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Juvenile courts and corrections
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When do we considered children, adults in today’s society? Eighteen, is what I feel the cutoff date is it was set by the U.S. Supreme Court on March 1, 2005 when it declared that it was unconstitutional to execution any Juveniles under the age of eighteen. That is just for the execution of a Juvenile, all states have passed laws allowing Juvenile to be tried in the adult justice system and also held in adult jails and prisons. There are even states that put children in adult jails as young as ten I do not believe that you can set a certain age when someone becomes an adult, I feel each person is different and each person mature in their own time. In our reading Juvenile Justice in America it lists arguments for and against juveniles’ diminished
Many people say that the systems first priority should be to protect the public from the juvenile criminals that are a danger to others. Once the juveniles enter the system there is however, arguments on what should be done with them. Especially for those deemed too dangerous to be released back to their parents. Some want them locked away for as long as possible without rehabilitation, thinking that it will halt their criminal actions. One way to do this they argue would be to send them into an adult court. This has been a large way to reform the juvenile system, by lowering the age limits. I believe in certain cases this is the best method for unforgiving juveniles convicted of murder, as in the case of Ronald Duncan, who got away with a much lesser sentence due to his age. However another juvenile, Geri Vance, was old enough to be sent into the adult court, which caused him t...
The article titled “ Juvenile Justice from Both Sides of the Bench”, published by PBS, and written by Janet Tobias and Michael Martin informs readers on numerous judges’ opinions on the juveniles being tried as adults. Judge Thomas Edwards believed that juveniles should not be tried as adults because they are still not mature enough to see the consequences of their actions and have a chance to minimize this behavior through rehabilitation programs. Judge LaDoris Cordell argues that although we shouldn’t give up on juveniles and instead help them be a part of society, however, she believes that some sophisticated teens that create horrible crimes should be tried as adults. Bridgett Jones claims that teens think differently than adults and still
The adult age requirement in the US is 18 years old by law. If you are under the age of 18, you cannot vote, rent a hotel room, or even purchase a lottery ticket and you are considered a minor. In some cases though minors are convicted as adults, go to adult prison, and get life without parole. The courts deem these minors the worst of the worst and they are untreatable and are not capable of rehabilitation just like Nathan Ibanez, who murdered his mother and is serving life without parole. Juveniles have gained more rights from the Supreme Court in the three following cases: in Kent v. United States it was determined juveniles must have due process, in the case In re Gault it was determined juveniles must have access to a lawyer and know
According to the authors of And Justice for Some, between the years 1985 and 1997, the number of juveniles placed in state prison more than doubled (Poe-Yamagata & Jones, 2000). While they are separated from the adult population if they were tried in the juvenile courts, when a juvenile is waived to the adult court, they are incarcerated with adult inmates in jails and prisons. In the past years, the courts are moving away from case-specific decisions on waiving juveniles to the criminal courts and are now considering the waiver on offense seriousness. This means that even if a person commits a crime at a very young age, if the offense is seriousness, they face the criminal courts. States try about 200,000 juveniles in adult courts every year because their juvenile courts end at fifteen or sixteen years of age, instead of seventeen; in addition, other states try about 55,000 more juveniles even though they were within the ages for their juvenile jurisdiction (Feld, 2008).
Thousands of kid criminals in the United States have been tried as adults and sent to prison (Equal Justice Initiative). The debate whether these kids should be tried as adults is a huge controversy. The decision to try them or to not try them as an adult can change their whole life. “Fourteen states have no minimum age for trying children as adults” (Equal Justice Initiative). Some people feel that children are too immature to fully understand the severity of their actions. People who are for kids to be tried as adults feel that if they are old enough to commit the crime, then they are old enough to understand what they are doing. There are people who feel that children should only be tried as adults depending on the crime.
The Juvenile Justice system, since its conception over a century ago, has been one at conflict with itself. Originally conceived as a fatherly entity intervening into the lives of the troubled urban youths, it has since been transformed into a rigid and adversarial arena restrained by the demands of personal liberty and due process. The nature of a juvenile's experience within the juvenile justice system has come almost full circle from being treated as an adult, then as an unaccountable child, now almost as an adult once more.
The historical development of the juvenile justice system in the United States is one that is focused on forming and separating trying juveniles from adult counterparts. One of the most important aspects is focusing on ensuring that there is a level of fairness and equality with respect to the cognitive abilities and processes of juvenile as it relates to committing crime. Some of the most important case legislation that would strengthen the argument in regard to the development of the juvenile justice system is related to the reform of the justice system during the turn of the 19th century. Many juveniles were unfortunately caught in the crosshairs of being tried as adults and ultimately receiving punishments not in line with their ability
What makes an adult an adult? Is it based on their age? Does turning 18 automatically make you an adult? Should juvenile criminals convicted of a crime be tried and sentenced as adults? Why not? Juvenile criminals should be tried and sentenced as adults.
This term paper will examine the history of the Juvenile Justice System and the different types of correctional facilities.
Teenagers do not have what we call “adult” rights therefore they should not be sentenced as one. For example in the Article “Kids Are Kids - Until They Commit Crimes” by Marjie Lundstrom she said “It’s a glaring inconsistency that’s getting more glaring by the hour as children as
This paper describes the various legislations and movements that were established in 19th century to address the issue of juvenile justice system. It outlines the challenges faced by the legislation and movements and their implications in addressing the issues of the juvenile justice system.
crimes are committed. In 2008, seventy-three thousand of these violent crimes were committed by juveniles. When you hear about murderers, rapists, and other criminals, automatically, your mind set wants these criminals sentenced to prison for a very long time. There is no second guessing when it comes to these extreme criminals, they should be punished for the severe crimes committed. Now, lets say the criminal was a fifteen year old, suddenly people begin to question if giving them the same sentencing as an “adult” would be appropriate. Many will say it is wrong to try a juvenile as an adult for various reasons, but by committing these violent crimes they stopped being children and should be tried as adults. Regardless of the age, criminals are criminals and they should all be tried the same, age does not define adulthood. Juvenile crimes are no different from adult crimes, teens know the difference between wrong and right, ignorance and foolishness are two different things, if the criminal has the ability to plan out the crime then they will be prepared to do the time.
Today?s court system is left with many difficult decisions. One of the most controversial being whether to try juveniles as adults or not. With the number of children in adult prisons and jails rising rapidly, questions are being asked as to why children have been committing such heinous crimes and how will they be stopped. The fact of the matter is that it is not always the children's fault for their poor choices and actions; they are merely a victim of their environment or their parents. Another question asked is how young is too young. Children who are too young to see an R rated film unaccompanied are being sent to adult prisons. The only boundaries that seem to matter when it comes to being an adult are laws that restrain kids from things such as alcohol, pornography, and other materials seen as unethical. Children that are sent to adult prison are going to be subjected to even more unprincipled ideas and scenes. When children can be sent to jail for something as minor as a smash and grab burglary, the judicial system has errors. The laws that send juveniles to adult prisons are inhumane, immoral, and unjust. Kids are often incompetent, which leads to unfair trials. Adult prisons are also very dangerous for minors, and in many cases this leads to more juvenile crimes.
For example, the court has already struck down the death penalty and the life in prison without parole for juveniles or for young offenders convicted of non-homicide. According to the article, “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life In Prison,” Paul Garinger states that “Brain imaging studies reveal that the regions of the adolescent brain that are responsible for controlling thoughts, actions, and emotions are not fully developed. They can not be held to the same standards when they commit terrible crimes.” If this is true, there is no reason to treat juveniles as adults.
Children commit adult crimes. The problem is how do we punish them? Should they be treated in juvenile facilities, or punished with adult criminals? In some states, you are considered to be an adult at 17 years old, therefore, as criminals get placed “in adult prisons for more sophisticated training in violent crimes and victimization.”(Pg. 637)