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upon the burning of our house SUMMARY
upon the burning of our house SUMMARY
upon the burning of our house SUMMARY
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Recommended: upon the burning of our house SUMMARY
Nell Bernstein, the author of Burning Down The House: The End Of Juvenile Prison has a very strong opinion about juvenile facilities. He believes that children do not learn to correct their behavior by being forced into these facilities because the main root of their behavior stems from their “broken” family structures, in more cases than not. This is supported from the text when he states “In fact multiple studies have shown that putting youth behind bars not only fails to enhance public safety; it does just the opposite, driving low-level delinquents deeper into criminality and increasing the likelihood that they will end up behind bars again and again.” Bernstein really tries to push his audience to agree with his opinion; to stop putting …show more content…
This method is presented accurately when discussing how the first juvenile facility in 1825, The House of Refuges, would discipline it’s youth. “The children were divided into five categories, based on their perceived character[...] On the rewards front, the best of the lot could aspire to a distinctive badge, the punishment system was more elaborate.” This example heavily emphasizes cause & effect based off the fact that the inmates would be rewarded with a badge for their good behavior, or if they were acting up their disciplines would vary from loss of “play hours” to even corporeal punishment. Cause & Effect can be conveyed throughout the whole book if you look at the aspect that the kids who grew up with a corrupted household usually resort to violence, it will then get them sent to prison which furthermore leads to your rights violated. On the other hand if you do have a stable support system, or good behavior you have a lesser chance at being sent to prison. The whole idea that a simple aspect of your life that you have no control over like a corrupted household can affect your life in a positive or negative way is really eye opening because for those kids who do not have family support have to learn this on their own which can be hard, given that they are only
“Future nations will know by history only that the loathsome smallpox has existed and by you extirpated”. This quote comes from Thomas Jefferson to Edward Jenner, he founder of the smallpox vaccine. It would only be 100 years later that Jefferson would see his dream fulfilled, but not without struggle. In House on Fire, author William H. Foege shares his first hand view of the lengths that society needed to go through to rid the world of the disease that had plagued it for so long. The story of the fight against smallpox extends long before our efforts for global eradication and is a representation of how society deals with widespread disease. House on
Many people say that the systems first priority should be to protect the public from the juvenile criminals that are a danger to others. Once the juveniles enter the system there is however, arguments on what should be done with them. Especially for those deemed too dangerous to be released back to their parents. 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...
Parents should be more involved with their children’s lives, and try to discipline and set rules at an early age. It is better for a juvenile to be confined rather than him/her influencing average teenagers to follow in his footsteps. It is a sad day when a teenager has to spend his/her days in a juvenile facility rather than outside enjoying his freedom and childhood. Children, who attend these programs and cannot cope with the challenges, can be easily abused. The risk in enrolling these teenagers into such disciplinary programs may either break them or make them improve their behaviors and quality of life. Teenagers who come out of these camps are stronger, disciplined, educated and even become role models to other teens can someday help other delinquents. In order to change someone’s life, one must first change his/her actions and
...in jail for a long period of time may lead them into becoming better criminals. Anna Aizer of Brown University and Joseph Doyle of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology researched and compared lives of imprisoned teenagers and non-imprisoned, and how it affected them in life. In their research they found out that young offenders who were incarcerated were sixty-seven percent more likely to be in jail by the age of 25 than similar young offenders who didn't go to prison. They also found that young convicts were most likely to commit homicide (Beauchamp 6-12). Although, for many teenagers who go to jail help them open their eyes and realize that they have to become a better person. That if they continue to commit bad actions, they're going to get punished. Children and teenagers realize that they can tried as adults and they think before going on their instinct.
Marjie Lundstrom in her article Kids are Kids until they commit crimes says “research suggests that adolescents squeezed through the adult system are more likely to come out as violent career criminals than similar kids handled on the juvenile side”. This means if they do a crime and don’t get punished they’ll come out as violent career criminals then other kids that get punished because the kids that get punished will have learned their lesson that there are consequences for their violent negative behavior. This is true because many juvenile offenders are
According to the article of “Should Juveniles Be Tried as Adults?” at Buzzle.com, “It is a proven fact that when a child is at the age around nine or ten that they do not have the mental accessibility to think as an adult” (Borkar). Citizens see this statistic as a reason as to why children should not be tried as adults. “Children are five times more likely to be sexually assaulted in adult prisons than in juvenile facilities” (Equal Justice Initiative). These juveniles are subject to much harsher punishments which includes life sentencing (Michon). These people do not feel that these children should be in a prison for the rest of their life for something they did when they were 13. Broken families can be a reason for a child to rebel and become trouble. “Psychology speaking, it is said that there are no ‘problem children’ but only ‘problem parents’” (Borkar). Parents roles are to guide their kids in the right way. Children will not know what is right or wrong if parents do n...
In 1899, the nation’s first juvenile court for youth under the age of 16 was established in Chicago to provide rehabilitation rather than punishment. By 1925, following the Chicago model, all but two states had juvenile courts whose goals were to turn youth into productive citizens utilizing treatment that included warnings, probation, and training school confinement(Cox et al. 2014, p.2). Treatment lasted until the child was “cured” or turned 21. Although judges spoke with the offending children and decided upon the punishment, the lack of established rules and poor rehabilitation led to unfair treatment. In 1967 “ U.S. Supreme Court case of In re Gault held that juveniles were entitled to the same constitutional due process rights as adults, beginning a national reform in juvenile justice and the system was repaired to afford children many of the same rights that adults have in court” (Cox et al. 2014, p.4). Also, state legislatures passed laws to crack down on juvenile crime, as recently, states have attempted strike a balance in their approach to juvenile justice systems as research suggests that locking youth away in large, secure juvenile facilities is ineffective treatment towards different genders in which it doesn’t provide appropriate rehabilitation.
“Jail staff are simply not equipped to protect youth from the dangers in prison” (Berlatsky, Juveniles Should Not Be Placed in Adult Prisons). “Transferring the problem of the most serious juvenile offenders to an even more overwhelmed and less effective system makes no sense” (Roush and Dunlop). Does prison actually rehabilitate anyone adult or juveniles? I wish there was a way to actually answer that question, in some cases prison of any sort turns some around. In my opinion this is not the case with real criminals. That is the difference between a mistake and an actual crime. “Juvenile justice systems must balance the public mandates to dispense justice and to rehabilitate youths” (Wright, Tibbets, and Daigle, Criminals in the Making, 263). “Several studies have shown that incarcerated youths experience higher rates of depression, although the highest percentage being youths placed in adult incarceration facilities” (Y.H. NG et. al, Incarcerating juveniles in adult prisons as a factor in depression). Incarcerated adolescents with depression at 30.6% whereas only depressed non-incarcerated youths are at 4.1%. Arrested and detained youths in adult court show 16% are depressed whereas youths
Incarceration should only be used to protect the public. Juvenile incarceration does not protect the community and substantially increases the risk of recidivism. When predicting recidivism rates, youth who have a prior detention are at the greatest risk; more than having a poor parental relationship, a gang affiliation, or carrying a weapon (Holman & Ziedenberg, 2006).
...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.
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.
Each year, hundreds of thousands of youth enter into the justice system. Incarceration is not designed to properly meet the needs of youth nor strengthen their development. Research indicates that relying on punishment and incarceration, rather than rehabilitation, is harmful to youth and may
Many believe that locking away juveniles is the best way to keep society safe but they are wrong. Locking juveniles away does more harm than any good. Expert say that there’s “a decline in juvenile crime, concerns about the cost of adult prisons, and growing understanding that adolescents have a greater potential for rehabilitation than adults do.” There’s no need to spend so much money on juveniles in prisons when
In the second article “Cruel Punishment for Juveniles” the authors hold a different view from Linda J. Collier. Treating juveniles as adults only helps society to forget that they are really still kids. They feel that subjecting children to adult punishment is cruel and unusual. They think, “Most youthful wrong-doers do not become adult criminals. There are turning points----quality education, well paid work, stable marriage------ that helps young offenders become law-abiding adults.” (Pg. 637) Certain community youth programs that deal with kids have shown to work in dealing with juveniles.
Juvenile delinquency is one of the major social issues in the United States today. Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is when “a violation of the law committed by a juvenile and not punishable by death or life imprisonment” (Merriam-webster.com). Although we have one justice system in America, the juvenile system differs from the adult juvenile system. Most juvenile delinquents range from as low as the age of seven to the age of seventeen. Once the delinquent or anyone turns the age of eighteen, they are considered an adult. Therefore, they are tried as an adult, in the justice system. There are many different reasons why a child would commit crime, such as mental and physical factors, home conditions, neighborhood environment and school conditions. In addition, there are a variety of effects that juvenile justice systems can either bad effects or good effects. Finally there are many different solutions that can reduce juvenile delinquency. As a result, juvenile delinquency is a major issue and the likeliness of it can be reduced. In order to reduce juvenile delinquency there has to be an understanding of the causes and the effects.