Juvenile Rehabilitation: Adult Prison vs. Juvenile Incarceration
Juvenile Rehabilitation: Adult Prisons vs. Juvenile Incarceration
Maureen Fries-Labra
English 122
Anna Hopson
December 14, 2009
Juvenile Rehabilitation: Adult Prisons vs. Juvenile Incarceration The criminal justice system has a branch for juvenile offenders. Established in the early twentieth century; it is the responsibility of this division to decide the fates of youthful offenders. This is administered by family court with support of social workers and family. With the increased number of youthful, violent offenders, many are being processed and sentenced as adults. Important issues such as culpability, severity of the crime, accountability, constitutional rights of the offenders and victims, and probability of rehabilitation, need consideration. When deciding the fate of juvenile offenders, it is important to implement the course of action best suited for the rehabilitation of convicted youth. The issue of culpability is addressed before trial. It needs to be determined whether the youthful offender is of the mindset to be blameworthy. In other words, is he mature enough to understand his actions and the resulting outcome? One contributing factor for the formation of a separate justice system for juveniles is based on the premise that …”they are less capable of mature judgment than adults and are therefore less culpable for any offenses that they commit…” (Caufman, 2000). Journalist and researcher Maroney ( 2007) stated”They’re developmentally less mature and responsible and more impulsive, erratic and vunerable to negative peer pressure.” This would imply that they have not yet acquired the cognitive functioning as that of an adult. It is a states’ decision at what age a juvenile offender can be treated as an adult. In the majority of states the age is 16 or 17, at which time, the state can chose to prosecute and incarcerate the individual as an adult. There are states that consider the age of maturity to be 12; and a few that refuse to attach an
Maureen Fries-Labra
English 122
Anna Hopson
December 14, 2009
Juvenile Rehabilitation: Adult Prisons vs. Juvenile Incarceration The criminal justice system has a branch for juvenile offenders. Established in the early twentieth century; it is the responsibility of this division to decide the fates of youthful offenders. This is administered by family court with support of social workers and family. With the increased number of youthful, violent offenders, many are being processed and sentenced as adults. Important issues such as culpability, severity of the crime, accountability, constitutional rights of the offenders and victims, and probability of rehabilitation, need consideration. When deciding the fate of juvenile offenders, it is important to implement the course of action best suited for the rehabilitation of convicted youth. The issue of culpability is addressed before trial. It needs to be determined whether the youthful offender is of the mindset to be blameworthy. In other words, is he mature enough to understand his actions and the resulting outcome? One contributing factor for the formation of a separate justice system for juveniles is based on the premise that …”they are less capable of mature judgment than adults and are therefore less culpable for any offenses that they commit…” (Caufman, 2000). Journalist and researcher Maroney ( 2007) stated”They’re developmentally less mature and responsible and more impulsive, erratic and vunerable to negative peer pressure.” This would imply that they have not yet acquired the cognitive functioning as that of an adult. It is a states’ decision at what age a juvenile offender can be treated as an adult. In the majority of states the age is 16 or 17, at which time, the state can chose to prosecute and incarcerate the individual as an adult. There are states that consider the age of maturity to be 12; and a few that refuse to attach an
References: Caufman, E. P. (2000). (Im)maturity of Judgement in Adolescense: Why Adolescents May Be Less Culpable Than Adults. Retrieved December 11, 2009, from Human Services Vermont Gov.: http://humanservices.vermont.gov/boards-committees/cfcpp/publications/publications Maroney, T. A. (2007, January 07). Should Juveniles Be Tried as Adults. Retrieved November 29, 2009, from Vanderbilt University Law School: http://law.vanderbilt.edu/article-search/article-detail/index.aspx?nid=80 Smith, S. (2000, February 29). Adult Prisons Are Wrong Place For Most Juveniles. Retrieved December 12, 2009, from Ball State University: http://www.bsu.edu/news/article/0,1370,-1019-863,00.html Stolba, C. (2001). Old Enough to Kill: Should Teen Killers be Tried as Adults? Christine Stolba Looks to History for Some Answers. Retrieved December 1, 2009, from BNet: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IUK/is_2001_Autumn/ai_80951843/?tag=rbxcra.2.a.22 unknown. (2007). Constitutional Rights for Crime Victims. Retrieved December 12, 2009, from The National Center For Victims of Crime: http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=32463 unknown. (2001, January). Frontline: juvenile justice. Retrieved November 30, 2009, from PBS: ttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/juvenile/stats/kidslikeadults.html unknown. (2009). Juvenile Justice History. Retrieved December 12, 2009, from Center on Juvenile & Criminal Justice: http://www.cjcj.org/juvenile/justice/juvenile/justice/history/0