Adult Crimes Deserve Adult Treatment In Springfield, Oregon, 15-year old Kip Kinkel opened fire in the cafeteria of Thurston High School. Two were killed and 25 others were wounded. Tuesday, March 24, 1998. In Jonesboro, Arkansas, 11-year old Andrew Golden and 13-year old Mitchell Johnson pulled the fire alarm and shot at the students filing out of the school. Five were killed and ten were wounded. Monday, Dec. 1, 1997. In Paducah, Kentucky, 14-year old Michael Carneal pulled out a pistol and began firing on a student prayer group. Three were killed and five others were wounded. These incidents are only a tiny sample of the school shootings that have been committed by juvniles in the United States. More shootings have happenned in Onalaska, Washington; Johnston, Rhode Island; Endinboro, Pennsylvania; St. Charles, Missouri ... the list continues on and on, not to mention Columbine! Lynbrook junior Stephanie Tsai disagrees with this saying, "At the age of 18, teens are allowed to vote because people believe that by that age they can think rationally and sensibally. Until kids are 18, they cannot be held responsible for their actions." Let's examine this age 18 issue more closely ... Granted, our or society does give juvniles the right to vote at age 18. However, many states give them the right to drive at age 16 and the right to drink at age 21. The fact is that declaring an 18 year-old an adult is an arbitrary standard to determine maturity as far as prosecuting crime goes. The juvenile court system was orginially implemented to protect juveniles from the "harsh" adult court, for juvenile criminals were thought to be more mentally "immature" than adults. This may very well be if we were speaking of a 6 year-old. However, 17 year-olds classify as juveniles as well. Are we to say that 17 year-olds are significantly more "immature" and should "not be held rsponsible for their actions" than that of an adult 18-year old? I wonder........F...
