...Juvenile Delinquency December 3, 2014 Juveniles in The Adult Prison Children as young as 14 years old have been tried as adults and are sentenced to die in prison without considering their age and the factors that led the individual to commit the offense. Society believes that a juvenile should be tried as an adult because it will help them understand the consequences of their actions, however, children and teenagers that commit crimes are too young and they don’t have the mental ability to understand the consequences of their actions. These juveniles are not aware of what they are going to face behind the adult’s prison bars. According to the National Juvenile Justice Network, it states, “ 200,000 youths are tried, sentenced, or incarcerated as adults every year across the United States.” Studies have shown that juveniles that are sentenced to adult prisons are more likely to commit crimes again after being released from prison. Juveniles are more likely to be sexually assaulted, abuse, neglect, suicidal, and depressed in adult prisons. The adult prison has shown failures to rehabilitate these juveniles. Laws like the Felony Murder rule has to shown to be cruel and unusual punishments towards teenagers and children. Society does not bothered to look into factors such as the juvenile’s brain, mental disability, and their living environment that causes them to commit the crime. “Children are five times more likely to be sexually assaulted in the adult prisons than in juvenile...
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...has made it very apparent that he wants me to live side by side with the “least of these.” This Urban Ministry class has helped me tremendously; get a better understanding of ministry in the inner- city. Through reading, the Detroit experience, and personal research I have come to a more focused group of youth to work with in an inner city. Reading about the foster care system and juvenile justice system has given me a heart to love and help these children of God become all that God has created them to be. I plan to do this through leadership curriculum that teach the five P’s....
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...The Juvenile justice system is very similar to the criminal justice system, which is made up of several different agencies. The juvenile system is mostly aimed at rehabilitating teenagers, rather than punishing them. With the juvenile system, they have a limited jurisdiction that is up to age 17 in most states and informal proceedings, which for the most part are handled through local county systems being either juvenile or family courts. Many juvenile crimes go unreported because no arrest has been made, and if they are arrested they are only able to be booked for committing the highest level of crime. Most crimes committed by teens are theft, drug abuse, basic assault, disorderly conduct, and curfew violations. The most common offense among juveniles is theft followed by drug abuse. Although the juvenile system is used more for rehabilitation than punishment, there is a movement called “get-tough” which is for juveniles that break the law it would give them a harsher punishment, rather than just rehabilitation. The Illinois juvenile court act was approved in 1899, making it the first juvenile court. This act would in fact, include all juveniles under the age of 16 that violated any law. In the same year, Colorado passed the compulsory school act, which was for juveniles who were usually absent from school or wandered the streets during school hours. This act was to try to help teenagers destroy their deviant behaviors, while they are still young. Juveniles had special courts...
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...State Daily, “Murder cases among 14-17 year olds have increased 160 percent between the years 1984 and 1999.” Sadly, these fourteen to seventeen-year-olds are still being categorized as juveniles, and are therefore tried in juvenile courts where they do not get a satisfying punishment. Today society gives these juveniles the right to vote at the age of eighteen; the fact is that when society declares an eighteen-year-old as an adult is such a random standard to determine one’s maturity as far as their crimes go. “We used to deal mostly with kids breaking street lights and now routinely people are seeing rape and robbery” claimed Harry Shorstein, a state attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit in Jacksonville, FL. (Hunzeker)....
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...anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. Human beings are not entirely fit. Thus judges just like any other human being are bound to make mistakes in dispensing justice. However, Judges are obliged to be ever watchful and mindful in their endeavors of delivering justice. Every day, all over US judges dispense justice to convicted persons and defendants. However, absolute justice ideally is hardly realizable across board since its effectiveness demands human infallibility. Although it might be even harder to reap justice, justice is achievable and pursuit for justice remains a noble order. In this case, a 12 years old boy, Christopher Pittman from the state of South Carolina on February 15, 2005 shot his two grandparents using his father’s shotgun while they lay on their beds, he then set the house on fire, drove his grandparents truck and fled with cash and weapons in his possession. The petitioner, Pittman was only 12 years of age when he committed this malicious acts. He was charged with premeditated murder and put on an adult court for trial. Christopher Pittman’s defense team claimed that young Christopher Pittman remained an innocent child because he still could not differentiate what was right or wrong while under influence of Zoloft, an antidepressant. The defense urged the court to consider Pitman a child thus unable to plan and execute premeditated murder as an adult will do. The defense urged the judges to consider an equivalent reaction of a juvenile actions of such...
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...Individual Assignment; Juvenile Crime Statistics Paper CJA374 Juvenile Justice Systems and Processes Francisco Jorge Flores Sr. December 3rd, 2012 Mrs. Amy Gordon University of Phoenix Write a 700 to 1,050 word paper summarizing the key points of the “Juvenile Arrests 2008” article. Address the following; According to Puzzanchera (2009), on his Juvenile Arrests 2008, article published through the Juvenile Justice Bulletin from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, juvenile arrests during 2008 felt a minor, but significant decrease in comparison to statistics of 2007, in 2008, juvenile arrests by law enforcement agencies were estimated at 2.11 million of juveniles under the age of 18 in the whole country, this decrease can be interpreted as 3 percent less than the arrests made in 2007, this data commented by Puzzanchera has been retrieved from several law enforcement agencies throughout the country, that were reported to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. Another observation, according to Puzzanchera (2009), is that the Juvenile Arrests during 2008, for simple assaults continued to decline significantly up to a 10% in comparison to its peak of 1997, this rate of simple assaults in 2008 was significant substantial in comparison of those from 1980’s to 1997 that increased up 156% for the most part of racial groups involved back then. Puzzanchera (2009) also refers to how Juvenile Arrests for drug abuse in 2008, felt a considerable decrease...
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...Juvenile Criminology Student’s name Institution My discussion question Adult prison system is unsuitable to meet the needs of young offenders as shown by various research studies. The process of maintaining public safety, successful integration of young offenders to the community, rehabilitation, skill development and treatment are the main goals of the juvenile system. As suggested by Howell, (2003), justice can never be served by forcing juveniles through a system never intended to process teenagers, moreover transfer laws have worsened the implications they intend to address. Juvenile justice system was essentially established because many teenagers were subjected to awful violations in adult jails and prisons hence resulting to the society as more hardened criminals. Placing young offenders in adult prisons heightens criminal behaviors after release according to the findings. There is well founded fear that several number of young offenders slated to be placed in adult jails are more likely to be assaulted ,commit suicide and raped. Juveniles are driven to desperation and abused regularly in adult prisons because they are not specific measures to protect the young offenders from the adult prisoners. My completes work Case summary Issue Roper v. Simmons’ main issue is whether the application of Death penalty on a person who committed murder at age 17 amounts to “Cruel and Unusual” sentence and thereby barred by the 8th and 14th Amendments (Dinkes, et al 2009) Facts The...
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...incarcerated in adult jails. This subject is given little attention by the public, despite the horrific consequences of being tried in an adult criminal justice system and incarceration in an adult jail. Youth who are placed in adult jails are at a greater risk of physical and sexual assault. I believe juveniles under the age of 18 should not be treated as adult criminals because placing youth in the adult criminal justice system puts their safety at risk, restricts their necessary education and crucial health development, and increases the likelihood of violence and re-offending. Placing youth in adult jails most likely result in inimical situations and it is extremely difficult to prevent these events from occurring. By housing young offenders in the same facilities as adult criminals they are presented as the easiest preys which result in physical and sexual assaults. For example, according to the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 2005 and 2006,...
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...Treatments for Adolescent Substance Abuse Substance abuse is no stranger to today’s society. In fact, substance abuse has been an issue for many, many years now. A somewhat recent issue with substance abuse is that adolescents are becoming more involved. Teenagers, in particular, are more vulnerable to experiment with drugs and alcohol. With adolescents being introduced to such harmful substances it can lead to many problems. Not only does substance abuse pose issues with social problems, it also poses issues with educational issues, and it may even lead to death. While there are many problems with adolescent substance abuse, there are ways to solve this prevailing issue. Toddlers and young children are completely dependent on their parents while teenagers are going through different phases in which they are trying to transition into adulthood. Often detrimental stimuli are being introduced and adolescents are more prone to be susceptible to give in peer pressure because the judging process within the brain is not fully developed. (Kirst-Ashman, 2013). With this being said, the actions of teenagers are mainly based on the people that they hang out with. Therefore, if teenagers are around other teenagers that are smoking, drinking, or using other substances then they are more likely to try those substances as well. While a teenager’s peers have a lot to do with the actions they take other factors can lead to substance abuse too. Gangs have been a huge issue in...
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...Juvenile Crime Tracey B. Freeman CJS 200 February 15, 2015 Jeffery Beasley Juvenile Crime The court system is very important and plays a role in how safe our community, state, and country can be. There are different and specials courts but the ones that are mainly divided would have to be juvenile and adult courts. Juvenile courts and adult courts have similarities, but they also have many differences. Although they both have the same principle, they both use different terminology, options, and reserve different constitutional rights. The court system will always treat minors and adults differently and because of this, teenagers or adolescents are offered more of a chance to turn their lives around before they turn down the wrong path too significantly to retract, gain more responsibility (some may have fines to pay that only they are allowed to pay if judge/probation officer demands), and depending on how bad of the situation, they will receive a dose of reality. Juvenile court is made up of three different cases: delinquency, dependency, and status offenses. For delinquency cases, the adolescent who has committed the crime would have been tried as an adult, however since they are a minor, they would use procedures of significant difference. According to Juvenile Justice (2015), since 2005 the U.S. Supreme Court has limited practices such as the execution of offenders who are under the age of 18 when their crimes were committed and life without parole...
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...between Juvenile and Criminal Justice System David E. Foster Kaplan College – Las Vegas Campus CJ 150 Professor Laura Fletcher December 5, 2013 Difference between Juvenile and Criminal Justice System How would it feel if our children were being treated like adults in the criminal justice system; getting sentenced for life without parole, or maybe have your child sentenced to death as a teenager. Well thanks to our juvenile justice system they discipline adolescent different than adult, the system is design to solely handle children’s matters. The juvenile court system is a dedicated court, for an adolescent which is intended to encourage rehabilitation for youth in a structure of procedural due process whereas the criminal justice system is designed to punish adults who choose not to obey the laws. It has concern for acting in the best interest of the child and the greatest interest of public safety. A juvenile court judge has to be elected or appointed to be in charge of juvenile cases and his or her decision can only be reviewed by another judge but from a higher court. Some of his duties might consist of making a decision if the juvenile should stay in detention prior to trail or release them to their parents; also the judge handles all waiver proceedings meaning if the crime committed is that serious where the judge thinks the juvenile should be treated like an adult, then he can give them a waiver into the adult justice system. As for the juvenile court...
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...Justice System Position Paper Dorothy Brockington University Of Phoenix Introduction to Juvenile Justice Timothy Cariker March 5, 2011 Justice system position paper The purpose of this paper is to state my belief that juveniles should and can be rehabilitated. The goals and efforts of rehabilitation are to keep the juvenile offenders out of the correctional facility. Peers impact delinquency in several ways for instance; most teenagers follow their friends do to peer pressure. Some juveniles demonstrating behaviors that are inappropriate at times just to fit in. In some cases the peers that are under the influence of their friends tend to due things that they were taught not to do because they will feel as though they may lose the others as their friend. A lot of juvenile’s offenders don't have a positive older role model in their life they can turn to so they tend to turn to their peers for guidance and this is how juvenile delinquency begins. In many cases juvenile delinquents are raised by single parents. Some are subjected to an environment that is considered a high crime area in which promotes delinquent behavior. In some cases when juvenile’s become delinquent they feel as though because of their age there is no real consequence they would face because they are minors. Juveniles have often said “nothing will happen to me because I’m under aged”. Not all juveniles are a menace to society and should not be place in a juvenile detention. There are many cases when...
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...In today’s society the juvenile justice system has become very tough and hard on juveniles. Do you think that if a juvenile got in trouble for stealing a piece of gum from a liquor store they should be put into juvie until they turn eighteen? A juvenile is mostly described as a teenager, someone who is older than a child but younger than an adult. Juvenile Justice is a special court or department of trails that deal with under-age teens who commit crimes and need to be charged for them. I admit not every juvenile is a bad person, I just believe they make some bad decisions and actions. The juvenile justice department believes that the stricter the punishment is, the less teens will get in trouble. I believe that juvenile justice system should...
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...Juvenile and Adult Crimes CRJS300 By Erika.Esquer1 American InterContinental University Abstract This essay will focus on specialized juvenile justice’s cases, particularly in the cases of Mrs.I’s son who was arrested for driving without a license and crashing into a storefront. How the lawyer will respond to Mrs. I. What steps the lawyer will take to defend Mrs. I’s son and opinion of the judge and how the judge would sentence the case. Introduction There have been numerous cases of car theft and careless driving in United States. With effective criminal justice in US, these felonies have not failed to be punished. The judgment on these cases has seen most culprits get confined to a maximum of six years. Statistics show that most of the culprits of these crimes are adults, with adolescents being responsible for only a small fraction of the incidents. The penalties for committing these crimes are clear and the jurors have not hesitated on imposing them on the misdemeanors. Whilst most people accept the penalties inflicted on such culprits, there are numerous questions raised on how courts handle juveniles involved in such crimes. Should these youngsters face penalties similar to adults? Judges should determine if juveniles should be treated equally as adults when arbitrating on cases where adolescents commit crimes similar to adults, particularly on the case of Mrs.I’s son. The son of Mrs. I who is 15-years old was apprehended by law enforcers after he was found...
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...Should We Eliminate the Special System of Juvenile Justice? Juveniles are considered children under the age of eighteen (18) or sixteen (16) in some states. During adolescence years, children are still trying figure out what is physically happening to their bodies, cope with peer pressure as well as their own emotions. Preteens and teenagers are dependent upon their parents or guardians for direction in teaching them about not handling something that is dangerous or getting them to understand that our actions have consequences, whether good or bad. For reason of juveniles lacking the mental capacity of an adult, they are still developing physically, and they should not be penalized forever for their actions; therefore, we should not eliminate the Special System of Juvenile Justice....
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