...Kaur Ravanpreet Mr. Ramos English CP 12.2 26 March 2015 Justice for Juveniles The criminal justice system for adults and juveniles differs in many significant ways. An adult system is for eighteen and older who have committed a crime. The juvenile system is for young offenders who commit serious crimes. Adult offenders have to get a lawyer in order to meet a judge, and juvenile that is under eighteen needs to have their parents present to meet the judge. There are more crimes committed by juveniles. Some examples are school shootings, and murders. Sometimes kids commit a serious crime and are sent to adult prison. Two young girls who lured another twelve year old girl in to the woods, and stabbed her 19 times to please slender man. The two girls are being charged with first degree intentional attempted homicide. They are likely to be tried as adults and long prison sentences. These girls were only trying to please a fictional character who they thought was real and lived in the woods. They thought if they pleased slender man he would not come after them. The girls did not do this intentionally, they were doing it for their safety. Some people think we should treat them as adults and others think they are still kids whose brains are not yet fully developed. Adult courts tend to be more punishing, while juvenile courts tend to be more rehabilitative. Every state has their own laws and rules they make and follow. Each state is left up to their own devices on what to do. The...
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...Juveniles Sentenced to Life in Prison Suzi Austin CJA/374 Juveniles Sentenced to Life in Prison In an Internet video, ACLU Michigan (2013) states that it is cruel and inhumane to sentence a person under 18 years of age to live in prison without the possibility of release. It mentioned cases where the person in question was not the actual murderer; they personally did not kill someone, but rather was merely involved in the crime. At the time of the video when a person was involved in the commission of a felony and someone died they could be convicted of murder even if they did personally commit the act that caused the death. I think that drawing a line saying that cruel and unusually punishment ends at 18 years and one day is a bit ridiculous. There is no magic time that changes a just sentence to one that is cruel and unusual. If a person kills or directly and willfully causes the death of another person they should be considered for a sentence of life without parole. Considerations should be given for the facts of the crime, the mental acuity of the murderer, and any other extenuating circumstances of the crime. Age comes into it but it is not the only consideration. A person could be 30 and not aware of the seriousness of their actions and someone who is 15. The punishment for any crime should be able to have extenuating factors considered. In the case of Jennifer Pruitt, (Brasier, 2013), the family of the victim wrote to Pruitt’s attorney stating that they believed...
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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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...Unit 9: Term Paper – Position Paper Introduction One of the most recent controversial issues in the U.S. juvenile justice system today involves the use of juvenile waivers. It is now possible for juveniles under the age of 18 to be transferred to the adult court system under the waiver provision. Even more surprisingly and depending on the jurisdiction, children as young as thirteen can find themselves in the clutches of the adult court system. Once these children enter the adult system, there is a possibility that a myriad of punishments can be received for their crimes. Of these punishments, life without the possibility of parole (LWOP) appears to be the most stringent and the hardest to swallow. According to a Juvenile Life Without Parole Fact Sheet, “A LWOP sentence is the harshest sentence given short of execution. The sentence means that an individual will not be given the opportunity for parole review and is condemned to die in prison” (Citizens for Juvenile Justice, 2008). For some, the idea of having a child spend the rest of their natural lives behind bars for capital and even noncapital crimes can be daunting and unfair. For many young people, they are at the point in their young lives where they are still trying to figure out who they are and they willingly test certain boundaries. Life in prison without parole attempts to snuff out what little life they have just begun to build. However, many would also argue that if you are capable of doing adult crimes and...
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...court ruling for juvenile sentences depends on the crime that they have committed. More than half of the juveniles that commit horrific crimes are tried as adults today in the supreme court. The supreme court does not let the juveniles off easy, they will try them as adults and give them years sentences, or even life behind bars. In my opinion I do believe that juveniles should be tried as adults but the sentence time should not be life behind bars. The juveniles should be sentenced to some years behind bars, but during this time, they should be able to attend some type of counseling or therapy. There has been multiple crimes that have been committed by juveniles in the past and recent times.On March 9, Lionel Tate was only twelve years old when he killed a six year old little girl doing professional wrestling moves. In my opinion I do not think that Lionel Tate should have gotten the sentence he had gotten. Mr. Tate was tried as an...
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...criminal justice system, particularly for juvenile offenders. The film “Juvies” was only a glimpse at how our current system is failing today’s youth, not helping them. It’s appalling how kids-- human beings who are still developing and growing cognitively-- can be locked away for such lengthy periods of time for criminal acts. Incarceration can have many drastic effects on a juvenile, and is more harmful than it is helpful in the long run. Even if a juvenile isn’t sent to prison for...
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...offenders to face life in prison without the possibility of parole. The concern of a 10 to 17-year-old juvenile, treated as an adult in court, has provoked considerable debates. Research suggests that the human brain does not reach the final stages of development until age 23, strongly suggesting that a minor does not have the capacity to manage emotions or impulse control in stressful situations. Amending legislation to give juvenile offenders the opportunity to rehabilitate, would not only address public safety, but would also give juvenile offenders the chance to become positive and productive citizens. Life without the Possibility of Parole Imagine sentencing a 10-year-old fifth grader to spend the rest of his or her life in prison. The only civilized country in the world, which does this, is the United States. Legislators have created a blanket of harsh sentencing in response to the public’s outcry to offenses committed by juveniles, such as in the Columbine tragedy. Although, no one can condone the devastating loss at Columbine, all juveniles should not be thrown under the same blanket, but reviewed and treated individually. Currently 11 states prohibit this sentence, which includes New Mexico and Oregon. Many other states are following suit, by introducing legislation to eliminate such sentences for juvenile offenders, including California. California Senator Leland Yee, PhD., introduced bill SB1199, also known as the “California Juvenile Life without Parole...
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...Murder has always been a part of life. Although normally when we hear about it , the murderer is an Adult. However for some it becomes a taboo subject to accept that there are Juveniles who commit heinous murder as well. It becomes even more challenging when deciding what consequences the Juvenile will face. It is crucial to understand that there can be many factors that play into a role which might influence the murder the Juvenile has committed. In other words, Juveniles should not be treated as adults and thus possibly given a life sentence . Many elements of the juvenile should be taken into context. Not necessarily age, or gender, but deeper aspects that will determine their consequence . Aside from taking those deeper aspects into...
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...Laurie Mosley Ethics Mrs. Kauffman May 30, 2015 Juvenile Capital Punishment The youngest offender ever executed in the United States was James Arcene, a ten year old Cherokee, who was hanged in Arkansas in 1885 for participating in a robbery and murder (James Austin, 2000). Juvenile capital punishment has always been a highly controversial and publicized matter. As a society we recognize that children, those under eighteen years old, cannot and do not function as adults. Because children do not function as adults, the law takes special steps to protect children from the consequences of their actions and often gives them a second chance. The law prohibits people under eighteen years old from voting, serving in the military, and serving on juries. Majority of the criminals are male offenders over twenty years old, but this is changing rapidly. Not only are adults committing capital offenses, but children who are under eighteen years old are committing such heinous offenses. A child that commits a heinous crime is not mentally capable of comprehending the crime he or she commits. The system of values in the age under eighteen is not built yet, other people can easily influence children, and the psychiatric processes are not yet stable. Under these conditions a child should never be sentenced to death or a life in prison because their mind is not fully developed. Children still have a chance to change and be rehabilitated. ...
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...Juvenile Crimes and Social Deviance Juvenile crimes have been decreasing since their all-time high in 1994 however the nature of their crimes had been drastically changing for the worse. Social deviance is defined as actions and/or behaviors that violated social norms. Over the past few decades many children have desired to be deviant while others have been forced into it. Petty crimes are becoming more common in today’s society, which is causing kids to have to go to more extremes to be deviant and thus resulting in more severe reactions to this behavior. The cause of juvenile violence is frequently related to one of two things; the child was exposed to violence when they were young or they are trying to fit into a deviant crowd. In 2008 approximately 10% of the children under 18 had been injured in an assault, 46% had been assaulted and 60% had been exposed to violence and/or crime. (Crime Solutions) Children who have been exposed to violence when they were young are more likely to commit crime when they are older. Children who were younger than 12 when they were exposed to the violence or crime are the most likely to commit crimes later in life. (United States Department of Justice) Children who face violence at home are also more likely to become a runaway, which makes it much easier to run into the wrong crowd. There is an increasing amount of children in abusive homes who end up trying to become vigilantes towards the abuser in order to make the abuse stop...
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...then became much more serious when the fight got heated and Quantel picked up a knife and stabbed Michael twice who later died from the injuries of those stabs wounds inflicted by Quantel. The state of Missouri convicted Quantel at the age of fourteen of first-degree murder with a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole. The state of Missouri along with many other states do not believe it is actually cruel or unusual punishment to give such a young person a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole: The state of Missouri considers the age at which he killed his step-brother – 14 – as too young legally to be allowed to sell fireworks, donate blood, leave school, have a tattoo without parental approval, get married, and consent to sex, work unlimited hours, be licensed as a barber, work as a cosmetologist or manicurist, or enter a contract. It was not too young, by state law, to be tried as an adult and sentenced to remain incarcerated forever. (Pilkington, 2012) According to several articles, Quantel Lotts early years of childhood in a St. Louis neighborhood was filled with abuse, neglect and uncertainty so he never learned what exactly a “normal” life was or how to behave in one. He grew up in a crack house with a mother who used and sold drugs. In Lotts' case, court documents reveal that he was sexually abused as a child. When child welfare officials took Lotts from his mother at the age of 8, they noted that he smelled of urine and...
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...Should Juvenile Be Charged as Adults in Criminal Cases? Robert Horn Post University The purpose of the Adult Criminal Justice system is to punish offenders according to the severity of the crime committed. The juvenile justice system’s aim is to rehabilitate or mentor the juvenile offenders, in the hope that they can prevent further crimes, and to change their behavior. The motivating principle of the juvenile system is rehab. The reason for this is because juveniles are not fully developed, mentally or physically. Many Juvenile offenders come from broken homes, been abused, or come from bad neighborhoods. Juvenile offenders need a second chance, because they have not even received a first chance. Rehabilitation is the best option for them because of the way they would be exploited and turned into criminals if they were sent directly to prison. If given the chance, the Juvenile Justice System can aid in successfully rehabilitating youthful offenders so they are not inclined to commit future crimes. With this reasoning, juveniles cannot be blamed or accountable for their actions the same way adults are. The Justice System fulfills and important function by establishing standards of conduct. It defines what is right and wrong for people and removes them from the responsibility of taking vengeance out on those who wronged them, which deters the escalation of feuds in the community. The Justice System also...
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...THE BUDGET COST AND EFFECTS OF PRISONS IN THE UNITED STATES Christina Adonia Turner June 15, 2013 Introduction to Public Administration TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Table Of Contents…………………………………………………………2 2. Executive Summary………………………………………………………..3 3. Scope and Statement of the Problem………………………………………4 4. Literature Review………………………………………………………….5 5. Methodology………………………………………………………………7 6. Analytical Results………………………………………………………....8 7. Discussion………………………………………………………………...10 8. Bibliography………………………………………………………………16 9. Appendix………………………………………………………………....17 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In summary, the cost of housing an incarcerated inmate does affect the budget of the United States. Whether, the inmate is sentenced to life imprisonment or the death penalty. The facts in this research paper leans heavily in favor of life imprisonment as a cheaper form of punishment verses an inmate being sentenced to death row. The judicial system and politicians have formed several alternatives to assist our country with the ability to lower the cost of housing an inmate in our prison system. For example, the United States detaining systems are concentrating more on issuing a fair sentence to nonviolent offenders, such as, substance abusers and prostitutes. They realize that the majority of the inmates are in need of drug rehabilitation and have a mental illness. Also, the research shows that women offenders are the most affected with drug addiction...
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...Juvenile Justice Juveniles always tend to be in an awkward situation when it comes to courts and how to punish them. Juveniles have certain rights but they waive those once they commit a serious crime or felony, such as murder or rape. There have been many cases where judges and prosecutors are torn between a child committing a crime and debating whether the juvenile should serve their complete sentence or as much as possible until they turn 18. Although in most states, a juvenile offender must be at least 16 to be able to be tried in adult court a number of states, minors as young as 13 can be tried as an adult. Yet there are few states that allow children of any age to be tried as adults for certain types of crimes, such as homicide. In many cases juveniles and their attorneys fight to keep a case in juvenile court but there are some advantages to being tried in adult criminal court. For example minors have the right to a jury trial in adult court while most states do not provide a right to a jury in juvenile court. Juries in adult court may also be more sympathetic to a minor. Where there are jails which are crowded, the court may be inclined to dispose of the juvenile's case more quickly and impose a lighter sentence. One of the many disadvantages for juveniles in adult court is that the juvenile is subject to more severe sentences, including life sentences. Judges in adult court do not have the wide range of punishment and treatment options that are available to juvenile...
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...This issue paper will cover the subject of “Trying Juveniles as Adults”. This has brought up a very controversial topic that people seem to be very passionate about. The rate of minors committing horrendous crimes has been on a steady rise for the past couple of decades (DOJ National Report Series Bulletin, 2011). There are many differences between the court system for Juveniles and the justice system for adults. In Juvenile courts there are no juries and no trails by jury either. In adult courts the sentencing is much harsher and the chance of getting off the hook with some counseling is very slim. If a juvenile is defined as a person under the age of 18, how can you justify trying them in a court designed for adult offenders? Some juvenile cases get transferred to adult criminal court through a process called a “waiver”—when a judge waives the protections that juvenile court provides (www.ojjdp.gov). Usually, juvenile cases that are subject to waiver involve more serious crimes, or minors who have been in trouble before (nolo.com/juveniles youth adult criminal court). Being tried as an adult gives a juvenile more constitutional protections, but it also has disadvantages such as losing the juvenile protections as well. Depending on the crime of the minor, both court systems can punish the individual, but which court can give the appropriate punishment or the “crime”, not the age of the person committing the crime? The big question now is should we the courts show more...
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