Guilty! When the gavel hits the sound block, everyone is amazed at the verdict. This teenager is sentenced to life in prison without parole. As you read this in newspapers, magazines and even online, what goes through your mind? You might be thinking, “Why is this teenager being tried as an adult, he's just a child?” Even if he is “just a kid”, and this is a widespread opinion, but it is not mine. Should juveniles who commit violent crimes be tried as adults? Absolutely. Precisely because they are young, minors have the ability to distinguish what is right from what is wrong. Since these minors committed the crime, they must be held accountable. If a minor has acted as an adult, he or she should be treated as an adult. Finally, children need to know that their actions have consequences, regardless of age. Because minors commit violent crimes without being held accountable, they can grow up to become real criminals and can be very dangerous. Without a solid foundation in what is right and wrong, these children will grow up believing that their actions are the norm. For this reason it is necessary that minors are held responsible. They need to be taught that they cannot get away with their crimes. In 2007, juvenile courts handled approximately 1.7 million delinquency cases. Crime cases include vandalism, shoplifting, robbery and murder. These are just some of the crimes that minors can commit. This is up 44% since 1985. If a child grows up believing that crime is acceptable, he or she will repeat the pattern. Without breaking the pattern and holding them accountable, these minors will always have a twisted sense of right and wrong. A sense of right and wrong is important and can be learned at any age. Juveniles learn very early, what... middle of paper... the justice system does this, is this minor just a kid!?" But in reality, once the minor has committed a violent crime, he is no longer a little boy. The minor had the ability to know right from wrong, but still chose to commit the heinous crime. Choosing to commit this violent crime means that the minor has chosen to act as an adult and must be held accountable minor has decided to behave like an adult, he or she should be treated like an adult. If we do not teach minors that what they have done has consequences, they will never learn. It can be argued that minors should not be treated like adults have value, they are not my beliefs, minors who commit violent crimes should be tried as adults. Right is right, wrong is wrong and wrong should be punished the same way.