Juvenile Offenders
Juvenile crime is defined as crime committed by young people under a certain age as defined by law. Each state has its own definition of the term juvenile: most states put the upper age limit at seventeen years old, although some states set it as low as fourteen. In reporting national crime statistics, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) considers people under eighteen to be juveniles.
In 1992, fifteen-year-old Jose Martinez and two older companions tortured and decapitated an eight-year-old boy in San Jose, California. Under California law at the time, the two youths over age sixteen were tried in adult court and sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole. Even though Martinez's sixteenth birthday…>> (read more)
Juvenile Offenders Points of View
5 Sanctioning Youths as Adults Has Broad Public Support
6 Juvenile Justice System Is Too Lenient on Violent Offenders
7 Transferring Juveniles to Adult Court Does Not Deter Crime
8 Minority Youth Are Disproportionately Represented in Adult Court
9 Severe Measures Are Necessary to Protect Citizens from Juvenile Criminals
10 Juvenile Offenders Have Been Unfairly Demonized
11 Lack of Brain Development Makes Juveniles Less Culpable than Adults
Juvenile Offenders
Expert Pass Now
All the Juvenile Offenders Debate Topics
More Essential Statistics
Expert News Articles from Current Events, National Law Journal, and more
No ads
WiseTo Social Issues
All Access Pass
All of the Social Issues Debate Topics, including Access to the Juvenile Offenders Topic
The Complete Set of Statistics,For All Topics
Over 20,000 News and Magazine articles
No ads
All for the price of 2 Expert Passes!
Juvenile Offenders in the News
Byline: Heather Knight; Chronicle Staff Writer
It was founded during the Gold Rush for kids orphaned by parents off seeking riches, and Edgewood Center in San Francisco's…>> (read more)
When a local teen knocked on Myrtle Couch's door last December, it wasn't unusual. The 15-year-old had mowed the lawn at her Indianapolis home during the summer. But on…>> (read more)
Byline: John Cote; Chronicle Staff Writer
A 17-year-old murder suspect escaped last month from San Mateo County's juvenile lockup after a supervisor left him and two other…>> (read more)
Juvenile Offenders Statistics
