Juvies

Juvies In today's society more and more juvenile delinquents are being charged as adults in the court systems. The youth are being condemned by a society that allows fear to control its decisions. In the film Juvies narrated by actor Mark Wahlberg, a former juvenile offender, the lives of a group of young kids who are sentenced for many years or life are told. Throughout the film the group explains why they did what they did and how they wished they could have done it differently. One of the kids, a fourteen year old by the name of Anait, was sentenced for seven years. She had driven a group of boys to a high school where they then fought and killed another boy. Anait was charged with accessory to murder because she was the one that was driving the car. Another kid by the name of Duc was sentenced for 35 years, at the age of 16. He had no prior record, wasn’t a gang member but he was affiliated with a gang. He had driven a car that took part in a shooting, and even though no one was injured he was still found guilty. I feel, as do many others, that our court system has become much too harsh when it comes to punishing the youth. There is a difference when being tough on crime and giving kids punishments that do not fit the crime. More and more of today’s youth are being sent to adult prisons where they cannot be protected. In a juvenile prison, kids are given second chances. There they learn to right their ways and are sent back out in society where hopefully they will become responsible adults. In adult prisons however, its survival of the fittest. There is no protection for those kids and no one to guide them on the right path. Statistics show that kids sentenced to adult prisons are more likely to end up back behind bars within five years of being released or committing suicide. The media plays a big part in condemning these children. The media has demonized them and the crimes that they commit. Court systems have started to