Miranda Rights for Kids

“He knew that the fact that I ran made me guilty of something. So why would Miranda rights mean anything to him?” (48) In the short thirty minutes it took R. Dwayne Betts to commit six felonies his mind had gone into a whirlwind. He was confused about what had happened, he had acted on impulse and did not think about consequences. So by the time he was cuffed, processed, and question he was very confused. He did not understand his Miranda rights. He did not understand that was he said to the police was going to be repeated by a judge to prove guilt. After all he is just a kid. The frontal lobe of the brain controls decision making and impulse control. That part of the male brain is not fully developed until the age of twenty-five. Twenty-five. Dwayne Betts was sixteen, while he should have been held responsible for his actions it must be recognized that he cannot be held responsible to the level of an adult. It is simple, he does not have an adult brain therefore does not make adult decisions therefore cannot be given adult consequences. Mr. Betts goes on to write “after being processed, the police learned I was sixteen; my age, an afterthought” (50). Mr. Betts upon arrest was not even treated as a kid, yes while he was guilty, his age became an afterthought. He crime became what defined him.
This really bothered me. I have a big problem with the way juveniles are treated from both the justice system and many police. I feel as if juveniles are looked at as being guilty until proven innocent, I also believe that they are not looked at as being juveniles, but that is what they are. They are still kids. This really bothers me because the experience juveniles have while their brains are still developing are so vital for future decisions. If a person is put into jail while their frontal lobe is still not fully developed, it will continue to develop around making decisions based off of other criminals. This is unfair and most importantly it is not completely their fault, yes it is their fault for committing the crime but they are still kids.