Juvenile Justice Issues

One of the most controversial questions in the juvenile justice system today is, "Should the death penalty be applied to juveniles?”. A lot of people think that the death penalty for juveniles is cruel and unusual punishment and should only be used for adults. The crimes that juveniles commit are as dangerous and as violent as adult crimes. People argue that the adolescent brain does not mature until the late teens or early twenties, and that death penalty should not be the resolution. Some studies show that childhood abuse or neglect can causes the child to commit crimes when they grow to adulthood. Debate about the use of the death penalty for juveniles has grown more intense because of the crimes they are

and why they should not be tried as adults in the justice system. It also shows the actual differences in the brain of a juvenile and the brain of an adult. In an article in the New York Times called, “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences” Gail Garinger explains why juveniles and adults are different. He states, “Young people are biologically different from adults. Brain imaging studies reveal that the regions of the adolescent brain responsible for controlling thoughts, actions and emotions are not yet fully developed.” (Garinger 93). I do not believe it is fair to treat a teenager the same as an adult knowing teenagers brains are not yet fully developed and do not possess the same level of neurotic connections. In some ways it is like expecting a child with down syndrome to act and behave the same as a normal child of the same age.

Juvenile crime is a term around the world that is difficult to pinpoint and although there are several definitions many fail to be concrete. There are many factors that play into sentencing juveniles or minors upon a crime committed. How old are they? Can they mentally form criminal intent? Are they old enough to no longer be treated as children? Some people would argue that a criminal is just that, regardless of age. Research on the other hand shows that juveniles have underdeveloped brains who at times have difficulty rationalizing decisions and weighing out consequences. It is important that these issues are addressed because of the implications this has on not only the juveniles but the community around them. These

If a fourteen-year old child murders another person should they be tried in an adult court with the possibility of a life in prison without parole? According to a Gallup Poll conducted in 2003, 59% of people surveyed that they support harsher sentences for serious crimes committed by a minor. The juvenile courts can be traced back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a way to prevent the children of a growing immigrant population from falling victim to a life of crime. Despite the original intentions of the juvenile system, the recidivism rate for minors continues to rise at an alarming rate meaning that convicted youth are trapped in a viscous cycle of incarceration that never allows them to grow and prosper. This paper discusses the foundation and intention of the juvenile court system as well as focusing on three issue areas that are complicating the court system: the advancement of neurological studies such as Laurence Steinberg’s, A Social Neuroscience Perspective on Adolescent Risk-Taking, a lack of proper education and resources necessary to teach the incarcerated youth causing them to fall behind those who have attended a normal school, and an ineffective or complete lack of a rehabilitation plan for convicted juveniles. Finally, this paper discusses the Supreme Court case of Miller v. Alabama (2012) that rendered a 5-4 decision that declared charging a minor life in prison without parole unconstitutional.

Juvenile justice has traditionally followed a punitive model when faced with young transgressors. Most juvenile justice departments have then also followed this model, creating a system that is in effect not only separate from the community, but also from the family unit. Many juvenile offenders are then physically removed both from their communities and their families to be incarcerated into punitive institutions. According to the Balanced and Restorative Justice model, however, accountability is best encouraged with the direct involvement of both the community and the family unit (U.S. Dept. of Justice). This is also the case with young John Black, whose offense was possession of a fire arm, although this did not lead to any actual harm to others. He is therefore an excellent candidate for family- and community-based programs, helping him to learn accountability and find his place in society in an effective and productive way.

Juveniles should not be tried and sentenced as adults because their brains are not fully matured thus making the process impossible to undergo the experiences of being tried and sentenced as an adult. The juvenile justice system needs to be revised and start to work towards helping the juveniles find the right path and not setting them up to fail. Some people might say that these adolescents need to just fall silent and do the time in adult prison. The problem is, youth cannot do the same time like an adult would, because they are not adults, no matter how much society would like them to carry themselves as so, they simply cannot. The public should put themselves in the juvenile’s shoes and become aware of all the trauma and abuse the juveniles live through while being tried and sentenced as an adult.

I believe that children who enter the juvenile justice system on series charges such as murder, rape, armed robbery, etc. need to be examined very closely when making the decision to try them as an adult. Not only is past criminal charges something to take into consideration, but also the child’s family life, where do they come from, what types of supports do they have, where they victims of abuse, and did they witness physical violence at some point in their life. My experience in working with the Juvenile Justice System is that they would like to keep juveniles out of the jails and focus on rehabilitation. I fully support rehabilitation for youth who have

I agree that society has their own views on illegal behaviors of juveniles and juvenile justice system. Judges the arresting officer on the crime scene all make a decision in the juvenile delinquent cases. Correctional officer also makes decision once the juvenile gets convicted and sent to a juvenile detention center. In North Carolina, a juvenile can be tried as an adult at the age of 17 in their courts.

Queensland is well known for its contrasting position on the youth justice system, contravening with the Conventions of the Right of the Child (CRC) and disregarding recommendations made by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The Juvenile Justice Act 1992 (QLD) is particularly scrutinized for containing legislation that states 17 year olds can be charged, tried and detained as an adults, giving courts the potential to overcharge punishments for juveniles and threaten their safety in adult prisons (). This legislation is not in the best interest of the child, fails to rehabilitate youth, is not fair, just or equitable and should therefore be amended to reach the standards of the United Nations and other Australian states. By analysing the key issues of the Juvenile Justice Act 1992 and examining the social implication of these issues on key stakeholders, the recommendation that Queensland should adopt America’s Intensive Supervision Program and change the definition of a child to include 17 year olds in the legislation can be made.

Malcolm Ritter in the article, “Experts link teen Brains’ Immaturity, Juvenile Crime,” states that the “juvenile brain is still maturing in the teen years and reasoning and judgment are developing well into the early to mid 20s” (Ritter). Certainly people are different people at the age of twenty verses at the age of twelve. However when a child turns sixteen, they gain the ability to drive, and if they are mentally capable enough of following the rules of the road, certainly they should know how to follow the rules of our country. At this age, it should become obvious that what you have done is right or wrong and the possible consequences of that action. Because of this I believe in the most extreme cases, juveniles convicted of a murder who are sixteen and older should be sentenced in adult court and should be sentenced upwards of 25 years to life if their crime is considered severe enough. This is rule is necessary as in the case of Sarah Johnson, a sixteen year old girl that plotted to murder her parents, murdered her mom while she was sleeping and her dad after he had came out of the shower, and tried to pin the crime on an intruder (Stinson). Because of cases like this it is important to view the justice system as a grayscale, in which cases are taken one by one, viewed individually, and analyzed for an appropriate

There is a controversy on whether or not minors under the age of 18 who have commited a crime should be charged and punished as adults. Many people think that in certain situations, juveniles should be tried as adults, not all the time. In court, there are five criteria that is used to determine the offender’s fate. The five criteria taken into account are the degree of the crime, previous delinquent history, previous rehabilitation, how long the delinquent has to be rehabilitated, and the seriousness of the crime. Serious crimes, also considered adult crimes, include murder, rape, torture, arson, and more. With all ideas and facts taken into account, juveniles convicted of serious crimes should be tried and punished as adults.

The juvenile justice system is similar to the criminal justice system. This system is where juveniles are processed, and may be arrested after referrals for juvenile delinquency. Juvenile justice is very different in every state and can be very similar as well because every system has limited jurisdiction and that most focus on the offenders and not their offenses. Therefore, there are 51 juvenile justice systems in the United States. The United States has the juvenile justice system because children are very different than adults – in that they can be better receptive for change and also being easier to rehabilitate. Moreover, the main goal of the juvenile justice system is rehabilitation (Juvenile Law Center). The juvenile justice system is made up of police, courts, corrections, probation and parole services, as well as community-based programs to name a few (book).

In the past years, cases of crime committed by teenagers are found everywhere throughout the world. Sentencing options are given to youth offenders based on their circumstances of the crime that was carried out. Often, juveniles are tried as adults and are punished with a lifetime in jail. The mindset between a child and a grown person aren't the same. Due to juvenile’s lack of knowledge and maturity, crimes committed by teens shouldn’t result in them being sentenced to life without parole.

Really, this is untrue. As said in Some Juvenile Killers Deserve Adult Justice, “a developing adolescent brain does not prevent deliberate, thoughtful actions” (Weir 1). Juveniles are aware of what they’re doing, no matter what the state of mine they are in. The development in the brain does not matter when it comes to making choices. A juvenile can still plan and execute a crime the same as an adult and sadly, some do. This does not mean that they should get off of the same punishment because of their age. Juveniles should receive a punishment that equates their crime.

In the Supreme Court decision of whether or not a juvenile should be sentenced to life in prison for committing murder, the ruling was one I can personally agree upon; juveniles will not be sentenced to life in prison due to lack of brain development in the adolescent brain. Research has shown there are extreme differences in the adult brain to the teenage brain. For example, the case of Nathaniel Braill who was charged at 13 years old for murdering one of his teachers, one of his “favorite teachers.” Brazill was not even able to give a reason as to why he did this heinous crime. This is because cognitive development in the teenage brain is far less advanced than in an adults.