Tammy Stanley JUVENILE OFFENDERS AND THE DEATH PENATLY Juvenile Offenders and the ideas of how to punish them for their crimes has been a national topic of discussion with just about everyone you meet. From the local politicians to the concerned parent who worries about their children. What punishment juveniles should receive has always been a sensitive subject. From state to state, city to city the views and opinions vary and varies on what should be the correct punishment for a juvenile offender. The juvenile justice system has changed throughout history, and one of the major changes was the Death Penalty being abolished in 2005 for juvenile offenders. Some not even old enough to vote, own a car, or could even buy …show more content…
For one lad of eleven years old may have as much cunning as another of fourteen: and in these cases, our maxim is that Malta Supplet Aetatem. Under seven years of age indeed an infant cannot be guilty of felony; for the felonious discretion is almost impossibility in nature; but at eight years old may be guilty of a felony.(6) Soon after this time was the Progressive Era Reforms, and this time was a time of change in the way juveniles and their punishment was looked at. The progressive era in the United States was a time of extensive social reform. The period, which formally spanned between 1900 and 1918, was preceded by nearly a century of discontent. During the Progressive Era, Americans saw the growth of the women’s suffrage movement, the campaign against child labor, the flight for the eight-hour workday, and the uses of journalism and cartooning to expose “big business” corruption. (12) Prior to the Progressive Era, child offenders over the age of seven were imprisoned with adults. Such had been the model historically. But the actions of political and social reformers, as well as the research of psychologists in the 18th and 19th centuries, began a shift in society’s views on juvenile delinquents. (12) Early reformers who were interested in rehabilitating rather than punishing children built the
Florida Legislatures created the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice in 1994 to serve as the state agency responsible for youth involved in the juvenile justice system. Although the state agency is under the authority of the state governor, Secretary Christina Daly, who provides leadership for the organization, each circuit has a leadership team who runs the daily operation of each sub-department. The Department’s headquarter is located in Tallahassee Florida where 3,000 employees are employed statewide. Broward County, the seventeenth circuit employs one hundred and twenty employees in Probation. The Department’s mission is to increase public safety by reducing juvenile delinquency through effective prevention, intervention and treatment services that strengthen families and turn around the lives of troubled youth. The Department’s vision is that the children and families of Florida will live in safe, nurturing communities that provide for their needs, recognize their strengths and support their success. The Department has five guiding principles: Prevention and education are paramount; Strengthen partnerships with judicial, legislative and community stakeholders; Promote public safety through effective intervention; provide a safe and nurturing environment for our children and preserve and restore physical and mental health (http://www.djj.state.fl.us/about-us/mission).
The data for this project was collected by administering an anonymous survey to incarcerated juveniles at (name of facility), the (name) receiving center and at the NAACP office in Sacramento, California. The survey asked for gender and parental status (incarcerated versus not incarcerated). Participants were given a paper survey and a pencil to complete the survey. See Appendix for a copy of the survey.
Today, we live in a society faced with many problems, including crime and the fear that it creates. In the modern era, juveniles have become a part of society to be feared, not rehabilitated. The basis of the early juvenile justice system was to rehabilitate and create safe havens for wayward youth. This is not the current philosophy, although the U.S. is one of the few remaining countries to execute juveniles. Presently, our nation is under a presidential administration that strongly advocates the death penalty, including the execution of juveniles. The media and supporters of capital punishment warn of the "superpredator," the juvenile with no fear, remorse, or conscience. Opponents of this view encourage
To many Americans today, the country is a hostage-but not from oversea terrorism as one might expect to think. No today, we live in fear from our own children; and these are the same young people who we are entrusting the future of this great country with. According to the Department of Justice report released in November, thirty-eight percent of those arrested for weapons offenses in 1995 were under the age of eighteen (Curriden). In the same report, the Bureau of Justice Statistics stated that in 1995, 3 out of every 100 eighteen-year-olds were arrested for weapons offenses. A rate three times higher than for males twenty-five to twenty-nine and five times higher than for males thirty to thirty-four (Curriden).
In today's society juveniles are being tried in adult courts, given the death penalty, and sent to prison. Should fourteen-year olds accused of murder or rape automatically be tried as adults? Should six-teen year olds and seven-teen year olds tried in adult courts be forced to serve time in adult prisons, where they are more likely to be sexually assaulted and to become repeat offenders. How much discretion should a judge have in deciding the fate of a juvenile accused of a crime - serious, violent, or otherwise? The juvenile crime rate that was so alarming a few years ago has begun to fall - juvenile felony arrest rates in California have declined by more than forty percent in the last twenty years. While
The juvenile justice system is a foundation in society that is granted certain powers and responsibilities. It faces several different tasks, among the most important is maintaining order and preserving constitutional rights. When a juvenile is arrested and charged with committing a crime there are many different factors that will come in to play during the course of his arrest, trial, conviction, sentencing, and rehabilitation process. This paper examines the Juvenile Justice System’s court process in the State of New Jersey and the State of California.
(n.d.), 46 percent of people say juvenile offenders should not be tried and punished as adults while 54 percent of people agree with that juvenile offenders should be tried and punished as adults. The common opinion for agreement is that teens can know and understand about what they do and for disagreement is that teens are kids, and they are still in the process of developing to be adults. Especially, it is quite common voice of disagreement that juvenile justice system should punish juvenile offenders because they are criminal offenders even though they are
A group of seven juvenile delinquents sit at a table sporting jumpsuits that’s draped over their street clothes, not knowing what’s expected to happen next during their jail visit at the Douglas County prison in Georgia. The cameras, that are rolling for Beyond Scared Straight, a reality television series that takes at risk teenagers to different state run prisons across the United States to give them a glance of where they 'll end up if they continue making wrong choices, show the confused look on the delinquents’ faces when they see the next prisoner walking through the door. Instead of a pair of six foot, 300 pounder monsters that were charged for two counts of aggravated assault and attempted murder like some of the inmates that the
Shock probation is an intermediate probation where the offenders are initially assigned to secure confinement, but are later removed from detention and sentenced to serve the remainder of
Juvenile corrections encompasses the portions of the criminal justice system that deal with juvenile offenders. Many of these facilities and programs seem to mirror jails and prisons, but juvenile corrections are not meant for long term sentences. Sometimes sentences for juveniles are only several weeks long. Juvenile corrections also have a strong focus on rehabilitation because studies have shown that juvenile offenders are more prone to rehabilitation than adult offenders. These programs and services were aimed to help to teach
Sexual assault is one of the fastest growing violent crimes in America. Approximately 20% of all people charged with a sexual offense are juveniles. Among adult sex offenders, almost 50% report that their first offense occurred during their adolescence. (FBI, 1993) There are many different opinions, treatment options and legislation to manage the growing numbers of juvenile sex offenders. In today’s society the psychological and behavioral modification treatments used to manage juvenile sex offenders is also a growing concern. To understand and determine the proposed treatment methods, several related issues will need to be reviewed such as traditional sex offender therapy methods like cognitive therapy and alternative therapies like
Before the Progressive Era, children who were over the age of seven were put in jail with adults. In the early part of the 1800’s reformers started to become concerned with the overcrowded environment in the
Serious crimes such as murder, burglary and rape have raised questions as to whether the young offenders should face severe punitive treatment or the normal punitive measures in juvenile courts. Many would prefer the juveniles given harsh punishment in order to discourage other young people from engaging in similar activities and to serve as a lesson to these particular offenders. However, results from previous studies indicate such punitive measures were neither successful nor morally acceptable. Instead, the solutions achieved have unfairly treated the youths and compromised the society status (Kristin, page 1).
Every process has room for improvement, but the juvenile justice system can be altered by adding in possible solutions of what can be done to help this problem in American society. About 100 years ago, juveniles were always tried as adults. Now, that the government has altered the system for the better, the government knows that trying juveniles as adults is not always justified. It depends on the crime, but the majority of the time, juveniles are often always tried as juveniles, based solely on their age. Not only that has changed; the process of juvenile justice has changed as well to better help the juveniles in the system. The rights of juveniles in the system have changed so that the children can improve their lives once they are out of the system. Even though the process has changed and the rights have improved for the juveniles, there are still many improvements to be made. Studies show that recidivism rates are in fact going down, but the rate can always be better so that juveniles do not return to a life of crime.
Children have been described as our future, our greatest resource, and our hope for a better tomorrow. For many Americans, though, children invoke fear. They represent violence, a segment of society lacking in self-control and devoid of ethics and morals, and the failure of the family to instill traditional values, top among them being the value of human life and respect for others.