Every one of us began life as an innocent human. Although we all were unique in our being, we were small, helpless souls dependent upon others for our survival. As we grew in body and in mind through childhood and past adolescence, we reached a point of independence, a time when we became responsible for our own actions. At that point, we left our juvenile status and became an adult "of age in the eyes of the law."
By act of the United States Congress, Public Law 98-292, The Child Protection Act of 1984, childhood officially ends at the 18th birthday, and most states do regard age 18 as an adult. But, New York, Connecticut, and North Carolina consider a minor to be under age 16 while Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin regard minor status below age 17. Wyoming is the only state that has established age 19 as the age of an adult.
The Medical Dictionary defines an adult as "one who is fully developed and matured and who has attained the intellectual capacity and emotional and psychological stability that are characteristic of maturity." Neuroscientists generally agree there is no single age at which the adolescent brain becomes an adult brain.
Systems responsible for logical reasoning mature by the time people are 16, but those involved in self-regulation are still developing in young adulthood. This is why 16-year-olds are just as competent as adults when it comes to granting informed medical consent, but still immature in ways that diminish their criminal responsibility, as the Supreme Court has noted.
Seven experts (Laurence Steinberg and others) expressed their beliefs on the topic of becoming an adult. They all agreed that some brain regions and systems do not reach full maturity until the early or mid-20s. The experts said significant changes in brain anatomy and activity are still taking place during young adulthood, especially in prefrontal regions that are important for these things:
* Planning ahead,
* Anticipating the future consequences of one’s decisions,
* Controlling impulses, and
* Comparing risk and reward.
(Daniel E. Slotnik. "When Do You Become an Adult?" The New York Times. May 30, 2012)
It is evident that age boundaries are drawn for mainly political reasons, not scientific ones. It’s unlikely that brain science will have much of an impact on these thresholds, no matter what the science says.
The eternal question of when to hold people accountable for their own actions is still debatable. A society sets logical, foreseeable age limits for non-accountability based on law and medicine and still, these limits do not insure fairness or justice for all. The aim of our American justice system is to treat each human with equality, but the mark set is frequently missed. Some American children have never been treated with equality, yet alone with human kindness. Still, the system is expected to make "accountable" humans pay a price for their mistakes.
Don't You Hate Nasty, Criminal Juveniles?
What happens to a society when it regards children and minors as evil wrongdoers responsible for their actions despite the conditions in which they mature and the environments in which they live?
That society abuses children who know only abuse. It answers misfortune, cruel discipline, neglect, insufficient early education, lack of moral upbringing, and abuse with one harsh hammer -- more injustice unpleasant juvenile facilities, jails, and questionable foster homes.
We, in America, have become this debased society because of our propensity to judge wrong without regard to stimulus and cause. We hate "evil children" and "bullies" and "terrible teens" because they exist. We find it easier to blame and punish the young than to deal with the source of their inadequacy -- their parents.
Too many parents and guardians have chosen convenient lifestyles of ignorance and indifference. As role models -- mothers and fathers -- they remain selfish, self-serving vertebrates whose regard for their offspring consists of attempting to buy their child's affection with expensive objects and to allow their child's developed body to engage in activities meant to be performed with the aid of a well-groomed, logical brain.
These parents assume other relatives, friends, schools, clubs, and extracurricular activities will provide missing ingredients that allow their children to bloom into confident, caring personalities with principles absent from their own homes. Is it any wonder kids get into trouble "doing adult things" when they are so lacking in intelligence, control, and social skills?
Today, too many children are dumped into the world by parents with the minds of children -- fathers and mothers ages 13 to 50 who, themselves, grew older without completing a set course with proven cordons signifying the necessities of maturation. By chance some of those parents did luckily "get on course" somewhere down the line, but for most, lack of direction left them wandering and eventually permanently landing on Welfare Street, Government Assistance Drive, and Dead End Avenue.
We reap what we sow. Uncultivated minds serve to blight our harvest with Artificial Adults. Artificial Adults are people of any age who think they are "of age" but lack mature brains. In the older days, even people with less intelligence took pride in developing good common sense. They became mature adults through experience and hard work. Now, Artificial Adults care little about common sense and even less about work. They age and "do" and love and produce cute, little babies bound to become another generation of Artificial Adults.
Many Artificial Adults with their underdeveloped minds can't help but "do" things that land them in trouble -- they smoke, drink, take drugs, commit crimes, spend beyond their means, and then lie in attempts to cover up their problems. Some Artificial Adults develop deviant skills they use to manipulate unsuspecting victims. In fact, a few of them embed themselves in relationships with genuine, mature adults and subsist through parasitic means.
I don't know when a unique creation becomes an adult. I am sure some never do. So, I feel sympathy for kids growing up with Artificial Adults. These children will likely pride themselves on things they don't know and continue to generate the cycle of ignorance that feeds the criminal justice system.
Should environment and upbringing be considered when juries convene? Most of us suppress our honest understandings and answer that question with rigid, Puritanical authority: we say, "No, we can't let a deprived childhood determine the right or wrong of the actions of an adult." We cave to age boundaries and assume reason is developed as years march on.
Where in actual "justice" do we find absolute right or wrong? Nowhere. Neither is there an express warranty for maturation nor is there a guarantee Mom and Dad are going to act like Genuine Adults, nurturing and properly preparing kids for the real world. Fate greets that cute baby, that innocent life breathing its first precious gulps of air.
We all love the newborn, the innocent, the young. We dote on them and do everything to help them learn and survive. But, with age comes critical judgment. A kid steals a cookie from the cupboard at age three and he receives a laugh; the same kid steals a cookie from Krogers at age 11 and no one but an Artificial Adult thinks the act is funny. Of course, some of the artificial parents will smack the kid and cuss him or her out. Either way, the beat goes on ... an opportunity to foster maturity passes, and, honestly, we "good" people rest assured "that's they way it is."
This age varies from state to state, but in most states, the District
of Columbia, and in all Federal Districts, any person age 18 or younger
is considered a juvenile. In several states, such as New York,
Connecticut, and North Carolina, a juvenile is age 16 or less, and in
Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New
Hampshire, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin, a juvenile is age 17 or
less. Wyoming is the only state that has established the age of
juveniles to be 19 or younger - See more at:
http://criminallaw.uslegal.com/juvenile-system/#sthash.U6FKkyeY.dpuf
This age varies from state to state, but in most states, the District
of Columbia, and in all Federal Districts, any person age 18 or younger
is considered a juvenile. In several states, such as New York,
Connecticut, and North Carolina, a juvenile is age 16 or less, and in
Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New
Hampshire, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin, a juvenile is age 17 or
less. Wyoming is the only state that has established the age of
juveniles to be 19 or younger - See more at:
http://criminallaw.uslegal.com/juvenile-system/#sthash.U6FKkyeY.dpuf
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