Juvenile rapists should be treated same as adults

Juvenile rapists should be treated same as adults in the court of law


A juvenile is a person who is below the age of 18 years. The recent Delhi gang rape accused was a minor and was the most ferocious out of all, has enticed everybody’s attention.

For:

- Individuals who are 15 years and above should be treated as adults and especially in cases where they are accountable for atrocious delinquencies like rapes and murder
- The severity of the crime is dependent on the mental state of the individual rather than the age and hence should be punished according to the crime done
- If leniency is observed while punishing a juvenile, it would motivate other juveniles to also do the same and get away, and this would result in increase in crimes
- The punishment should be decided on the basis of the severity of the act and also taking his mental condition into consideration

Against:

- An individual who is below 18 years of age is still not capable of making right decisions and need constant support and hence they should be given a chance to rehabilitate and motivate them to take the right part
- If they are treated as adults in punishment, it could have an adverse effect on their mind, in return making them all the more brutal and violent
- A juvenile lacks the ability to decide what is right and what is wrong, and hence treating him like an adult would be wrong

Conclusion:

- The punishment should be decided on the basis of the severity of the crime. A psychological test of the juvenile could help the authorities in determining his current state of mind and thus helping in the decision making as to what punishment should be given
- If the individual is just a few months younger before turning out to be an adult; should be treated as an adult, for example: if the individual is 17years and 6 months old, he should be treated as an adult.
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    Discussion

  • RE: Juvenile rapists should be treated same as adults -vikash (07/01/16)
  • crime is not come in adult age ...criminal activity is done by criminal mind ..we should take strict action against juvenile rapist .. if we don't take action against rapist ..it will motivate other to do such cruel crimes . if any juvenile does this type of heinous crime . it means he is far away from his age ..like wise Delhi rap ..one juvenile criminal also involved in that crimes ..but he is juvenile .so he is easily escape from prison ..and our government doesn't able to punish him .....this incident .will motivate other juvenile for rap.... so if we want to our become free of this criminal activity ...we must take strict action against juvenile and other ..crime is crime ..we doesn't give any type of reservation to the juvenile ....thankyou!
  • RE: Juvenile rapists should be treated same as adults -Deepa Kaushik (04/19/14)
  • A rapist is a rapist. A crime like rape doesn’t come under the age of juvenile category. When an individual commits such an offense, even if his certified age is below the categorisation for the adult, but their mind is working far beyond their age.

    The individual accused of rape charges has committed an unpardonable offense, leaving a girl’s life at a verge of public comments and stigma. The girl is made handicapped with respect to her self-esteem, confidence, respect, courage apart from the physical trauma. This combined physical and mental assault on a female is highly objectionable and definitely needs to be punished severely.

    The pain and trauma of the girl could not be relieved with the punishment of the accused, but we can save many other females of our society from that particular accused. The punishment should be severe to the extent that others should not even think if committing such an offense.

    If accused escapes such a crime under the cover of being a juvenile, then it will be a booster for other under age individuals to escape smartly by committing brutal offenses.
  • RE: Juvenile rapists should be treated same as adults -Priti Singh (03/08/14)
  • If any child do a great job ,it inspire others to work harder so in the same manner if any child commit wrong his /her action provokes other and if the same is not properly addresed these thing will continue to occur in future also. I feel in our constitution defination of adult should be revised particularly for rapes and murders. Everyone who is promoting the idea of not punishing juvenile strickly ,please do give a thought to those who lost thier kith and kins in such type of accident.

    Since our judicial system has failed to punish our adult for such a heinous crime how can we think that it will make provision to punish juvenile.
  • RE: Juvenile rapists should be treated same as adults -shubhamsinghania (03/07/14)
  • hi

    its excellent to quote that if a person performs an extraordinary act being a minor he is made hero and praised but when it comes to his wrong deeds that is herocious and intolerant he is protected on the sake of being minor.
    such caters to the inadequancies of indian judicial system .
    in my view the person should be examined on the basis of his mental faculties rather than his age.
    everyperson who commits a crime should be severily punished so that it becomes a lesson for all others .


    such harsh steps are necessary to protect youth commiting such ferocious crimes .


    thankyou




  • RE: Juvenile rapists should be treated same as adults -prashant (01/22/14)
  • Irrespective of the age, accused should be treated according the atrocious behaviour he has shown. A person should be judged by the extent of crime he has committed. In case of juvenile rapists, if they have the knowledge of what insane act they are doing then how can they be treated as child or by giving less punishment does not compensate for their sins.
  • RE: Juvenile rapists should be treated same as adults -Rajani Sharma (01/07/14)
  • For:
    • Juvenile rapists who commit serious crimes should be treated same as adults. Otherwise there are chances of it becoming a habit that can carry on till later life of that person. If such actions of teenagers are ignored then it will motivate other juveniles to do the same crime and get away and this would result in increase in crimes.

    • If juvenile rapists are not punished for their actions then they will never understand the consequences of their actions and the impact of the same on the society. In fact there should be strict laws for discouraging young children from committing such crimes.

    • Nowadays, lot of news is being heard of youths killing youths because of being in the wrong group. This needs to be stopped and the only way to stop the same is to start treating their violent behaviour with strict actions. If teenagers are adult enough to do such crime then they are adult enough to be punished for that crime.

    • The severity should be considered while deciding the punishment. As it is dependent on the mental state of the individual rather than the age of the person. Criminality is in the mind and not in the age. Hence should be punished accordingly.

    • This action will definitely decrease the number of juvenile crimes and will save our world from terrible crimes committed by teenagers.

    • From a medical and psychological point of view, a person reaches a level of maturity once he is at the age of 16. Looking at the current social scenario where children are being exposed to, there is a need to re-think the juvenile age.

    Against:
    • Juvenile rapists should not be treated same as adults as they are children. In that age they lack the ability to decide what is right and what is wrong for them. They do not have the same thought processes that adults have. They act on emotions or wants, without thinking about their actions completely. According to recent studies, the brain's prefrontal lobe, which some scientists speculate plays a crucial role in inhibiting inappropriate behaviour, may not reach full development until age 20. Hence they should not be treated with any harsh punishment rather be given a chance to rehabilitate and motivate them to take the right path.

    • Punishment could have an adverse effect on their mind, making them more violent and brutal.

    • There could be many reasons like an unhealthy lifestyle, insufficient mentoring from a parent etc. for committing such crimes at such an early age. Thus, these factors should be considered while treating juvenile rapists as adults.

    • If children are exposed to a harsh and terrifying environment in the prison then they are more likely to lose their freedom at a young age. Government should let juveniles remain in the juvenile justice system in order to protect their physical and mental health, giving them a better chance at rehabilitation for the crime they committed.