Why The Juvenile Courts Do Not Agree With These Punishments For A Minor

In Contrast to Bryan Stevenson’s “Just Mercy” stories of juveniles being tried as adults, Jason Zeidenberg in the article “The Risks Juveniles Face When They Are Incarcerated with Adults” strongly emphasizes the dangers and consequences that juveniles face when they are tried as adults. Zeidenberg states the consequences of juveniles being raped, assaulted, committing suicide and the effects of being victimized. Children who are housed in the same facility as Adults is not a good idea nor a good mix, according to Zeidenberg a “15-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in Ohio by a deputy after she was placed in an adult jail for a minor in

Anthony Rolon, Joe Donovan and all other juvenile “lifers” shared the same experience. During the most vital time in their lives they made a detrimental decision leaving a forever impact on their life. Their actions caused them to face the harsh reality of being sentenced to life in prison without the possibility parole at such a young age. Then, facing the fact that no matter how hard they tried to better themselves in prison it would have no impact on their sentences. Why did the justice system think this was an effective way to punish juveniles? The purpose of correctional facilities to make criminals pay their debt to society and potentially better themselves while incarcerated; juvenile lifers did not have that option.

In the film 15 to Life: Kenneth’s Story by Nadine Pequeneza the account of Kenneth Young appealing his sentence of four life terms without the possibility of parole is detailed. Young was only 15 years-old when he was charged as an adult for armed robbery and sentenced to life behind bars. Why is it okay for the justice system to charge adolescents as adults? As a nation we can’t logically expect children to be held to the same standards as adults and do so only when criminal courts deem it fit. Charging children as adults for any crime is not only a far cry from being a deterrent but it is also fails to provide justice for all of the individuals involved.

Imagine witnessing your parents’ brutal murder right in front of you. Your father is forced to his knees and shoot in the back of his head, execution-style. Your mother’s teeth lie on the floor from the bullet propelled through the side of her head. The fiend proceeds to move forward and shoot her brains out. For Carroll, this was a reality. Robert Acuna barbarically murdered James and Joyce Carroll. What do you think this savage deserves? In America, adolescents can be tried as adults at ages as young as 10. They can be sent to an adult prison with adult cellmates, trapped in an adult environment that they just are not ready for. The prison environment is very influential and may change adolescents for the worse. Exposure to adult criminals

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 10,000 juveniles are confined in adult prisons and jails rather than in juvenile facilities that were built for them. Josh Rovner reports in his article “Juvenile Life Without Parole: An Overview” that 2,100 child offenders are serving life in prison without the possibility of parole before the age of 18. In 26 states, a life without parole sentence is mandatory for first degree murder – regardless of age. Juveniles housed in adult prisons face a disturbing number of dangers such as physical as well as sexual abuse, assault, and high rates of suicide. While juveniles should be held accountable for their actions, they should not be prosecuted as adults because they are incapable of exercising the same judgement and maturity as an adult, housing them in adult facilities leaves them vulnerable to their surroundings, limits their educational growth and giving out a harsh sentence will not rehabilitate them nor deter other juvenile crime.

Juvenile courts have a wide range of sentencing options (usually called "disposition orders") that they can impose on juveniles or youth offenders who are found to be "delinquent" (that is, finding that the minor violated a criminal law). Typically, disposition options fall into two camps: incarceration and non-incarceration. One non-incarceration option in particular -- probation -- forms the backbone of the juvenile justice system. Read on to learn about the different kinds of sentencing options used in juvenile court, the ins and outs of probation, and whether a disposition order can be appealed or changed. (For more information on juvenile court cases, see Nolo's article Juvenile Court: An Overview.)

The Absurdity of Minors in Adult Prison Throughout history there have been many cases in which minors as young as eight years old have been not only tried as an adult, but placed in adult prisons for life. The justice system more often than not overlooks many important pieces of evidence due to incompetent lawyers, racial inequality, and economical differences. This evidence is what could make all the difference in placing a minor on juvenile court rather than adult court. Charging a minor as an adult is absurd, and there is not a single situation in which this could be deemed as a reasonable decision, because the brain of a minor is still developing unlike one of an adult, most minors come from an already troubled background that makes them

The question of whether or not juveniles have the knowledge or maturity to waive or exercise their rights comes to be very controversial in situations of juvenile interrogations. There is a discrepancy between whether juveniles should be responsible enough to exercise their rights or if they are immature, vulnerable, and all together incapable of understanding the rights they are granted. Many people believe that juveniles should have a parent present during interrogations to guide them through their rights while others believe that juveniles who commit crimes should be held equally as responsible for their actions as adults.

June 25th 2012, The Supreme Court ruled that juveniles who commit murder could not be sentenced to life in prison or in other words juveniles could not be sentenced as an adult would be. The Supreme Court brought forth that sentencing juveniles to life in prison transgresses the eighth amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. How is a 17 year old criminal different from an 18 year old criminal who both commit a murder crime? Apparently the age creates a significant difference according to the Supreme Court. Maturity and Development of people under 18 are clear incentives that support the decision made by the Supreme Court. A murder is a murder, it will always be the action of taking away someone's life. How is “The Criminal didn’t know

I do not think there is anything to help equip juveniles deal with the issues getting transferred to an adult prison. While in juvenile detention the youths are house with 53 other young kids sentenced as adults. Once the prisoner turns 18 they get transferred to the adult block where now there are 200 hundred other inmates and also bucking with another cell mate. Also it seems like In the documentary the kids were pushed to get and finish getting their G.E.D. while in jail. I don’t think there would be the same type of encouragement in adult prison. Last is while serving time in juvenile detention you was house with similar aged people and for the most part was there to do their time without trouble. Didn’t have any hardened criminals

Juvenile; a young person. A juvenile is someone who is not eighteen yet, they are not adults, yet they are still being sentenced to die in prison for a crime that they committed. Juveniles as young as thirteen are being sentenced to life in prison: thus taking away everything from them: their family, friends, and education. All because of a mistake that they will regret for the rest of their life. A juvenile should not be sentenced to die in prison, as it is a cruel and unusual punishment. Not only is it unusual to see a thirteen to seventeen year old in an adult prison, but it is also cruel because their whole life is taken away in just the blink of an eye. An adolescent should not be sentenced because their decision making is impaired, they

The juvenile justice system is unfair for children of color, especially African American youth. In both prison kids and the “Black Boy, White Boy” article showed that African American males are more likely to be incarcerated than their Caucasian counterparts that committed the same crime. In fact, African American males are less likely to be referred to rehabilitation programs and often receive strict consequences for their actions. However, I was surprised to find out that even though blacks are more likely to be charged with crimes they are also more likely to also have their charges dropped. But it also raises the question should they have been charged with these crimes in the first place? I feel like training teachers and officers to de-escalate

Two boys serving a life sentence without parole for a crime only one committed out of sadness and fear. Nathan Ybanez, 16 years old at time of crime, was accused of first degree murder for killing his mother who emotionally, physically, and sexually abused him. Erik Jensen, 17 years old at time of crime, was only present the time the crime was committed. He had no participation, yet was sentenced to life without parole. How is this fair? These boys, children even, without full comprehension of what was happening were locked up for the rest of their lives: never to play again, never to grow up with their families, never to have families of their own, never to be free, one of life’s basic rights. Two teens charged as adults for a crime that could

Kids are basically being sentenced to die in a prison cell. They are not allowing them to the possibility of parole. In the article “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences” by Gail Garinger she states, “...”tough on crime” rhetoric life some states to enact laws making it easier to impose life without parole sentences on adults. The unintended consequences of these laws was that children as young as 13 and 14 who were charged as adults became subject to life without parole sentences… The children were told that they could never change and that no one cared what became of them. They were denied access to education and rehabilitation programs and left without help or hope” (Garinger 93). How are developing juvenile criminals ever going to learn that what they did was wrong is they are now allowed access to proper resources? Many just want them to be punished, but they don’t care to help them learn. These kids have been traumatized by their own actions. Punishing juvenile delinquents does not necessarily mean that they will learn from their actions and transform into a productive member of society, especially if we the people are not providing several resources where they can seek

In the USA, a considerable number of Americans are serving whatever is left of their life in prison without the opportunity to request for an appeal because of the wrongdoing they committed during their juvenile years. A lot of them are executioners or offenders. Among these prisoners, there is a man who murdered his father, stole each one of his guardians money, and fled from home when he was just a 16-year-old. In this way, conceding a couple of people express that serving a lifelong incarceration without the chance for further request is a cruel and unusual punishment, making it difficult to young, it is still sensible that a couple of teenagers who did commit serious crimes are sentenced to serve the existence of their life with no opportunity to claim freedom.