Rate of Juvenile Offenses and the Juvenile Justice System

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Recommended: Prosecuting juveniles as adults

“Palm Beach County, Fla. -- On May 26, 2000, 13-year-old Nathaniel Brazill shot his teacher, Barry Grunow, with a .25 caliber handgun in school. Palm Beach County prosecutors tried Brazill as an adult for first degree murder. The jury found Brazill guilty of second-degree murder and the judge sentenced him to 28 years in an adult facility. After his release, Brazill will face two years of house arrest and five years of probation.” (Klug)

Does this sentence appear too severe, or perhaps too tolerant? Without understanding all of the specifics involved in the case, it may be harder to conclude what would be the best thing to do with 13-year-old Brazill. What exact details would an individual need to know in order to judge him correctly? Has he ever finished this before? What were his motives? Is he from a difficult neighborhood, dwelling in an awful family situation? Perhaps all of these things don’t mean anything in working out Brazill’s judgment, and he should just be penalized according to his offense.

If you’re having a hard time deciding, you’re not alone in this matter. Since the juvenile court’s introduction in 1899, there have been arguments over whether or not the court is productive in treating juveniles. Brazill’s case illustrates the view that the juvenile court is not effective, or is not sufficient to deal with situations as grave as Brazill’s. This is apparent in the detail that he was taken to adult court as a 13-year-old as are against to being tried in juvenile court.

The recent move in the direction of trying more juveniles as adults is a plain sign that the juvenile justice system is not effective. No one will contradict with that. However, people will contradict on what the system is presumed to ...

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...2014, from http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0112/

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Bradshaw, Judy A. “The Juvenile Justice System: Is It Working?” FBI Law Enforcement

Bulletin. May 1995: 14-16.

Collier, L. (n.d.). Adult Crime, Adult Time. Washington Post. Retrieved January 15, 2014, from

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/juvmurders/stories/

adultcrime.htm.

Friedman, B. (n.d.). Protecting Truth: An Argument for Juvenile Rights and a Return to In re

Gault. UCLA Law Review. Retrieved January 16, 2014, from

http://www.uclalawreview.org/?p=1535.

Klug, E. (2001, December 1). Corrections Today - Geographical Disparities among Trying and

Sentencing Juveniles. (CT Feature). The Free Online Library. Retrieved January 14,

2014, from http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Geographical+Disparities+among+Trying+

and+Sentencing+Juveniles.+(CT...-a081223414.

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