"Should young offenders be tried as adults?"
             John Brooks, thirteen years of age, sentence to life in prison do to the murder of his grandparents. Good afternoon Mr. McCarthy and fellow classmates. Do you believe young offenders should be tried as adults? Today's youth crime has increased drastically, from the suburbs to the city. Crime is everywhere, and these days it starts at a young age, from drugs and gangs all the way to murder. New laws have been passed on the young offenders in order to make sure that their punishments are fair. But are their punishments truly fair? Throughout the years there have been many changes on the laws towards young offenders in Canada. After analyzing these laws, I strongly believe that young offenders should be treated age appropriately.
             In the nineteenth century, under the English common law, children 7-13 years of age were not charged or tried for a crime unless it could be proved that the child could form criminal intent. Children over the age of 13 were treated like adults and hanging, whipping and imprisonment were used to punish young offenders. By the twentieth century this began to change. In Canada, many steps were taken to begin to treat young offenders differently. In 1892, the Criminal Code was amended to guarantee that children are tried separately from adults. The Juvenile Delinquents Act, also known as JDA was created in 1908 to emphasize rehabilitation and welfare of children, not punishment. By 1929, the JDA was amended but increasingly the rights of young offenders were seen to be ignored. In between the years of 1965 to 1975, several attempts were being made at reforming the legal system to better serve the needs of young offenders and the society. In 1982, the Young Offenders Act was passed by parliament ushering in a whole new era in administering youth in the Canadian legal system. In February, 2002, a bill was passed to replace the Young Offenders Act, with
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