Is it acceptable for minors to be tried as adults?

What is an adult?

What is an adult crime?

Does age and following the law have significant correlation?

Trying any minor is hurting the future of our communities. I chose this topic after hearing from Philip Jackson executive director of The Black Star Project and seeing a petition by Campaign for Youth Justice. Philip Jackson created the Black Star Project with the idea of Educate or Die I mind, he believes that the education system in Chicago does a poor job with improving the literacy rates of people of color in particular African Americans. I am Passionate about this issue because, even though it is scientifically shown that people don’t finish developing mentally until they are approximately 25, and minors don’t understand the effects of having a felony conviction; there are still laws that help incarcerate youth with a strong sentence that according to some like Attorney Mark Almanza only harm and do a poor job of repairing the damage. This issue matters because all of us have been or will ideally be 13-18 years old and certain laws would apply to everyone in this span. I hope to educate youth on their rights, especially youth that don’t worry about them. This issue is important to me because I had a mentee for about 2 years, he would get into trouble a lot and had gotten locked up a few times. My mentee didn't get tried as an adult, but he could have been. This is an important issue to know even if you don't agree with my views, you need to understand that in our current juvenile system there is not only one victim but many more. Children and our communities are at a potential risk due to legislation that, destroys future of the incarcerated, the community, and any possible future children of the incarcerated; We must use education that is effective so that we don't die.