ipl-logo

Disparities In Juvenile Prisons

676 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Advantages of juvenile sentencing

Life in in american prison is a brutal experience. Tensions run high as criminals are confined to to cells and given minimal interactions with the outside world; admittedly for some convict a life sentence is due punishments, but for juveniles with life sentences their actions as a teen can end their life before it even begins. For juveniles who have committed a violent crime, (defined as robbery; murder and non-intentional manslaughter, rape, and aggravated assault by the FBI), life sentences are fairly common. In fact, in a paper written by Stella Steele, a BSA analyst and investigator on the “Disparities and Harshness of Youth Sentencing” touched on the subject of juvenile sentencing. She demonstrating the high rates of harsher punishments …show more content…

America has the most overpopulated prisons in the world and that is because we would rather put a person (or in this case child) in prison for life than address the root of the situation. Data analyzed by Ashley Nellis, Ph.D., Research Analyst with The Sentencing Project, a project that advocates for the reform of justice policies and tackles the disparities in race and gender in the criminal sphere, reported, “ Survey research in the past 10 years consistently shows a majority of the respondents to favor trying juveniles in adult court for serious felonies, with roughly 75% of the typical adults surveyed believing that violent juvenile offenders should be treated as adults” (Neils) this attitude towards juvenile criminals is insidious to America’s youth, and does nothing to lower the crime rate. The real question is not when should juveniles receive life sentences, but how can we prevent it? How can we reform the Juvenile Court System in a way that actually addresses the crimes (and the needs) of Juvenile criminals so that they can be punished, rehabilitated, and reintroduced to society to actually love their lives? It is not until we see the bigger picture that we can make this

Show More
Related

Summary Of No Matter How Loud I Shout

2510 Words | 11 Pages

According to the book, Lost Angeles County is the largest juvenile justice system in America; yet, the home for most of the youths who have committed grievous crimes. Home for those who seems to have a chance at rehabilitation but are sentenced to adult prison for no logical reason while some youth are freed with little consequences after committing a violent crimes. This is a shameful thing that needs to be corrected in the juvenile justice system. Two and half million children under eighteen are being arrested in the United States in a year, three out of four will be released as if nothing happened, their cases will be dismissed because they are too minor for the system to break-down or too difficult to try. The repeated offenders will receive a meaningful punishment when their offenses have progressed to a more serious level.

Read More

Documentary Analysis: When Kids Get Life

2470 Words | 10 Pages

Jessie Townsend May 3rd, 2016 Prof. Allen Wong ASOC283 Why Kids Get Life The documentary “When Kids Get Life” delves into four cases involving juveniles who are serving life without parole in Colorado prisons. All of these juveniles are serving this time due to first degree murder among other charges they have received. The ages of these juveniles at the time of their crimes range from fifteen to seventeen and all of them still currently remain incarcerated. By applying different delinquency theories to each case, there is a chance that one could explain or even rationalize why these juveniles committed the crimes that they did.

Read More

Juvenile Offenders: Annotated Bibliography

496 Words | 2 Pages

She focuses on the shift made my the United States Supreme Court in it’s approach to juvenile sentencing since 2005. According to the article, the ideological shift has occurred as a response to the increase in biological and sociological studies, which points towards a fundamental difference between juvenile offenders and adult offenders. The note presented within the article addresses how the new mandates by the Supreme Court have been implemented around the country, with a focus on statutory changes Illinois should making moving forward. The note argues for the removal of lengthy, consecutive term–of–years sentences, based on the idea that it does not give juvenile offender the “meaningful opportunity for release” required by Graham. Secondly, the note argues that Illinois should amend its sentencing statutes to requires judges to consider several factors, while on record as a sentencing hearing, before sentencing a juvenile homicide offender to life in prison.

Read More

Why Juveniles Should Be Charged As Adults

911 Words | 4 Pages

Juveniles who commit a major crime (think of murder) might be let out earlier than an adult who also commits because they are in the juvenile system. “Violent crime rates and juvenile crime have been in a steady decline over the past 20 years; however, reforms to restore the juvenile court system to its original vision have not been as swift” (Marsha Levick). This evidence is important because it shows the importance of the Criminal Justice System and how it protects the

Read More

Race Effects On Juveniles

258 Words | 2 Pages

Teenagers in society today are committing crimes and thinking that they are just going to get a slap on the wrist but what they do not know is that these judges are now making examples out of them. The judges are now taking the crimes these juveniles are committing more serious than before and sometimes. Some judges are giving juveniles a break and giving them probation or letting them go on parole but putting stipulations on the probation like them must complete certain treatment programs, take certain class (anger management) to help them control their problems they are having (Young, Farrell & Taxman, 2013). Race plays a huge part in society when dealing with juveniles and them receiving a certain punishment (Morgan, 2014). For example,

Read More

Kids Shouldn T Be Judged As An Adult Essay

538 Words | 3 Pages

Kids Shouldn’t be Judged as an Adult Studies have found that 2,000,000 kids are taken into custody each year and are sentenced for misdemeanors and felonies. Out of the two-million, 250,000 kids below the age of 18 have been convicted as adults. In jails, the majority are denied of education and are left on their own during their sentence. Many oppose the idea of punishing a child as an adult and find it as a cruel and unusual punishment, due to their child ignorance. Another majority support the idea, finding that juveniles recognize the consequences of breaking the rules, which justifies them as adults.

Read More

Should Juveniles Be Tried As Adults

1763 Words | 8 Pages

Although, no treatment program is 100 percent effective in future offending it has dramatically decreased recidivism. Studies have shown that those who were transferred to adult court were amongst those who contributed to higher recidivism rates. A study has shown that the juvenile system wasn’t effective at restraining repeating offenses and that adult imprisonment may have encouraged further violence(Fagan 39). Researchers found that juveniles who go to adult prison are more likely to be sexually assaulted than youths who are in juvenile detention centers,also more likely to be beaten by staff than youth in juvenile detention centers, additionally juveniles who go to adult prison are 4.6 times more likely to commit suicide in adult prison than the general youth population and likely to commit suicide than adolescents in juvenile detention centers during 1989 (Fagan 40). The continuous debate safeguarding children and protecting society through the juvenile court system has been going on for decades.

Read More

Juveniles Live Without Parole

799 Words | 4 Pages

There are approximately 1,200 people that are in jail for life for crimes they committed as children (“Sentenced Young”). More than 25% of those people “were convicted of felony murder or accomplice liability”, that is they were not the person who killed the individual and may have not even been there when the killing took place (“Facts and Inforgraphics”). The majority of the juveniles sentenced to live-without-parole come from states that’s the mandatory sentence regardless of their age or circumstances (“Facts and Inforgraphics”). California, Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania have the greater part of the juveniles sentenced to live-without-parole(“Facts and Inforgraphics”). 14 states have banned live-without-parole sentences

Read More

Juveniles Tried As Adults Essay

616 Words | 3 Pages

A big debate about the Justice System is the topic of juveniles and if they deserve to be tried and punished as an adult or as a juvenile. Due to many minors being tried as adults due to crimes they have committed, many states like California have the law where minors can’t be tried as adults until they reach the age range of 14-17 years old. This law is called the Juvenile Justice Initiative and was enforced as a solution to keep juveniles out of Juvenile Hall and to protect minors under 14 from getting tried as adults. Even though it solved many problems, it also created problems of its own, like how violent juveniles are not getting the punishment that they deserve and how it is harder for minors to be rightfully prosecuted for major offenses like murder. A better solution to this law is to consider the severity of the

Read More

Should Juveniles Be Tried And Sentenced As Adults Essay

801 Words | 4 Pages

In today’s society, the amount of crime is around 1,197,704 violent crimes committed worldwide (FBI). In the same year 53,500 crimes were committed by juveniles (National Center). The question that remains important over time is, should violent juvenile offenders be tried and sentenced as adults? If adolescents aren’t treated as adults in everyday life they should not be tried and sentenced as adults. The juvenile court system was established in the United States around two hundred years ago, the first court appearing in 1899 (Findlaw).

Read More

Youth Incarceration In Prisons

659 Words | 3 Pages

In the United States prisons there are two thousand juveniles serving life without parole before, the age of eighteen. Only one of a few countries in the world allows children, to be sentenced to prison without release. And, the United States is one of them holding young teens accountable for their actions. But, there is accordance with age, stage development and how their cases should be dealt with in court. There are an estimated twenty-six percent of juveniles sentenced to prison for life convicted with felony murder.

Read More

Juvenile Sentence Restriction In Prisons

444 Words | 2 Pages

The United states have a restriction of the juvenile sentencing when they accused of crime under the judicial system, which means they were sheltered, and It is unconstitutional to sentence a juvenile to life in prison without parole, unless they have committed a very serious crime. I think that the juvenile sentence restriction did just about right, the restriction covered pretty reasonable age range, under 18, just before turning into a adult, and reasonable rules, “may not sentenced to life in prison without parole.”. It created to give the children one more chance, because they were still shapeable than a adult who has already developed their character, they deserve a chance because even though the laws are cruel but we have humanity, and

Read More

Essay On Ethical Issues In Juvenile Justice

849 Words | 4 Pages

There are differences between a juvenile court and criminal court in the United States. The focus of the juvenile justice system is on rehabilitation, in hope of deterring the minor away from a life of crime so they will not commit a crime again as an adult. In contrast, the criminal justice system focuses on the punishment and often bases the sentencing outcome on the criminal history of the youth. In a study conducted, Butler (2011) showed that the participants’ experience with adult jails and prisons show that those facilities may instill fear but are otherwise emotionally—and often physically—dangerous for youth. Many of the adult prisoners, who were minors when they enter the adult institution, felt they were forced to “grow

Read More

Juveniles Should Be Sentenced To Life In Prison Essay

520 Words | 3 Pages

Crime rates in America are at an all-time high, and there is a significant increase in juvenile crimes. Adam Liptak, Marc Mauer, and Kent Scheidgger all share stories that support the fact juveniles should be able to be sentenced to life in prison. Juvenile offenders should be able to be sentenced to life in prison due to the fact they are committing severe crimes and juveniles are able to tell right from wrong. First, many of the crimes committed by these juveniles are extremely severe.

Read More

Should Juveniles Be Tried As An Adult?

876 Words | 4 Pages

Juveniles in the Justice System Murder is a serious crime and thus deserves a serious penalty. The consequences of their crime can be jail time, or in the most severe cases, death. The question that can arise is this: should a child or teenager be tried as an adult? Are they emotionally mature enough to understand what they have done and deal with the very real, adult ramifications?

Read More

More about Disparities In Juvenile Prisons

Open Document