It is argued that juvenile offenders are as responsive to criminal sanctions as adults. While this method has its own merits, I believe that young offenders should be treated differently from adult ones.
The first reason I disagree with this viewpoint is that the threat of harsher punishments may deter their reintegration and future options. To be more specific, if children receive a prison sentence, they will not be able to learn any new skills for employment during the period of imprisonment. Moreover, when returning to normal life, children with criminal records can easily become the victim of bullying, contempt, and stigmatization, which may exclude them from the job market as well as society in the future. Unemployment, poverty and lack of support may facilitate children to violate the law again, increasing the rates of recidivism.
Secondly, some penalties for adult criminals are not appropriate for juveniles. Sentencing juveniles as adults means that children can face life imprisonment or even execution without parole, which seem to be disproportionate and cruel for the young. This is attributed to the fact that juveniles, especially those under 12 years old, are not fully developed in terms of cognitive and behaviors, which make them have a formidable capacity to be influenced by people and environment around them. As a result, compared to adults, they more easily engage in a crime without understanding its potential consequences. Moreover, during the criminal proceedings, juveniles are at substantial disadvantages because they are less able to assist in their own defenses than adults. Therefore, it may be unfair and merciless if juveniles are tried as equally as adults.
In conclusion, I believe that the idea of implementing equal punishments for young and adult lawbreakers should be rejected because of its unhumanity and infeasibility.