Why is American system of legislation so harsh to minors?

Post Reply New Topic

Why is the American system of legislation so harsh in relation to minors?

Why is the American system of legislation so harsh in relation to minors? I think that our European legal systems are more sensible in this respect

Hello my name is Paweł, I come from Poland, I am interested in the law, I once wanted to study law to become a lawyer, because it is a very paid job in almost every latitude. I like to watch programs devoted to forensics and law as such

I have always wondered why the American legal system treats children as much as adults. I mean that from what I know, Americans can only drink alcohol in their country from the age of 21, a little high, but they penalize not only the sale of alcohol below this age, they also penalize alcohol consumption by such a person and treat such a person alcohol. If we recognize that a minor is under 21 or under 18, as it is in my country and the rest of the European Union, it is de facto too stupid to make independent decisions, it should also be less, and if so it should be only on the side of a person who sold alcohol or tobacco products to a minor!
The same applies to sexual life in my country, the age of acquiescence is 15 years, in my opinion, it is too low, it should be 18 years and at least 17, in my country it is 15 years, but there is an exception for minors themselves, if two people under 15 are very unwise (if they are not gay or lesbian, such a small joke xD) or one person is above and the other is slightly under 15 then you or the judge will not break the kid's head! But the American system of legislation equates such a person with a paedophile, where there is a whore of is the f*****g logic I am asking !? xD, Of course, everyone will agree that paedophiles must be eradicated from the face of the Earth!
I think that our European approach is more common sense than Americans, although I personally appreciate the American nation!
And that USA and Russia helped us defeat Nazi Germany!

Harshness is a derivative of our collective Calvinistic heritage, with it's sanctimonious and rather sadistic focus on condemnation and punishment instead of redemption and forgiveness. Keep in mind that America is 70.6% Christian, and the Bible says that it's better to kill your children than have disobedient sons.
Part of it is also ignorance and cowardice. The general population is as easily frightened as a flock of geese. Every two years or so, American politicians routinely scare-monger shamelessly, typically with the added appeal of overt racism, then endlessly rant and pound their chests about "law and order" and "getting tough on crime"; while accusing their opponents of being wholehearted proponents of rape, pillage, & plunder. This pattern has been so successful at stampeding frightened White people to the polls that it has become a cornerstone of Republican campaign strategy, and the electorate has become conditioned to react just as surely as Pavlov's dog. Thus our idiot king can blither on about "American carnage" while the facts show dramatic declines in crime rates over the last quarter century, yet his cult following reject empirical research out of hand and uncritically believe his every word as if holy writ.
The result is ever more draconian legislation primarily victimizing minorities, which the politicians will strut and crow about ad nauseum with great fanfare, while quietly tilting the socioeconomic scales ever more towards their oligarch financiers and hate crimes against minorities steadily increase.
Thus American society is locked in a death spiral of ever-increasing inequality, injustice, and vindictiveness.

Last edited by Piobaire on 20 Nov 2018, 7:24 am, edited 2 times in total.

I read one funny story as one of our Polish police officer arrested american 18 or something exchange student for drinking alcohol, this guy said that he thinking that in Poland and Europe is 18 years for alcohol? Officer said yes of course but not for drinking it in public parks, regardles of age

Honestly, USian kids are probably some of the most violent, destructive, and sociopathic young people in the world. I'm not saying they deserve harsh treatment in the legal system; just be aware of the concept of a minor you have in mind when you judge our juvenile legal system as "harsh"—the concept may not match our reality.

As for treating them like adults, we have an insane number of kids committing severe crimes that pretty much only adults committed in the past, and with "adult" motivations—instead of making dumb, typically youthful mistakes out of immaturity and ignorance, they are doing things out of apparent malice.

So it's so serious? Do they commit such serious crimes?

In my opinion, most western legal systems treat the child as a great deal more mature than he generally is.

Last edited by Prometheus18 on 16 Dec 2018, 4:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Agreed. If a kid is going to commit an “adult” crime (e.g., Class-1 felonies), then they should expect to serve adult time (e.g., life without parole, or death without pardon). Plain and simple.

Agree on that But why punish them for drinking alcohol or having sex each other ?

Because their brains and bodies are still developing, and very few under-18 people have the means to support themselves for the rest of their lives if alcohol causes a problem, or the means to support a child for the next;20 years if they should become pregnant. And when they turn to the government to support them for their stupidity ... we’ll, that’s just plain wrong.

But why make them conviction for it? I can understand alcohol but why for sex, why for love, if they brain are underdeveloped ergo they should not be convicted because lacking off understanding that, such conviction might affect their future life their future career (A bit like Forbidden fruit from Book Of Genesis, how Adam and Eve could understand grievous of their sin if they have known good and evil just after they ate eponymous Apple but it for completely new thread)
But such convictions for victimless crime if both are peers in age might derail their whole future life, and if girl become pregnant and their get conviction they might have a problem with finding employment, which in turn end that social care need help them from tax money?

They're just vindictive. Besides, minors can't vote so any legislation that will please the voting population while displeasing the non-voting population (in this case, minors), is likely to pass.

I've always found it a bit strange when they try minors as adults, they're expected to have the responsibility of adults but not the privileges. They won't let a 17 year old buy cigarettes because he's not responsible enough to make that choice, but if he commits a crime he's considered to be just as capable of making responsible choices as adults.

Well I certainly don't want my tax dollars to support any irresponsible teenagers but if we try them as adults and convict them as adults we'll be supporting them with free room and board and we'll be footing the bill (perhaps multiple times).

It’s not harsh enoug. A kid can murder people in cOld blood, say they’d do it again and don’t regret it, they get out at 18.

Should a 14 year old who brutally murders his grandmother with a hatchet for pizza money ever get out of prison?

Indeed that is mine whole point!



Indeed again they cannot legally and democratically express their opposition? We make them criminal for wanting sex or drinking 100 ml shot of vodka, well that is not in case of Poland, because we criminalize only sale of alcohol to the minors (the minor in Poland is 18), the seller commits a crime not the minor itself, consumption per se
is legal
Fun fact private prostitution is legal in Poland but profiting from someone other than a prostitute her (mostly ) or himself is the crime, so the pimp and his associate commits a crime, not the whore
And prostitutes do not need fill the yearly income tax statements, like Catholic Priests, Pastors, Rabbis or Imams



Do not compare the murder to something irresponsible but essentially innocent like the sex of two juveniles in the same age or alcohol group or smoking cigarettes. Although I would like to forbid everybody regardless of age and forcibly to treat smokers from this fatal addiction, I think that if my mother would not smoke these goddamn cigarettes like a locomotive, maybe she would still be alive and would not have a heart attack, my mother was the best mom in the world and she was a great man, she had only one dire habit of smoking those goddamn cigarettes.

look up Mike A. Males

I didn’t compare it to anything. You asked why is the American legal system so harsh to Minors and I replied that it is not, that in fact it’s too easy on them.