I believe that young offenders should be punished according to the severity of their crimes. With criminal acts such as shoplifting or graffiti, I believe the law system should be more lenient and more focused on re-education rather than punishment. For example, the young offenders can be sentenced to community work or counseling sessions rather to serve jail time. This will be more effective in educating the minds of the young offenders, giving them a chance to learn appropriate and rightful behavior. On the other hand, with severe criminal acts such as rape or manslaughter, a young offender, no matter his age, should be held accountable as an adult. Committing such serious crimes would require much calculation and determination; therefore, child laws should not protect a young offender's rights in such cases. Young offenders may be given second chances on life since they are not of legal age, yet the law should not be made entirely forgiving for all their offenses. The appropriate punishment should be determined partially on their age, on their education and background, and on the severity of their acts. I believe all young offenders should be held responsible for their actions; however, the law should penalize each offender accordingly to their knowledge, circumstance and the nature of their wrongdoing. In addition, although punishment is an important aspect of reducing the number criminal offenses by young offenders, education, undoubtedly, is the key solution. I believe the government should reinforce the school system to focus on educating young kids on the laws, misdemeanors and the consequences. Although the correction of juvenile criminals is the law system's responsibility, the preventions of the crimes are only possible through the efforts of schools and education.
