Should Juveniles be tried as adults?

Critical Issue: Should juveniles be tried as adults in felony cases?

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/life-prison-juvenile-offenders-adult-courts/story?id=11129594

Synopsis: At the age of 16 Cameron Wiliams faces up to 110 years in prison for 2nd degree murder and use of a weapon. He is being tried as an adult because he has had a past of being a criminal. He was caught in the middle of a robbery and he shot a police officer. Many juveniles latley are being trialed as an adult. "The Justice Department estimates that about 10 percent of all homicides are committed by juveniles under the age of 18. Nearly every year, the FBI arrests more than 33,000 young adults under the age of 18 for offenses" (Khan).

In the last ten years juvenile crimes have gone way up. Juvenile detention centers are made to change the paths of these kids and to see if they can become better people. Kids are usually only tried as adults if the court or law sees the juvenile as a threat to society.

Analysis: I think depending on what a kid does and how old the kid is he or she should be tried as an adult. Williams for instance was only 15, but come on he shot an officer and was charged for 2nd degree murder, he knows what he did was bad. Yes, I believe in second chances for some people, but once a kid from 15-17 years old does something evil like that he or she knows better."Opponents of trying juveniles in adult courts say more needs to be done for the nation's young criminals, and that the law needs to take into account their psychological development and maturity" (Kahn). I understand some of these kids have rough childhoods, but they are told from day one not to do horrible things.