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Juvenile Justice 113 I1
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History of Juvenile Correction Philosophies and Facilities To talk of the history of juvenile correction philosophies and different juvenile correction facilities, one should understand a brief juvenile justice history to bring us to a point where a correction philosophy or correction facility would be needed. Dealing with juveniles in criminal matters can be traced back as far as the beginning of time. However, early Europe in the fifth century A.D. is where we will start. What is considered a juvenile??? At this time in history the age was fixed at seven for determining whether youths would be exempted from criminal responsibility. With the onset of puberty, at the age of twelve for girls and fourteen for boys, youths were held totally responsibility for their socially unacceptable behaviors. English juvenile justice had some 160 to 200 capital offenses statutes listed for which children could be executed. In London in 1785 eighteen of twenty juveniles were executed. Executions of juveniles continued into the 1800s. (Bartollas, Miller, 2014, p. 4) Here in the United States during the colonial period juvenile justice was shaped by the culture and religious ideas of the Puritans. The family was expected to control their children and when juveniles were caught breaking laws they were sent back to their families for punishment. Of course the older the child got the greater the chances the juveniles would be dealt with by colonial law. In 1838 the courts became heavily involved in the growing juvenile problem. The concept of parens patriae was formalized and gave the courts a legal basis for intervening in the lives of children. During this time the courts ruled the Bill of Rights did not apply to minors. The first juvenile court was created in Chicago with other states to follow. (Bartollas, Miller, 2014, p. 4, 5)