Free Example of How Were Young People Treated Essay

The 1870’s were characterized by a myriad of legal issues for young people. Firstly, these were years immediately after the civil war. According to Findley (n.d), there were rising cases of juvenile delinquency and crimes committed by young people. As a result, the society of the time used to treat children and adolescents they way they treated the adults. For instance, children and the young people were jailed together with the adults. The 1970’s also saw an increased number of arrests for the young people. Further, the young female adults were now being arrested. For boys, there were even tougher punishments. According to Lambart, boys were meant to climb up chimneys and clean them. This continued up to some years before the end of the 19^th century.

How were their criminal actions handled?

The New York State is renowned for its pioneering role in the fight against the treatment of young people as if they were adults. In 1970’s, the court system had started to hold special sessions to hear cases of young people and children. In other words, there was a slight shift in the way young people were being treated. However, more gains were not made until towards the end of the century.

How would Peter's punishment be different as compared to an adult who was arrested for the same crime?

If peter was caught stealing, he would receive a severe punishment just like any other adult. However, in terms of the age, it could be said that the boy’s punishment were severer than that of an adult. Although there were generally increased cases of criminal activity on the part of the juveniles, subjecting them to torturous punishments was not fair.