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Does Sentencing Minors as Adults Work? In 1990 s American society got fed up with juvenile thugs. People complained that juvenile justice system failed to reform young criminals and what is more, it became a revolving door where young criminals thumbed their noses at discipline, kept right on committing crimes and avoided consequences because of their age. The decision was made to toughen punishment for adolescents and to allow their trying in adult courts.
As a consequence of it, in 1996 many states in America shifted from the system of rehabilitation to punishment for juveniles. Proposition 102 passed that year made it easier to send young criminals to adult prison. Today the critics of this measure state that it has produced more negative than positive results. The opponents of Proposition 102 claim that sever punishment can not eliminate the phenomenon of juvenile delinquency in the country, as this phenomenon is has more deep, social, roots. On the other hand, the proponents say that society should be secured from the dangerous units, - criminals, even if these criminals are under age: If you are going to commit that type of crime, you should be tried as an adult. Thus, in my essay I will investigate the issue of juvenile delinquency, discuss the question: Does Sentencing Minors as Adults Work?
and work out my own point of view on the problem of sentencing adolescents to adult prison. First, I think it is important to draw physical and mental distinction between people who are under the age of 20 and those who havent achieved it yet. The advocates of trying teens in adult system claim, that age does not diminish ones culpability for committing crime. For example, Michael Rushord, an expert, while discussing the issue of justice and juveniles, called: I don't think you can make a blanket statement about all 16 -year-olds or 17 -year-olds or 18 year olds share the same functional abilities the reason the public has become more concerned about juvenile murderers in particular is because of the level of juvenile crime So, Rushords views suggest the idea that some part of American community are ready to sacrifice juveniles in the name of apparent order and stability of the society.
But I agree with the opponents, who say that child development should be taken into consideration in every case of juvenile trials. In the last couple of years this point of view was corroborated by the experts who found out that brain of a 16 or 17 old does not operate the same way as brain of adults does. From the period of ones 16 to 20 years a huge part of processes takes place and person develops another judgment and behavior. Moreover, a teenager has a different understanding of the consequences, cause and effect of the actions that that of an adult. Thus, it will be logical to assume, that an adolescent can not be applied the same terms and notions, while considering his / her crime or violation, as an adult person is.
Another contra argument is adult prisons do not reform a juvenile, on the other way round, they encourage regress and worsening of a young inmate. When adolescents are shuffled into the adult system do not get the help they need. First, teenagers do not get their education and have a possibility to acquire the skills of menial labor. This does not allow children to become functional and to navigate society after release.
On the contrary, education for juveniles should be mandatory until they receive their GED. It is very important for them to build skills such as sobriety, literacy and employability. Also, juveniles should be counseled how to address the issues of anger management. These necessary changes mentioned above are favorable for reforming a child, but they are not possible in today adult prisons. Brandon Alcorn, 18, who served time in the Minor's Unit, said: "You can learn a whole lot more bad things in here than good. " Also, according to The Arizona Republic, the average juvenile incarcerated as adults for committing a non-violent crime in Arizona serves the time twice as long as the national average for offenders who committed non-violent crimes. When inmates come out they have only basic education, not much job skills and no support to prop them up.
Unfortunately, daily the state (for example, Arizona) mandates only three hours of education for ex-inmates. Moreover, the study states, Arizona failed to provide juveniles released from adult prisons with re-entry programs to lighten their transition back to the society. The federal government has doled out more than $ 120 million since 2002 to fund re-entry strategies, but none of the grants has gone to the Arizona Department of Corrections, - Judi Villa sadly noted in her article Adult prisons harden teens. Second, in adult prisons young inmates face daunting odds.
According to government statistics, those adolescents who are sent to adult prisons are more likely to be beaten or raped. In 1997, in Florida, an adult prisoner strangled to death a 17 -year-old. Also, juveniles in adult prisons are more likely to attempt suicide, and finally, statistics holds, these young inmates are more likely to come back to crime after their release. The story of Rs Atiba told in the article by Sasha Abramsky, brightly illustrates life of adolescents in prison.
Rs Atiba learned to rob and steel when he was 10 years old, just because he saw no other alternative. His parents were drug addicts and from his early age he was taught the ethos of the street. He explains that, Prisons like a school and a gladiator prison. This is how he starts his characteristics of Zephyr Hills. "It's bad, because you " ve got to watch your back or you " ll be killed in here. I've got beaten lots of times. " Atiba says that when he was 16 an officer of the prison slammed his head against a Plexiglas window. Another time, a rival of his stabbed him with a shank.
The teenager adds: "You " re surrounded by different types of criminals. "People who know how to burgle houses, rob banks. You " ve got rapists here. Murderers. Young people, some don't have the mind I do. They " ll listen to the older inmate: 'This is how you do a robbery. ' He might go out there and try it again. He might get away, or he might end up dead or back in here. " The sad conclusions made by government statistics were repeated in other surveys and investigations.
Thus, an Arizona Republic study of youths in adult prison estimates that non-violent juveniles more frequent that violent ones return to prison for committing a new violent offence within the period of three years after release. In fact, 52 percent of non-violent inmates commit a new crime after their release, and about a half of their crimes are violent. Overall, the study holds, 26. 7 non-violent juveniles come back to prison within the period of three years for committing a new violence. According to the research made by a professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Legal Studies, the University of Central Florida, Donna M. Bishop (1996), the teens who served time in adult prisons come back to crime sooner, commit more crimes, commit more violet crimes, and end up back behind bars sooner that their peers who were tried in the juvenile system. Donna M.
Bishop compared two groups of teenagers, who had similar backgrounds and similar crimes. She and her team kept the observation on these groups during the period of four years and found that minors tried as adults for one specific category of property crimes re offended less often than their counterparts who had been sent to juvenile court. So, all these arguments and investigations prove that adult prisons have a very poor influence on juveniles and this kind of punishment does not have the effect it is designed for. In other words, sentencing minors as adults does not work. On the other hand, contemporary juvenile system offers educational and rehabilitation programs that are effective for reforming young inmates. Thus, The Arizona Republic claims that if juveniles are placed in a secure, home-like facility, and their reformation is properly facilitated with juvenile treatment, they are unlikely to come back to prison.
Such experiment was made by Missouri's Division of Youth Services and described by Judi Villa in her article: Missouri's Division of Youth Services has taken many juveniles convicted as adults out of the state prison and placed them in a secure, home-like facility. Those teenagers can undergo juvenile treatment until their 21 st birthdays, when they can be released on parole if they are successful or sent to adult prison to serve the rest of their sentence. Only a handful of juveniles have moved to adult prison since 2000. In conclusion I would like to say that the attempt of applying adult system for eliminating juvenile delinquency failed. Today system of juvenile justice needs much reforming, but the first step in this direction should lie through the revocation of Proposition 102.
The aim of juvenile system of justice should remain rehabilitation, not punishment because the best interest of the society is to set up juveniles for success and to teach them how to develop a housing plan, how to care for themselves, so they do not go back to prison. Bibliography: Judi Villa. Adult prisons harden teens. The Arizona Republic. Nov. 14, 2004 Justice for juveniles. The Convention of the Rights of the Child.
The progress of nations. 1996. May 30, 2005, < web > Justice for juveniles. National Centre for Juvenile Justice. JusticeForJuveniles.
org 2002, May 30, 2005, < web > Ray Suarez, Justice and Juveniles, Online News Hour, MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, August 15, 2001, May 30, 2005, from < web > Sasha Abramsky, Hard-Time Kids, American Prospect, Volume 12, Issue 15. August 27, 2001
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Research essay sample on Does Sentencing Minors As Adults Work
