A 13-year-old youth, boy or girl, picks up a gun and shoots another youth who has been molesting them. There is no doubt that they should receive some sort of punishment for their actions. However, should they receive this punishment through juvenile courts or criminal courts? This is the question, which has no real definitive answer. However, this article will attempt to address some important issues related to this matter. Studies have shown that youth crime was on the rise in the early 1990s. During the late 1990s and early part of the new century these crimes decreased slightly. However, where are these crimes similar to those previously committed by minors? No, these crimes have become more violent in nature due to the changing world we live in. Therefore, by conducting research on this topic it has come to prove that the age of the individual should not be a determining factor but the crime committed. Juveniles today commit more serious crimes than before; thus requiring them to be tried and punished as adults due to the nature of the crime, the violence involved and the type of crimes. Now, in addressing the crimes committed, we cannot discuss them without first overcoming a major obstacle, age. This is the most talked about part of any topic when dealing with minors and crime. At what age does a child have the capacity to commit a crime? Under common law, from which all laws in the United States originated, it states that a child cannot commit a crime if the defense can prove childhood. Childhood or in other words immaturity was the guide and concluded that a child could not commit a crime as an adult. However, what is this age and when did it change or change? Well, to answer...half of the article......New York University Press.Zimring, F.E.(2005) "A Rational For American Juvenile Justice." American juvenile justice. New York: Oxford University Press, USA, 56-62. “Crime in the United States 2008.” FBI – Homepage of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Np, nd Web 13 July 2010. Snyder, H., Sickmund, M., & Poe-Yamagata, E. (2000) Transfers of juveniles to criminal court in the 1990s: Lessons learned from four states. National Center for Juvenile Justice: Pittsburg, PA.Griffin, P. (2008) Different from Adults: An Updated Analysis of Juvenile Transfer and Blending Sentencing Laws, with Recommendations for Reform. National Center for Juvenile Justice: Pittsburg, P.A.Griffin, P. (2003) Trying and Sentencing Juveniles as Adults: An Analysis of State Transfer and Blending Sentencing Laws. National Center for Juvenile Justice: Pittsburg, Pennsylvania