青少年犯罪是否按成人处罚Should Young Offenders Be Punished as Adults?

A controversial issue is whether young offenders who commit severe criminal actions should be held accountable for their actions just the same as adults. This essay discusses the merits and drawbacks of this and then I will explain why I believe it's better for young offenders to be treated less strictly. There are benefits of not considering offenders’ age when dealing with serious crimes. The strongest one is that if these juvenile delinquents are given the same strict punishments as adults, it will act as a powerful deterrent against committing serious crimes. Moreover, when young perpetrators receive lighter sentences than they deserve, it is an injustice to the victims. For instance, if a youth kills his classmate, the parents of the murdered child will feel the situation is unjust if the perpetrator is not at least incarcerated. However, treating both young and mature lawbreakers equally may have adverse effects. The main reason is because children may not have sufficient intellectual or moral capacity to fully understand the outcomes of their misdeeds; it can be argued that they should receive lighter sentences than adults. Secondly, because of their long life ahead of them, many people argue that young offenders should be given a second chance and an opportunity to be successfully rehabilitated and learn a valuable lesson. Many believe that young offenders can often turn into good citizens when they mature into adulthood. In conclusion, in my opinion, there are merits and drawbacks to treating youths differently to adults. However, overall, I believe that young offenders should be dealt with more leniently than adults due to their potential lower level of understanding about the crimes they commit.