should 15yr old's being charged as adult

Yes, a 15-year old should be charged as an adult. Long before they reach 15 they have (or should have) enough maturity to understand right from wrong, and suffer the consequences. And, any kid that is not responsible acting by the age of 15 is being coddled by his/her parents and that's not a good enough excuse to get away with a crime or being given a less harsh punishment.

Catrina Haily wrote:

If it is true that the adult courts can trie a child at the age of 15 then we have an issue with our government and we need to some how figure out why they take innocent children, not even at the age of 16 and trie them for a crime that their innsoficiant and still growing, inncompatible minds don't and can't come to fully understand the meaning and the wrong doing of their crimes that they are forced to be tried as an ADult and sentenced to a correctionaly focility where they will spend the rest of their life behind bars and never being able to fully understand the true meaning of a life they will never be able to have because of their wrong full deeds commited when they were still young and stupid.

Innocent children?Not fully able to understand the significance of their crimes?Wrong.I witness teenagers comming home from school with REAL guns!They brag about how they went across the face of another with that gun,show the gun off to their other "going home classmates",fights in the street where it's so violent the police are called.8 teens last end of semester beat up another student so bad,he was taken to the hospital.Police searched for them but got away.Later the ones who did it where by my home joking and laughing about it,2 had blood on their shirts.They know what they are doing.You can't tell me that beating someone so bad,and enjoying it,does'nt know the extent of harm done.You mean to say that when one or a group of teens plummel another badly,they don't know that what they do is wrong,harmful and potentially deadly?I was 15 once.I knew what it meant to be in a gang fight.I've been in a few.I knew the possibilities of outcome from those encounters.The intent is to do as much harm as possible.Then use age as an excuse to receive a lighter punishment.Eddie Polack,a resident of Philadelphia,Pa. was beaten to death because of a rumor.They intended to kill him.A second horrible death done by a youths "freinds" becuase he was just paid from a job,Jason Sweeny,also of Philadelphia,was lured to a secluded area and ambushed by these "freinds".They smashed his face in with a brick and a dull ax.It was planned.They knew he was going to die.What about the lose to family?Are they to just get a slap on the wrist,so to speak?These are cold blooed murderers.They come in all ages.Even a 5 year old knows what death is.Pet died or a relative.I seen 3 relatives die,went to the funeral at age 7,8,9.I remember the first time seeing a dead person.I knew what it meant.Or was I just more mature then other kids?No.When I went back to school,I was shown compassion by other school mates.They know what death is.They loss relatives also.So why not teenagers know about death?

OldMan wrote:

Yes, a 15-year old should be charged as an adult. Long before they reach 15 they have (or should have) enough maturity to understand right from wrong, and suffer the consequences. And, any kid that is not responsible acting by the age of 15 is being coddled by his/her parents and that's not a good enough excuse to get away with a crime or being given a less harsh punishment.

I agree.I had 2 grandmothers married at age 15 and 16.An uncle that served in WW 2,lied about his age to get into the navy.Teens today are pampered too much.It slows the maturity rate and in some teens retards them from fully maturing.I had co-workers that prove that theroy.I knew 6 co-workers that camefrom better financially set families,were given material things whenever little johnny/joannie wanted something.They came to expect things given to them,when things did'nt go their way,a tantrum of sorts was witnessed by the rest of us(all of which came from less well off homes).They were demanding personalities.When in trouble,run to daddy-mommy.These were 19-22 years olds.Too long pampering spoils a person,slows down or may prevent maturity.

EASY MONEY wrote:

YES!!!! Th law is the law, age has nothing to do with it.

Age has everything to do with it! your brain isnt fully developed! when you are 15 you are going through sooo much! do you remember when you were 15? You can't drink until you are 21 because alcohol hinders brain growth and when you are under that age you are less likely to make th right decisions about it, you cant have sex until youre 18 because you arent ready for that, you cant smoke until youre 18, you cantdrive until youre 16, and there is soo many more other restrictions we have that are put there for a reason. and if you are never taught that violence is bad then how do you know at 15 that its that big of a deal?!

Jessica wrote:

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Age has everything to do with it! your brain isnt fully developed! when you are 15 you are going through sooo much! do you remember when you were 15? You can't drink until you are 21 because alcohol hinders brain growth and when you are under that age you are less likely to make th right decisions about it, you cant have sex until youre 18 because you arent ready for that, you cant smoke until youre 18, you cantdrive until youre 16, and there is soo many more other restrictions we have that are put there for a reason. and if you are never taught that violence is bad then how do you know at 15 that its that big of a deal?!

Bull Shiite..... The knowledge of right and wrong is known at a very early age,if the parents bother to discipline and teach their kids. There is no free pass for youth on serious crimes. If the crime is serious enough it just shows a deep rooted charactor flaw,a callous disregard for the rules of society and conventionality. Thats all.....

I can agree that 14-15 yr olds don't have the same mental abilities as an adult, in all things. Maturity comes with age, sometimes, but it is not like it gets turned on magicly at a certain age, it comes gradually. Hopefully it comes more quickly in the more serious areas. Murder, or other major violent crime, is something that maturity should come in earlier than less serious offenses. Obviously all the circunstances should be evaluated prior to the determination to charge as an adult. There are cases where the teenager should be charged as a juvenile, or as a youthful offender(NY state terms), but the option to charge as an adult shuld be available for appropriate cases.

try having sex with one and see how far you get.

But the system wants to try them as adults.

No matter what, it always wins.

Very short answer to a no-brainer question:

Hell Yes

The bottom line is that the world around us has changed, in almost every way. Lots of good, but many in bad ways too.

And we need to adjust to these changes by changing laws. That's why the constitution, whether people like it or not, must change sometimes as well.....to protect real victims.

violent crimes charge them as adults