Position Paper on the Juvenile Justice System
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Toshiba
2012
Justice System Position
Kimberly Gaudiosi
Emmalee
The topic of juvenile justice is a broad one but one that should concern everyone. My standpoint on this debatable topic is that the juvenile justice system should focus on the rehabilitation of the teens rather than making them pay for their crimes with an extensive jail sentence as a punishment. “Over time the US Supreme Court has placed limits on the use of the death penalty. The Court has now considered whether or not juveniles should be sentenced to life without parole (LWOP). They have ruled that life without parole may not be given to a juvenile unless their crime involves murder. With restrictions already placed on the death sentence, retaining the possibility of life without parole is important. Society needs an "ultimate punishment" for those who commit heinous crimes and also as a deterrent. The Court 's decision should encourage those who run prisons to focus on rehabilitation, as more people will eventually be up for parole.” (Richards, 2011) An interesting bit of information I read states, “Connecticut is one of just three states where the age of jurisdiction for a juvenile ends at 16. In Connecticut, a juvenile is any person under the age of 16, or over the age of 16 but who violated the law before turning 16. Cases involving arrests of juveniles who are 16 and older are heard in adult court. Legislation has recently been passed to review this juvenile age policy. (Haller, 2006) I feel that the community these teens lives in should not be entirely responsible to pay for the cleanup and or rebuild of the destruction a certain group of teens did. Nor should the parent which is why I propose that the community service jobs’ pay could go towards the amount it would take to fix their mistakes. This would teach them a little something about responsibility as well as take care of the issue at hand. I am not entirely sure I agree with the death penalty in general but I agree
Toshiba
2012
Justice System Position
Kimberly Gaudiosi
Emmalee
The topic of juvenile justice is a broad one but one that should concern everyone. My standpoint on this debatable topic is that the juvenile justice system should focus on the rehabilitation of the teens rather than making them pay for their crimes with an extensive jail sentence as a punishment. “Over time the US Supreme Court has placed limits on the use of the death penalty. The Court has now considered whether or not juveniles should be sentenced to life without parole (LWOP). They have ruled that life without parole may not be given to a juvenile unless their crime involves murder. With restrictions already placed on the death sentence, retaining the possibility of life without parole is important. Society needs an "ultimate punishment" for those who commit heinous crimes and also as a deterrent. The Court 's decision should encourage those who run prisons to focus on rehabilitation, as more people will eventually be up for parole.” (Richards, 2011) An interesting bit of information I read states, “Connecticut is one of just three states where the age of jurisdiction for a juvenile ends at 16. In Connecticut, a juvenile is any person under the age of 16, or over the age of 16 but who violated the law before turning 16. Cases involving arrests of juveniles who are 16 and older are heard in adult court. Legislation has recently been passed to review this juvenile age policy. (Haller, 2006) I feel that the community these teens lives in should not be entirely responsible to pay for the cleanup and or rebuild of the destruction a certain group of teens did. Nor should the parent which is why I propose that the community service jobs’ pay could go towards the amount it would take to fix their mistakes. This would teach them a little something about responsibility as well as take care of the issue at hand. I am not entirely sure I agree with the death penalty in general but I agree
References: 1. Chamberlin, C. (2012). Not kids anymore:a need for punishment and deterrence in the juvenile justice system. Retrieved from http://www.bc.edu/dam/files/schools/law/lawreviews/journals/bclawr/42_2/04_TXT.htm 2. Haller, S. (2006, September). Juvenile offender profile study. Retrieved from http://www.ct.gov/redcjs/lib/redcjs/documents/juvenile_offender_profile_study_december_2006.pdf 3. Martinez, P. (2008, October 16). Recidivism of juvenile offenders one year follow up. Retrieved from http://www.jrsa.org/events/conference/presentations-08/Pablo_Martinez.pdf 4. Rashid, F. N. (2004). Juvenile crime and punishment: assessing the relationship between violent crime rates and punishment,1982-1992. (Master 's thesis)Retrieved from http://economics.stanford.edu/files/Theses/Theses_2004/Rashid.pdf 5. Richards, J. (2011). The supreme court ruling raises concern for the future of juvenile lwop. Retrieved from http://ic.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&source=&sortBy=&displayGroups=&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documented 6. Wilson, J. (2012). Reducing juvenile recidivism in the united states. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/19695235/Juvenile-Recidivism