Suddenly I’m an adult?
by Tim McDonald

What do you do as a scared, ashamed, insecure 12-year-old kid who is suddenly thrust by adults into an adult world? There’s no regard for your age, your insecurities, your past trauma, or possibly even your innocence. You know you have done something you never thought you would do and hurt or even killed someone you never thought you would hurt – maybe because of the life of abuse you have had, maybe because of anger from a life of neglect, maybe because of the constant barrage of violent videos you watched because no one cared enough to show you anything better. You know you have done something terrible and now you are in this prison where adults took your clothes, made you dress in a jumpsuit while they watched, handcuffed your arms and took hold of you and pushed you into a cell where people yelled vulgar stuff at you. Then they told you that you were never getting out of there because you got a life sentence as an "adult."

This scenario – or some close variation of it – has taken place multiple times in this country in the past few years. The most recent and nationally visible case took place in Pensacola, Fla., where a 13-year-old child and his 14-year-old brother were convicted for the murder of their father. An adult convicted child molester was also tried for the same crime but acquitted, thus dropping the burden for the crime on the children. Recent U.S. Department of Justice reports indicate that despite falling juvenile crime rates, twice the number of juvenile offenders have been placed in adult prisons in recent years than in previous decades. Reports also show statistics that children imprisoned in adult jails are five times more likely to be beaten and abused by staff and eight times more likely to commit suicide than those in juvenile facilities.

What do these statistics say about us as parents, citizens, voters, and CHRISTIANS? Think about it.

Trying children as adults is denying an obvious truth – children are not adults. They have become involved in some of the same criminal actions that are committed by adults, but they are still not adults and cannot be held to the same degree of culpability. If they are as capable and culpable as adults, why do we not let them become licensed to drive at age 12 or to buy alcohol at age 12, or even to VOTE at age 12? We don’t let children engage in activities that are adult-appropriate because they are NOT adults. So why do we allow a prosecutor to arbitrarily decide that a kid has suddenly become an adult? In a judicial system that bases its credibility and honor on being able to determine "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth," the practice of trying children as adults is a blatant and criminal denial of that truth. A 12-year-old kid does not think like a 40-year old adult, and neither should he be penalized like an adult. Think about it.

To retain any honor at all, the justice system in this punishment-obsessed country must acknowledge that children are not adults and its laws must be made flexible enough to treat people in an age-appropriate manner.

The sight of a 12-year-old "adult" holding out his hands for handcuffing as he is led away as an "adult" is appalling; it may bring satisfaction to a prosecutor who is basing his next election success on being "tough," but it is a sight that should cause all who call themselves Christians to shout in protest. Nothing good can come from locking children up for the rest of their lives and pretending that they, like bad adults, got what they "deserved."

Think about it, Christians, we can and must do better.