Mill also writes that the "happiness which forms the utilitarian standard of what is right in conduct, is not the agent's own happiness, but that of all concerned" (Mill 85). In other words, utilitarianism supports the action that does the greatest good for the greatest number of people. .
Following this perspective, one can argue that prosecuting perpetrators of vicious crime, no matter what their age, is morally justifiable because it removes a social predator from the society, thereby protecting the majority of the citizenry from any further harm that this individual might inflict. From this perspective, the fact that incarceration of a young juvenile with adult criminals might only serve to increase recidivism, and does not generally serve to rehabilitate young offenders is not relevant to the fact that the overall good as been served. .
Kantianism refers to the ethical theory developed by eighteenth century philosopher Immanuel Kant, who predicated his concept of morality on the ability of human beings to act rationally. Kant wrote that "the moral worth of an action does not lie in the effect expected from it, nor in any principle of action which requires to borrow its motive from this expected effect."(Kant 89). Rather then the consequences of our actions, which is the focus of Utilitarianism, Kant felt that the rationale behind the action should be considered the important part of the equation when evaluating the morality of an issue. Kant argued that whether or not an action is considered moral should be based on principles, or "maxims," and that these should reflect duties to ourselves and others. Kant expressed this when he wrote that the "pre-eminent good which we call moral can therefore consist in nothing else than the conception of law in itself, which certainly is only possible in a rational being" (Kant 89). A case can be made for convicting young felons under adult standards from a Kantian perspective in that it is the duty of a society to see to it that its laws are upheld, that the society is a safe environment for its law-abiding citizens.
