Prison is just not a place to lock people away. It is a place for rehabilitation to occur. If this is true. Then why does it have a negative effect on juvenile offenders? In many states offenders as young as 14 years old can be trialed in adult courts (Scott). This leads to juvenile inmates being sent to adult correctional institutions. Even though courts believe this is unjust. They still have not done anything to solve this issue (Scott). The kid might have committed and atrocity so awful some adults would squirm at the thought of it. But the kid is still a kid, and is not mature enough to live within older inmates. A reason why they committed a crime in the first place could have been fueled by the environment they lived in. Some of these …show more content…
Youthful offenders could be the healthiest individuals in a correction facility some would argue. I would agree to disagree. They might be the healthiest physically thanks to their young age, but that same young age is what makes them handicap. The problem with youthful offenders is that they have no special services provided to them. They are categorized by the crimes they have committed, but not because of their age and mental immaturity. It has been scientifically proven time and time again that the brain is not fully developed until the mid-20s. Teens should not be thrown in the same cells as fully matured and developed adults. This is what leads to problems in rehabilitating an individual. Just how people with disabilities need aid in adjusting to everyday life. Youthful inmates need special services in order to get successfully rehabilitated and be released back into society as a better citizen. If asked around what was thought of youthful offenders a variety of answers would be spoken. Some would say people never change. That they should stay locked away and never be let out. This way they would never hurt anyone again. Some other would say everyone deserves a second chance, and I agree. I believe people would do whatever it takes to survive. Many of these youthful offenders have had a rough life. Never had time to concentrate about studying when they did not even had food in their table. And the only way they knew how to get some was by getting involved in criminal activities. This has been their whole life. They have never known any better. Prison should be the place that steers them in the right direction. The solution to the problem, but sadly it is part of it instead. In 2005 the Supreme Court banned the death penalty for juvenile offenders. “too immature, irresponsible, susceptible to peer pressure and often capable of
Heinous crimes are considered brutal and common among adults who commit these crimes, but among children with a young age, it is something that is now being counted for an adult trial and punishable with life sentencing. Although some people agree with this decision being made by judges, It is my foremost belief that juveniles don’t deserve to be given life sentencing without being given a chance at rehabilitation. If this goes on there’s no point in even having a juvenile system if children are not being rehabilitated and just being sent off to prison for the rest of their lives and having no chance getting an education or future. Gail Garinger’s article “ juveniles Don’t deserve Life sentence”, written March 14, 2012 and published by New york Times, mentions that “ Nationwide, 79 adolescents have been sentenced to die in prison-a sentence not imposed on children anywhere else in the world. These children were told that they could never change and that no one cared what became of them. They were denied access to education and rehabilitation programs and left without help or hope”. I myself know what it’s like to be in a situation like that, and i also know that people are capable of changing even children when they are young and still growing.
Upon release, previously incarceration individuals find themselves subject to what is known as collateral consequences. Societal and policy consequences that extend beyond the criminal justice system and long after incarceration. With consequences touching every aspect of their life from; housing, family composition, education and employment opportunities. As one becomes incarcerated they better understand racial, economic and behavioral-health barriers within yet at the time of parole many do not have an awareness of the negative and disproportionate treatments associated with life post-conviction and incarceration (Pettus-Davis, Epperson and Grier, 2017).
Thousands of people statewide are in prisons, all for different reasons. However, the amount of mental illness within prisons seems to go unaddressed and ignored throughout the country. This is a serious problem, and the therapy/rehabilitation that prison systems have do not always help those who are mentally ill. Prison involvement itself can contribute to increased suicide (Hills, Holly). One ‘therapy’ that has increased throughout the years has been the use of solitary confinement, which has many negative effects on the inmates. When an inmate has a current mental illness, prior to entering into the prison, and it goes undiagnosed and untreated, the illness can just be worsened and aggravated.
One in every 108 adults were placed behind bars in 2012 (Dimon). That made for 2.2 million prisoners in the United States ("The Sentencing Project News - Incarceration"). This is almost the population of Houston, Texas ("Facts and Figures"). In the years following its creation, the correctional system has become a rougher place to live with nearly one percent of the whole United States population behind bars. Both the mental illness and murder rates have increased, along with return rate of prisoners. The increase of problems can be blamed on the many factors including the unstable prison environment, the rapid spread of disease and the high return rate. In general, U.S. prisoners are far worse off than those in other countries in terms
...ing with young minds and punishing them in juvenile courts may be of advantage to the young people and at the same time reduce propagating them into developing a violent future in criminal activities. Correctional facilities that address and cater for the juveniles are the way forward to streamlining the youths (Kristin, page4).
Some want them locked away for as long as possible without rehabilitation, thinking that it will halt their criminal actions. One way to do this they argue would be to send them into an adult court. This has been a large way to reform the juvenile system, by lowering the age limits. I believe in certain cases this is the best method for unforgiving juveniles convicted of murder, as in the case of Ronald Duncan, who got away with a much lesser sentence due to his age. However another juvenile, Geri Vance, was old enough to be sent into the adult court, which caused him t... ...
...sier to flip the switch, pull the lever, or inject the needle. Putting young offenders in adult prisons leads to more crime, higher prison costs, and increased violence, not to mention placing them in danger from the adult prison population.
once the minor has committed a violent crime, they are no longer a kid. The minor had the ability to know right from wrong, but he still chose to commit the heinous crime anyway. Choosing to commit this violent crime means that the minor chose to act as an adult and must be held accountable. Once the minor has made the decision to act as an adult, they must be treated as an adult. If we do not teach minors that what they did has consequences they will never learn. Arguments can be made that minors should not be treated as adults and while these arguments do have merit, they are not my beliefs. In my opinion, minors who commit violent crimes need to be tried as adults. Justice does not discriminate when it comes to age. Right is right, and wrong is wrong and the wrong should be punished equally.
Housing juveniles in adult prisons, not as common but unethical to some and others see as necessary. Is the adult system more effective? “The adult system is overworked, overcrowded, overwhelmed, and there is no evidence that it is more effective.” “Housing children in adult prisons is simply wrong” (Roush and Dunlap, Juveniles in adult prisons: A very bad idea). “Housing minors of any age with psychopaths is unethical, they will be preyed upon” (Humbert). “Kids in adult prisons are subject to abuse, sexual harassment, suicide and murder.” (qtd. in Hansen, Are the states
This is what Tommy Winfrey, an inmate from San Quentin State Prison, believes: “When society locks an individual away and doesn’t provide some means by which the offender can understand why he/she committed crimes in the first place, then there will be no corrective behavior. I never gained insight from being placed in a cell. Instead I just became defensive and tried to rationalize my behavior. That being said, I believe the success to rehabilitation begins with education. When I began to attend college, I started to discover some things about myself. I began to learn I didn’t have all the answers in life. Vocational training has also given me confidence that I do not have to depend on crime to support myself”. Educating prisoners would be the best way to lower recidivism rates and possibly crime rates. Prisoners need guidance and training so that when they are released they have a plan to follow. If prisons just continue to punish them, they will not learn what they should be doing and go back to their old habits. The must be given an opportunity to heal and learn so they could understand the dynamics in their life which led them to the crime they committed. There are countless interviews of ex-inmates and most of them believe education in prison is a necessity. They want a chance to learn and get a job so that they could provide for themselves. Exposing them to programs will benefit them because the recidivism rate will go down and potentially crime
Youre absolutley correct in you thinking that Low-risk offenders dont belong in a correctional facility that also housing high-risk offenders. One must always remember you become a product of your enivormne weather its good or bad. So placing a Low-risk offender will only make them seasonal criminals once they are release back into society. I also notice that their wasnt alot of data for low-risk offenders. Instead of a treatment / facility lets take that money and spend it on areas for improving juvenile in the community. An After school faclity to assist with school work, organizte sports, etc.
Prison has been around in human society for many millions of years. Having someone who disobeyed the law of that village, town, city or country punished in some form of institution, cutting them off from people, is a common concept – a popular and supposedly “needed” process society has taken to doing for many years now has been put under the spotlight many times by many different figures and people in society. The question remains – do prisons only make people worse? Many articles have been published in many journals and newspapers of the western world (mainly the USA, UK and Australia) saying prison only makes a person worse yet no complaint of the method has come from the less liberal eastern societies; this only proves how in countries where the rights of humans are valued such issues as if prisons only make people worse are important and relevant to keeping fair to all.
Why should teen offenders receive second chance at education? New Jersey prison system should allow education in prison as a way to improve our society. By giving younger prisoners a second chance for an education, they can learn a different way of living without crime to better their future. Psychology and neurology confirm the maturity at age 16 and 17 is different from the maturity of an adult. In addition, there are different centers in prison that keep changing to expand and improve teen offenders education. Finally, there are over 2 million people in U.S. prisons alone. New Jersey prison system should allow educational opportunities to be an opportunity for the young prisoners as a way to help improve our society; teens are not as mature as adults, prisons are overcrowded and teens are better served in other facilities, and to teach teens can learn a different way of life, not crime.
People support sending juveniles to adult prisons for many reasons. One reason is that it is the job of the courts to help protect society. Once a troubled juvenile is sent to an adult prison, they are out of the way of society. Hopefully when they re-enter, the punishments they received will be imprinted in their brain and stop them from performing any wrong again. Another reason people think that disturbed youth cannot be saved is that punishment will not save them from themselves and they just need to be locked up forever. It is thought to be true that juveniles who are sent to jail will not commit the same crime again or even any crimes at all. All the reasons and opinions that say that juveniles should be sent to adult prisons for their heinous crimes seem logical. Despite this, they are not. There are more rational reasons why adolescents should be sent to their own private penitentiary.
Prisoners are people too. They’re just like everyone else. They may have been at the wrong place during the wrong time or they just didn’t make a very bright decision. Author _________, wrote “Transitioning inmates into society is key”, which was published on September 3, 2015 by the Bismarck Tribune, states that inmates are more likely to commit another crime because they don’t have a support system to help them when they get out. Prisoners have a hard time transitioning back into society once they are released, but in recent years, ministry programs have emerged to help them get back to everyday life.