Juvenile Detention Makes Teens Worse

VIII “US Supreme Court Bans Mandatory Life Without Parole for Youth.” YouthLaw.org. Web. 5 Dec. 2013

There has always been controversies as to whether juvenile criminals should be tried as adults or not. Over the years more and more teenagers have been involved in committing crimes. In some cases the juries have been too rough on the teens. Trying teens as adults can have a both positive and negative views. For example, teens that are detained can provide information about other crimes, can have an impact in social conditions, and serve as experience; however, it can be negative because teens are still not mature enough for that experience, they are exposed to adult criminals; and they will lose out on getting an education.

This isn’t always true, there some horrible consequences because of it like suicide. “Juvenile jails are a less punishable place than adult prisons and are more forgiving” (Bechtold). When you start to treat a kid like how you treat an adult, when they come out they 're not normal because how people have treated them throughout most of their lives. research has shown that “kids develop better criminal skills when they 're incarcerated in adult facilities”(Bechtold). This is a big negative effect because this is why the US department of corrections say “in prison the reconviction of kids is from 14-17 years is 82.1 percent”(Bechtold).

Compas, Bruce E. “Coping with Stress During Childhood and Adolescence.” Psychological Bulletin 101.3 (1987): 393 – 403. PsychINFO. Web. 14 Jan. 2014 Margolin, Gayla, and Elana B. Gordis. “The Effects of Family and Community Violence on Children.” Annual Review of Psychology 51 (2000): 445 – 479.

The youngest child to ever be convicted as an adult was 11 years old. When these minors are convicted for crimes, they are either sentenced to life without parole, or the death penalty. If they are charged as minors, they are in a correctional facility with other minors until they turn 21, when they are released and their records are wiped clean. If tried as an adult, they will spend the rest of their life in jail with adults, including sex offenders and child molesters; or they will die by electric chair, lethal injection, or a firing squad. There is much debate over whether or not this should be legal in the United States; I am going to tell you the pros and cons, first off, the cons.

Hinton, W., Sheperis, C., & Sims, P. (2000). Family based approaches to juvenile delinquency. The Family Journal, 11(2), 167-173.

American Correctional Association Wilkerson, I (1996) “Death Sentence at Sixteen Rekindles Debate on Justice for Juveniles.” New York Times, November Butts, J.A. and Snyder, H. (1997) “The Youngest Delinquents: Offenders Under the Age of 15,” Juvenile Justice Bulletin (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice) Lefevre, P.S., “Professor Grapples with Execution of Juveniles.” National Catholic Reporter Snyder, A. “Serious and Violent Juvenile Offenders” (1997) National Center for Juvenile Justice

When children can be sent to jail for something as minor as a smash and grab burglary, the judicial system has errors. The laws that send juveniles to adult prisons are inhumane, immoral, and unjust. Kids are often incompetent, which leads to unfair trials. Adult prisons are also very dangerous for minors, and in many cases this leads to more juvenile crimes. People support sending juveniles to adult prisons for many reasons.

These juveniles have the opportunity to be molded into functioning members of society, yet lack the necessary resources to do so. This occurs due to the negative connotation that comes with juvenile delinquents and their behaviors. Every country has their own ways of dealing with crime, and in particular juvenile delinquency, in this piece there will be an in depth analysis of the United States juvenile justice system and England’s juvenile justice system. Although there are many similarities between both developed countries England’s approach to juvenile justice is more effective long term by its implementation of rehabilitative and restorative programs. In return tackling the problem of high recidivism rates and reintegration into society.

(2011). The Teen Brain: Still Under Construction . Besthesda : U.S. Department of Health and HUman Services . Prevention, O. o. (1996).