Criminal Justice System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Criminal Justice System - Essay Example One of the issues facing the justice system is the existence of a gap in terms of punishment to adolescent offenders, especially for extreme crimes such as murder. Scott and Steinberg argue that the adolescent cannot be punished as a juvenile delinquent as for this may be too lenient while punishing the adolescent as an adult maybe also be too harsh. The justice system is then faced with a difficult decision as both of these punishments is seems inappropriate. For example, in a recent case of Graham versus Florida, Graham, 16 years old was found to have violated his probation terms by committing other crime. In the hearing, the court found Graham culpable of the previous charges, revoked his probation and sentenced him to life imprisonment without an option of parole. In this case, the first ruling seems quite lenient in that the offender does not reform or cease to engage in criminal behavior but in fact seems to increase his engagement in crime. The second ruling of life imprisonme nt without parole seems to be too severe considering his was a non-homicidal crime and regarding his age, he would spend most of his life in prison. The fact that there is no national consensus on the punishment of criminal offenders between the ages of 14 and 18 years presents another challenge to the justice system in the US. For example, in the case of Roper versus Simmons, Simmons had planned and committed a murder at the age of seventeen. Such a violent crime cannot go unpunished. At the age of eighteen, he was sentenced to death which is the punishment for adults. Whilst the evidence presented was overwhelming, the fact that he committed the crime while he was still seventeen did influence the reduction of his sentence from a death penalty to life imprisonment.