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Question: Are minors punished the same as adults if they commit murder?

Answer: It depends. Arizona Law (ARS §13-501) states that kids over 15 that commit 1st or 2nd degree murder are automatically tried in adult court. If the minor is 14, the county attorney has discretion to charge in adult court. If the minor is younger than 14, the state can still try to charge the minor as an adult, but they must first go through a transfer hearing and it is a judge who finally decides.

There are four basic types of homicide in Arizona:

Negligent homicide (ARS §13-1102);

Manslaughter (ARS §13-1103);

Second degree murder (ARS §13-1104); and

First degree murder (ARS §13-1105).

The circumstances surrounding the homicide and state of mind of the defendant create the distinctions.The most serious offenses are first and second degree murder.

If the minor is young enough and the circumstances warrant it, (there are enough mitigating factors) a minor who remains in juvenile court would have consequences until his/her 18th birthday. Arizona Law (ARS §8-341 - §8-342 - §8-343) lists the consequences which a juvenile court judge can impose.

If the minor is tried and found guilty in adult court, the sentencing statute states the punishment shall be the same as that for an adult (life imprisonment, life without parole, or the death penalty are the usual punishments for first degree murder (ARS §13-703)). However, if the defendant was under the age of 16 when the offense occurred, the death penalty is not available. See Thompson v. Oklahoma, 487 US 815 (1988).

The punishment for second degree murder can be found at ARS §13-710. All other homicides' punishments are determined by the sentencing statutes ARS §13-604, ARS §13-701, ARS §13-702, ARS §13-702.1, ARS §13-702.2
Comments
16 thru 20 of 76 comments
On 04/01/05
jose from TX said:
if minors commit murder they should be trialed as adults because they know whatthey did!!
On 04/23/04
Ashley from TX said:
Commit the crime, do the time.
On 03/04/04
Robert from OH said:
No, minors (kids) are given a MASSIVE legal disadvantage, lack alot of rights, and other things that are supposed to be given by the constitution, and in turn all minors get are a few extra protections, now people want to get rid of those protections, without giving back rights, and the becomes unequal totalitarianism!
On 03/03/04
Theresa from WI said:
I think that teens should be trialed the same as adult they do the same crime aas a 30 year old but yet teens dont get as bad of a punishment. They know they did something wrong so there sayin if ur 19 and u kill some1 u go to jail but if ur 18 and u kill someone u dont go to jail u go to all thease other things its a 1 year different.
On 02/23/04
Dasa from CA said:
I've heard almost the same thing over and over and that is children know what they are doing and that age doesn't matter, which is true. I mean how can a person be so ignorant not to know what they are doing? You see kids out there smoking and drinking, do they know what they are doing there? I pretty much think so, so what would be the difference in them deciding to murder someone? Everyday kids get away with things that they shouldn't be getting away with, or they be getting laid off. A murder is a murder and they should all pay the same crime.
16 thru 20 of 76 comments


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