New California law states that it is up to the prosecutors in a case as to
whether minors are charged as adults for violent crimes. What should a judge do
when eight boys from suburban middle class families, confess to armed robbery
and assault and battery of five Hispanic immigrant farm workers? In this case,
one must realize what a delicate situation this has come to be. If tried as
adults these eight boys could spend their next sixteen years in juvenile
detention. They were described as being 'good boys' with no other marks on their
records. With only one reason for committing such a crime, these boys need to
face their racism while justice is being served, with non-traditional punishment
that will teach an unforgettable lesson. As upper-middle class, above-average
students, even some athletes, these boys obviously do not know what life is all
about. Authorities said that the boys were specifically looking for Hispanic
workers to attack, so that shows the boys had some type of motive. In this day
and age where Americans have a need to be treated as equal; equal opportunity
employers, equal rights for men, women, African-American, Chinese-American, and
every other group of people in this country, one would think that somewhere
along the line children would get the message that we are all the same. Children
should be taught to love, not hate. It is painful to see such a crime committed
just for the mere fact that they were different. Didn't hate crimes end in the
sixties? Why is it that still parents cannot or will not instill in their
children ideals of an equal human race? Black or white, brown or red, rich or
poor, aren't we all the same when you turn out the lights?
I am not saying that I think this is entirely the parents' fault, but
they do need to take blame. At the age these boys are at, their parents are some
of their few role models, and they always will be, but at this age, parents are
the most influential people in a child's life, nothing can come close to a
mother's scorn, or a fathers praise. In that sense too, children believe in what
their parents believe in, not because it is right, but because it is the only
way they know. So, parents should watch when they say they hate someone or some
group and we should all try to be better people, for the sake of our children.
(Gil Garcetti 588-590) In a crime this violent, considering the assailants and
their victims, a measure of justice needs to be served. The assailants need to
take responsibility for their actions. However, sixteen years in a juvenile
detention facility does not seem the best answer. James Twitchell believes that,
In recent years the dispensers of the law are finally realizing that shame has a
place in punishment. (602) And so, there needs to be a way of measuring how the
boys are rehabilitated, and their community needs to be involved, as well as
their parents and friends. Justice means fairness. It means righteousness,
impartiality, honesty, and integrity. Justice should be measured by the victims
themselves, they should get to see their assailants suffer and learn from their
mistakes. That is what justice is all about. These boy assailants need to
witness justice first hand in order for it to have any affect ct on them. (Garcetti
588-590) A punishment that can validate such a hiesous crime needs to be quite
creative. One could just shout An eye for an eye!
As Mark Costanzo concedes, even the often misinterpreted 'eye for an eye'
passage in the bible was meant to restrain rather than require vengeance. (592)
But that is not how our judicial system works, although it would be fair. Still
there are others, like Bradley O'Leary who implies that the punishment…should
fit the crime, not the age of the violent offender. As a society, we cannot show
any sympathy for, or excuses from, the youth thugs…who are destroying our
schools and neighborhoods. (590) These boys will be punished, as they should be,
but their judge has an opportunity to change their lives forever. If I were the
judge in this case, I would make those boys work in the fields with the Hispanic
migrants for at least a year or two, possibly longer. The boys would not be
earning money, they would have to work off cost of hospital bills and court
costs that their actions caused. They also would have to be watched over as they
work so as not to let them alone with anyone where they might possibly cause
harm to anyone else. This in turn could maybe build a bridge and teach the boys
that Hispanics are just like every one else, and that hate is not the answer to
anything. I believe that these boys should be made to feel the repercussions of
what they did and how that affects the lives of those who they did it to. In no
way should they be let to live a normal life, because everyone should know of
what violence can cause, so that these kind of things do not happen in the
future. Only then can we say that we are safe. Only when our children are
behaving the way good boys and girls should be.
Bibliography
Costanzo, Mark. Elements of Argument. Just Revenge. Boston. Bedford/St.
Martin's. 2000. 592-601. Garcetti, Gil. Elements of Argument. Distinguishing
Between Felons and Truants. Boston. Bedford/St. Martin's. 2000. 588-590.
O'Leary, Bradley. Elements of Argument. Justice for Young Criminals: Emphasize
Punishment. Boston. Bedford/St. Martin's. 2000. 590-591. Twitchell, James B.
Elements of Argument. The Law and Shame. Boston. Bedford/St. Martin's. 2000.
606-613.
Bibliography
Bad argument paper for English class about Punishment and a case involving
California teens who committed a crime. Heavy use of book - Elements Of Argument
- for
Bibliography
(we were supposed to). I got a C.
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