If children are too young to vote, drink alcohol, drive, and watch R-rated movies, why should they be tried as adults? It has always been an issue whether or not a teenager, under the age of eighteen, convicted of violent crimes should be tried as an adult. There are children as young as eleven who are sent to adult prisons (Krikorian 2003). In these cases the jury does not take into account the fact that they are too young to stand trial, their brain is not fully developed and that they are capable of rehabilitation. Every state allows children under sixteen to be tried as adults, but new research indicates that many fail to understand their situation well enough to aid their defense. A study conducted by the private MacArthur Foundation states that many children under sixteen have the same difficulty dealing with legal proceedings as adults who have been declared incompetent to go to court. The study, conducted by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Adolescent Development and Juvenile Justice, looked at more than 1,400 people ages 11 to 24 in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, northern and eastern Virginia, and northern Florida . They were given an intelligence test and asked to respond to several hypothetical legal situations, such as whether to confess to a police officer. The results found that a third of those aged 11 to 13 and a fifth of those aged 14 to 15 were unable to understand the proceedings or help lawyers defend them. The study recommends that states reconsider the minimum age for juveniles to be tried as adults or develop a system to evaluate the competency of young defendants (Salant 2003). Adolescents under eighteen are too young to stand trial and are not fully aware of it. .....middle of paper....... Every human being has made a mistake in their life; some made a bigger one than others and ended up in prison. Therefore, keep in mind that these adolescents are young to be processed, their brains are not fully developed and they are capable of rehabilitation. Works Cited “Should Children Be Tried as Adults?” The main website for online debate. Np, nd Web. February 23, 2014. “The Teen Brain: Still Under Construction.” NIMH RSS. Np, nd Web. March 22, 2014. Krikorian, Greg. “Many children are defined as unsuitable for the adult pathway.” Sacramento Bee (2003): 1-2. Print.Liptak, Adam. “Lifers sentenced as teenagers, now looking for a second chance.” The New York Times. The New York Times, October 16, 2007. Web. March 22, 2014Salant, Jonathan D. "Young People Should Not Be Tried as Adults, Study Says." Young people should not be tried as adults, study says. Associated Press, March 3, 2003. Web. March 21. 2014.