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They Were Sentenced As Superpredators Second Chance Kids

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Paxton Bachelder Criminology Mr. Wolfard 17 May 2024 Second Chance Kids In the 1990’s, America was struck with a criminal epidemic, specifically in the teen and young adult age group. In response to the sudden crime, experts coined the term “superpredator” to describe the rise in teen crime. This term was coined by political science professor John DiIulio while at Princeton University. According to Dilulio, a “superpredator” is “a young juvenile criminal who is so impulsive, so remorseless, that he can kill, rape, maim, without giving it a second thought.” Dilulio later retracted and disavowed his theory, but it was too late. The media and criminal justice system in the 90’s and early 2000’s took his theory to heart, leading to a massive increase …show more content…

Alabama, as a result of Miller’s appeal the Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to impose a life without parole sentence on children under age 18. The documentary Second Chance Kids and the article They Were Sentenced as Superpredators covers the aftermath of the 2012 Supreme Court ruling that followed “lifers” who were imprisoned as minors and not offered a chance for parole. One of these lifers, Joe Donavan, was one of the first to be released on parole after the court’s ruling. One notable thing to remember is that none of the prisoners released after committing crimes as children have broken their parole or perpetrated another crime. This supports the court’s decision to release prisoners who committed crimes as minors as it proves the “superpredator” theory wrong by showing that these teens are capable of improvement and change. The topic of life in prison in general is an interesting one, I believe that religion, past experience, culture, and personality all play an effect on everyone’s opinion on whether people’s freedom should be taken for their whole life. I personally believe that the death penalty and life in prison (without chance of parole) are cruel and unusual and are a violation of our 8th amendment rights as

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Alabama are still in debate. The Supreme Court still hasn’t decided whether or not the ruling would apply to past cases. But the decisions one makes at the age of 14 aren’t the same as 24, 34, or 44 and for that matter they deserve the opportunity of parole after a fair sentence. It does give the current youth an opportunity to parole or not to be sentenced to life without parole. Miller vs. Alabama was, “the third in a decade that puts new constitutional limits on crimes involving juveniles” (Savage) being one of the biggest rulings in recent court.

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In the documentary “When Kids Get Life” by Ofra Bikel we see five men who were sentenced to life in prison for committing crimes in their teens. We hear the stories of how it happened, why it happened, and what life is like for them today. This documentary sheds light on the battle that juveniles face when they commit crimes and the judicial system. This documentary relates heavily in the material we learn because although it is about teenagers who receive life in prison, the judicial system plays a key role.

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Roper v. Simmons is considered a landmark case and is one of a handful that shows a new direction in granting some relief from what has been established as harsh “adult” punishments for juveniles (Elrod & Ryder, 2014). In fact, many studies are showing that the differences between adults and juveniles are quite significant (Elrod & Ryder, 2014). The courts are realizing that these differences must be taking into account when dealing with juveniles in the criminal justice system (Elrod & Ryder, 2014). However, that being said, change does not occur overnight, and for the unforeseeable future, juveniles will still continue to be waived into adult courts (Elrod & Ryder, 2014).

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Charlie, a 14-year-old sentenced to life in prison without parole, reflects the harsh realities juveniles face within the legal system (Stevenson 104). Charlie’s case makes us question if it is fair to give such tough punishments to young people, pushing for a rethink in how we handle juvenile cases. Antonio Nunez, a 16-year-old sentenced to life, without parole, underscores, the lack of second chances for juvenile offenders (Stevenson 143). Nunez’s story emphasizes the need for more supportive and rehabilitative approaches for young people who make mistakes, urging them to shift towards giving them opportunities for redemption and growth. Stevenson shows how some people do not get good legal help.

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They May Seem Young But Not Always Throughout recent years in the United States there has been several homicide cases involving juveniles under the age of eighteen. At such a young and rather undeveloped age, they are considered as minors however, in the eyes of the justice system nearly all are punished as adult victims and given life imprisonment without parole. These decisions have unintentionally ignited a dreadful controversial debate across America.

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The Supreme Court directly stated that, “We therefore hold that mandatory life without parole for those under the age of 18 at the time of their crimes violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishments” (Miller v Alabama). Miller v Alabama is a landmark case in the juvenile justice system. It is a landmark case because it helps establish that juveniles cannot be sentenced to life in prison without the opportunity of parole, regardless of the crime they committed (Miller v Alabama). With cases like Miller v Alabama and Graham v Florida, the Supreme Court is emphasizing that juveniles have the time and capacity to change and develop their

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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.

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This concept is known as the superpredator; that violent youths criminals, mini adults who should be doing the adult time for committing adult crimes (Bourgeois 150). This lead to the common idea that violent children are no exception to the law and should actually be detained as soon as possible to prevent further crimes. Since this term was brought into use it has proven to be widely inaccurate as there exists no evidence that young children involved in violent crimes became more frequent or more violent than their counterparts. The idea of superpredators thoroughly criminalizes children who have committed heinous acts because the children become defined by their crime leading many to believe that no matter the age,

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The rise of the “Superpredator” Myth in the 1990s led to schools adopting policies that created the School-to-Prison Pipeline. The “Superpredator” Myth was the false projection of an enormous crime wave leading to the belief that teenage crime would skyrocket in the following years. The myth was created by projections of a sudden increase in crimes committed in the US. Along with the prediction of a huge crime wave, it was also predicted that teenagers, specifically black and Latino teenagers, would make up 50% of the predicted crime due to the belief that they were completely impulsive and had no remorse. Another way to justify the prediction of a spike in teenage crime was to describe youth as “fatherless, Godless, and jobless.”

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Teenagers all over the world are being trailed as adults with no mercy. Justice Elena Kagan from the Supreme Court states “Mandatory life without parole for a juvenile precludes consideration of his chronological age and its hallmark features—among them, immaturity, impetuosity, and failure to appreciate risks and consequences. It prevents taking into account the family and home environment that surrounds him—and from which he cannot usually extricate himself—no matter how brutal or

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Juveniles in prison face increased violence and sexual abuse, and are at much higher risks of committing suicide than juveniles in juvenile prisons. In addition, the number of released prisoners that turn back to crime is much higher for those that were juveniles in adult prisons. Juveniles will face the consequences of their actions in juvenile prisons, but will also be given a second chance to change their lives through rehabilitation. It is time to stop failing this nation’s juveniles and build a system that benefits not only these children, but society as a whole through the end of a vicious criminal

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In January 2001, Lionel Tate was convicted of first degree murder of six year old Tiffany Eunick. Lionel was thirteen years old and was the youngest American citizen to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. More than 25% of people serving life without parole after being sentenced as children were convicted of felony murder or accomplice liability, meaning they were not the primary perpetrators of the crime, and may not have even been present at the time someone was killed. There are approximately ten thousand juveniles in adult prisons; however, not all of them should undergo the challenges youth face in adult prisons. There are youth that deserve to be in adult prison, but there are also youth in adult prisons that face many

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Annotated bibliography Childress, S. (2016, June 2). More States Consider Raising the Age for Juvenile Crime. Retrieved from PBS: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/more-states-consider-raising-the-age-for-juvenile-crime/ More states are considering to raising the age for juvenile crimes before being tried as adult because young offender's mental capacity. The idea is to cut the cost of incarcerate young offender in adult prison and ensure offenders to receive proper education and specialized care to change their behavior. Putting children in adult prison does not deter crime.

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On March 20, 2012, during the oral argument in Miller v. Alabama, Associate Justice Samuel Alito pressed the petitioner's counsel Bryan Stevenson to explain his contention that state legislators did not understand the sentencing consequences of the juvenile transfer laws that they had passed during the 1990s.1These laws facilitated the transfer of children's cases from juvenile court into an adult criminal justice system that required mandatory sentences, such as life without the possibility of parole, for many offenses.2The Supreme Court had consolidated the cases of Kuntrell Jackson, an African American teenager, who had been convicted of capital murder in Arkansas, and Evan Miller, a white teenager who had been convicted of murder in an arson case in Alabama. Kuntrell and Evan had both been 14 years old at the time of their crimes, and in both cases, the minimum and maximum sentences were exactly the same: life without the possibility of parole (LWOP). The prosecutor in Miller's case had argued that the teenager deserved to die for his crime but that the Supreme Court had abolished the juvenile death penalty in 2005. Five years later, the high court banned LWOP sentences for juveniles convicted of nonhomicidal offenses. Now Stevenson, the Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative, urged the justices to use the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishments to eliminate all mandatory

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