult criminal system would not provide justice for juveniles.

Moving on to my Opponents Case......

In conclusion, I have gone over my opponents case and given you two reasons why equal treatment is not justified: Juveniles are not equal to adults and therefore should not be treated as adults, and the juvenile justice system best provides for justice when dealing with juveniles. For all these reasons I would have to agree with Ira M. Schwartz, former head of the Justice Department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency, when she said, "The criminalizing effects of adult prison may explain why youths commit more crime. Sending juveniles to adult prisons gives the community a false sense of public protection. It may be good politics, but it's not really very good public policy."

I am now open for Cross Examination.