Spoiled Or Mislead? The Affluenza Defense

But change that to an eight year old boy and his friends, and everyone’s opinion changes. They want to coddle the children and blame the violence on the parents, video games or social media. How does one word, juvenile, change the world’s mind so quickly-because it is in human’s nature to care for the young. People see children as clay to be melded into the perfect model of a person. When these children do something bad, they see the molder to be at fault. It is like they have they never seen a child misbehave when they are “molded” well. Children have their own brains and ideas. These ideas are their own and they are not only based on others in lives. The important thing is to see that juveniles are not children, “In the words of one 'get-tough' advocate, juvenile offenders are criminals who happen to be young, not children who happen to be criminal’” (ABC News). This perfectly sums up what juvenile crime is. It is not about the child, it is about the victim. If a juvenile is capable of committing a crime and planning it out, they should be tried for it. In one case, a boy murdered a woman after breaking into her house and her seeing his face. Instead of acting innocent, he was proud of what he had done, “Simmons wasn’t modest about what he had done; to the contrary, he had

In the article “On Punishment and Teen Killers” by Jennifer Jenkins asserts that teens are becoming more violent and starting commit more crimes because of the national television they watch.Jenkins tells the reader about “JLWOP” (Juvenile Life Without Parole) and how kids are being sentenced to life in prison without parole.Some people are trying to advocate to minimize the offender culpability because of their age.While kids are getting sentenced to life without parole, this disproves juvenile advocates reliance on the undeveloped brain.Some juvenile offenders truly understand what the victim family go through and how long it takes them to recover.There were millions of dollars spent to end JLWOP and to set convicted murderers free.

The Juvenile justice system has changed over the years. Before the first establishment of this system, courts and judges treated juveniles as adults and sometimes received the same punishment as adults. For many years, there were debates on if children before the age of 21 were responsible for their actions seeing as they aren’t fully capable of understanding their actions. This murder of Jamie Bulger created an uproar all over the world on children at such a young age know right from wrong and also violence. Backgrounds, and family upbringing and violence in the media had played a

Anyone who kills innocent people should not be able to avoid jail just because their family is rich. Ethan Couch a teenager killed 4 innocent people and injuring 2 of his passengers while driving drunk. For his actions he was supposed to go to jail but instead got probation for being diagnosed with “affluenza.” Which is when someone does not understand or control what they do simply because they come from a rich family. Affluenza is not an acceptable reason for someone to avoid jail time because he is old enough to know what was right or wrong and he is no different from any other kids.

When it comes to kids, we tend to baby them. We organize their lives and set limits on everything. If they want to do something outside those limits we tell them they are not old enough or they have not experienced enough of the world yet. After all, what can they possibly know about love, major decisions, and what is best for them? Yet somehow, despite all this, when they commit a crime we turn into hypocrites. Magically, they are geniuses who know everything about the world. In society’s eyes, they are no longer a child, but a monster.

While some individuals feel that exposure to an adult sanction will have a negative effect on the health of juveniles, the major crimes committed by these minors are the same as those committed by their surrounding adult inmates. The threat of adult incarceration will also repel juveniles from committing serious crimes. According to Professor Morgan Reynolds from Texas A&M University, “Between 1980 and 1993 juvenile crime rose alarmingly, and as the states toughened their approach during the 1990s, it declined just as steeply” (2005). In addition, incarceration lowers the chances of reoffending (Schneider cited by Reynolds, 2005). Enforcing laws that discourage juveniles from executing major crimes are effective in reducing crime rates and implementing public safety. Also, those that have already committed severe crimes are less likely to reoffend after exposure to adult sanction. Like Christopher Simmons, juveniles are aware of the crimes they are committing, and may even be proud of their actions. Regardless of the motive, teens committing major offenses should be placed in adult sanctions because their actions are no different than adult offenders. The intimidation of adult detention is successful in both deterring juvenile crime, and appropriately holds minors accountable for their severe offenses.

Jaime Arellano was only sixteen when he decided to get behind the wheel intoxicated, which in return led to the death of a pregnant woman and her unborn child. In 2007, his case was immediately moved to the adult court of Texas where he was sentenced 20 years in prison. Jaime Arellano, is a Mexican immigrant, which in itself is considered to be in society in the “lowest of standings”. A formerly high school dropout with no money to pay for a highly credibly attorney, the state assigned him one. The attorney could not possibly argue his client’s innocence due to any psychological reasons such as “afluenza”, which resulted in a plea deal of 20 years instead of the 50 he was facing. On the other hand, we have the “afluenza teen” Ethan Couch, who in 2013, killed twice the

There Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz tells the harrowing story of the Rivers family and their shocking experiences living in an underserved Chicago public housing project. The story focuses on Lafayette, a middle school aged boy discovering his identity, Pharoah, an elementary school aged boy with high ambition and goals, and their resilient mother LaJoe. Matza’s Techniques of Neutralization discuss how people can create rationalizations to justify delinquencies and crimes. Specifically applicable to There Are No Children Here is the theory of Denial of Responsibility which occurs when the perpetrator of an offense claims the situation was out of their control, they did not know the law, they were a victim of circumstance, or they were acted upon by outside forces rather than acting themselves. The second theory applicable to There Are No Children Here is Becker’s theory of Master Status. The theory of Master Status states that labels can take on a “master status” and can have an enormous influence and once you’ve been labeled, then define you. These theories aid in understanding how the pattern of violence and destruction is perpetuated in the projects of Chicago and the misfortune in the Rivers family.

A Stanford University student and swimmer, Brock Turner, was convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious girl in January 0f 2015. Turner is now required to be registered on the sex offender list; and even though sexual assault is a serious felony, he only served three months in jail because the judge, Aaron Persky, used his discretion. Judges have discretion by law, but Persky used his discretion to give Turner, who he viewed as promising kid instead of a dangerous offender, a shorter sentence. Some argue that being on the sex offender list is too harsh, but since Turner spent so little time in jail, him being registered on the sex offender list is crucial instead of harsh; with being on the list comes important treatment that can treat any underlying issue that caused Turner to assault the unconscious girl and to prevent him from assaulting anyone else.

Brock Turner was given a life where most privileges were given easy to him, unlike the black, low classed teenagers. The Washington Post previously published, “Instead, Turner received only six months in jail and three years of probation after a judge worried that a stiffer sentence would have a “severe impact” on the 20-year-old” (Miller 1). This statement is crucial to note because these consequences are not how anyone would imagine a young man receiving after sexually assaulting a young woman. His sentencing was minor; he was put in jail for six months and on a three-year probation. This case did not bring justice to the girl, instead the case brought justice to white supremacy. #puthiminjail

On the other hand, some people are not as receptive to the criminal justice debate that Meek Mill’s sentencing has sparked. Rahman Hammond posted a Facebook post criticizing those who choose to blame the criminal justice system “for the choices of grown men” (Hammond). He believes that people are not holding Meek Mill accountable for his actions while he knew that he was on parole. Even though Meek Mill is not innocent in this situation as he violated New York law by riding a dirt bike, an unauthorized motor vehicle, his sentencing and the background for his case serves as a striking reminder of the harsh sentencing that black people face, no matter their wealth, notoriety, or popularity. Meek Mill is now 30 years old, yet he is still on parole for a crime he was convicted on when he was 19 years old. He spent over 10 years on parole not allowing him to practice any civil liberties. Even though the dirt bike charges were dismissed, the judge still sentenced him to two to four years in prison. People should be held responsible for their actions; however, the courts should also be held responsible for giving people unnecessarily harsh punishments compared to their white counterparts for crimes they have committed. Even though people say that Meek Mill is made an example of for black people, they also fail to realize the privilege that Meek Mill has a famous, wealthier black man. Black individuals who are typically exploited by the criminal justice do not have the finances to even hire a lawyer to properly defend their case. By examining Meek Mill’s case, individuals will hopefully understand the injustice that occurs within the black community and also understand what is at stake by ignoring or deflecting the concerns of a part of the population that essentially has no voice.

The article “On Punishment and Teen Killers” by jennifer Jenkins, the author talks about a personal own story of a family member getting murdered by a juvenile who is now serving three life sentences and believed to be kept in prison because of violating the law. The author concurs that any juveniles that are imprisoned tend to commit a different crime after release, and people who fights for juveniles who are sentence life in prison should be kept. The advertisements of the media and legislator “ feature propaganda photos of 7- and 8- year- old child models on the cover, with misleading headlines that the United States was “sentencing children to die in prison”(Jenkins 92). This quote talks about the media’s way of misleading people on what the juveniles in prison truly

There’s an old saying, “don’t do the crime, if you can’t do the time”. Our youth is doing the crimes, not realizing the true consequences of their actions; hence their immaturity. “Per a 2011 report on the National Institute of Corrections, 250,000 minors wind up in the adult criminal justice system each year.” (Hannum, 2016). But that does not mean, they should be tried as an adult for their crimes. Nor should they get off easy because they are under the age of eighteen. You can pick any day of the week, about 10,000 of our children are being put in adult prisons and jails. (Hannum, 2016). Nearly every year, the FBI arrest more than 33,000 young adults under the age of eighteen for offenses.” (Khan, 2010.). It’s time for society and our

Since the Underclass is also apparently a culture of poverty and behavior being linked, it is important to note that according to the National Research Council, over half of fathers in prison reported being the primary source of income for their household. If these fathers eventually do get released, the chances of them finding employment is restricted, leaving the family struggling financially even more than they were before. This continues to prove that even though there are systemic and legislative reasons as to why the marginalized remain marginalized, the ruling society continuously blames the disadvantaged groups for their living conditions. In the case of the five teens accused of raping and brutally attacking Trisha Meili, the consequences aren’t about how they couldn’t function as father figures because they were in prison, but rather that their families were put under so much scrutiny and abuse under the lens of mass media, the government, and the general public. Antron described his

Take a moment and picture a child half naked in the streets. His body has been harshly neglected. Little to no calf muscles exist. His ribs are plainly countable. One, two, three up his left side. You can do the same to his right. Malnutrition only vaguely begins to describe his condition. The worst of anorexia doesn’t even compare to this child’s inhumane state. As for shelter, he lives in a dilapidated hut. Food is a luxury, as the child may be fed only three or four times a week. He’s expected to die by the age of five due to severe malnutrition and disease. This is the grim portrait of an Ethiopian child in absolute poverty. His life doesn’t allow for the basic essentials of food, shelter, or clothing.