Juvenile crime has been a problem throughout history. How to deal with those juveniles who commit crimes has been an issue for just as long. Punishment and rehabilitation are both logical answers to this problem, but time and effort has shown that it is very difficult to punish and rehabilitate juvenile offenders sufficiently enough to keep them out of trouble. Between 1985 and 1994 the rate of violent juvenile crime doubled, making the issue of juvenile crime a big problem. The Congress of the United States of America in 1994 passed the Violent Crime and Law Enforcement Act which enhanced the ability of prosecutors to convict juveniles as adults. As a result, throughout the United States, nearly every state also passed laws making juveniles more likely to be punished as an adult would (Kelleher 137-141). But the question comes up, when is a juvenile old enough to be held legally responsible for their actions? Many juveniles under the age of eighteen have been given life in prison or even the death penalty, but when is the juvenile too young to be given a large sentence? As a national standard, all children under the age of seven have been acquitted from legal responsibility for their actions, although some states have raised the age to eight or nine (Kennedy 43). Therefore, in the legal system of the United States, a juvenile is between the ages of seven and seventeen.
At a very young age, a child is taught the very basic right from wrong. Young children are taught not to touch a hot stove because it will burn them, then they learn how to play nicely and share with other children. Nearly all young children know that it is wrong to hurt somebody. Likewise, they know that to kill somebody is wrong. If at such a young age people are learning right from wrong, they should be held accountable for doing things they know are wrong. All the crimes classified as felonies are serious crimes .