It's just a way of increasing the penalties for really severe crimes committed by people near the threshold but it's become a tried and true legal maneuver for

It's just a way of increasing the penalties for really severe crimes committed by people near the threshold but it's become a tried and true legal maneuver for prosecutors who want to appear tough on crime. Whenever you see "tried as an adult" in any press release it's usually just there to give their constituents a justice boner while destroying some (low SES/high melanin) kid.