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Juveniles in Adult Prisons

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Juveniles in Adult Prisons
Running head: Juveniles in adult prisons

Juveniles in adult prisons

8 May 2011

Juveniles in Adult Prisons

Introduction

Misbehaving juveniles are often not spared the incarceration process for their criminal activities. As a result, they are punished with the corresponding penalties for their criminal actions. There are however, major issues raised in the incarceration of juveniles, especially if their incarceration is in adult prisons. One of these issues is the fact that juveniles are exposed to different types of abuses in these adult prisons. These abuses may cover physical, emotional, and even sexual abuse. They are also exposed to other criminal elements in these prisons which often make them even worse offenders upon their release. Based on 2005 statistics, there were about 2200 youths in adult prisons in the US. Majority of these youths were serving life sentences without possibility of parole for crimes they committed when they were minors (Campaign for Youth Justice, n.d). Studies also indicate that juveniles in adult prisons are twice more likely to be beaten up by a staff or by another inmate; and they are 50% more likely to be attacked with a weapon (Campaign for Youth Justice, n.d). Considering these circumstances, this paper shall now critically evaluate and discuss the issue of juveniles in adult prisons. This paper shall be conducted in order to establish a comprehensive and thorough analysis of the issue and its appurtenant highlights for improvement.

Discussion

The juvenile justice system was conceptualized about a hundred years ago in order to safeguard children from the abuses they were previously subjected to in adult prisons (Schiraldi and Zeidenberg, 1997). Trends indicated that in the traditional system, the children were often returned to society as hardened criminals. A juvenile system was therefore devised for juveniles in order to ensure that they would be housed in centers different from adult offenders


Cited: Annino, P. (2000). Children in Florida Adult Prisons: a call for a moratorium. Florida State University Law Review, volume 28, pp Bishop, D. et al., (1998). Juvenile Justice under Attack: An Analysis of the Causes and Impact of Recent Reforms, J.L Levitt, S. (1998). Juvenile crime and punishment. The Journal of Political Economy, volume 106 (6), pp Reddington, F. & Sapp, A. (1997). Juveniles in Adult Prisons: Problems and Prospects. Journal of Crime and Justice, volume 20(2), pp Schiraldi, V. & Zeidenberg, J. (1997) The Risks Juveniles Face When They Are Incarcerated With Adults
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