At the age of 16 years old Alonza Thomas, a typical teenage boy, was given a 13 year sentence for second degree armed robbery. It all started when he ran away from home; his mother was upset with him so he left to avoid dealing with the problem. He met someone while trying to find a place to stay and he offered him a place to sleep and some hot food. When Alonza had finally decided it was time for him to go home and face his mother, they demanded that he repay them somehow. They held him at gun point, making it apparent that they weren’t going to back down if he went against what they wanted. The repayment came in the form of a job, the robbery that ended up sending him to an adult prison. Alonza Thomas stated how they had made him feel that he had choice, “he came back out with a gun. And he said, “You think you’re gonna eat my food for free? Live in my house and just walk out? And things that come free like that? No, nothing’s free.” He said, “No, you’re gonna have to rob this store.”” Under a new law established in California, Proposition 21, more juveniles would be allowed for adult sentence. This law was created to help ward off gang related …show more content…
He does not possess a GED or a high school diploma; he also missed out on many experiences that could’ve helped prepare him for his adult life. Instead of doing what most his age would be doing, going to school and socializing with similar individuals, he went to jail and had to suffer isolation and socialize with people who couldn’t be considered the best of role models. Rather than changing him for the better, like prison in meant to do through processes of re-socialization, it broke him as a human-being and could have potentially made him a genuinely violent criminal. After returning home from his sentence he suffered emotional and mentally, getting defensive easily and quickly losing hope for his future
Teagan Farmer Ms. DeLong Practical Law 7 February 2018 Cyntoia Brown Juvenile Justice Case Cyntoia Brown was just a sixteen year old girl when her life suddenly came spiraling out of control. “According to years of local media reports, a 2011 documentary about her case and court documents detailing Brown’s own testimony and that of a juvenile psychiatrist, Brown suffered from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, grew up in an abusive home and had ran away from her adoptive parents’ house prior to becoming involved in prostitution in Nashville” (Willingham, 2017). According to Brown, the “victim,” Johnny Allan, picked up her up at the local Sonic and drove her back to his house after hiring her as a prostitute. She claims there was gun cabinet in the bedroom
The privatization of youth confinement facilities is now widespread in the United States; almost half of the youth facilities in the country are privately operated. While many of these private facilities are owned or operated by non-profits, we focus this policy platform on for-profit facilities, which pose a unique and significant risk to youth (http://www.njjn.org/our-work/confining-youth-for-profit--policy-platform). Robert May’s documentary sheds a little light on the problem with the justice system and shows that it might be something that the United States wants to fix before it becomes a problem. He claims that minors need a justice system that protects their rights as well as they protect adult’s rights. Ciavarella was convicted in 2011 of racketeering and other charges, sentenced to 28 years in prison; of the 39 charges against him, Ciavarella was guilty for 12.
Jacobs caring older brother has gone to social services multiple times, but they had alway said they couldn’t help. Jacob has been charged as a youth, 1st degree murder x2 and will be in Rehabilitative Custody for 4 years. In Rehabilitative Custody it will allow him to work with doctors, help him learn how to solve problems in better/ good ways. It will help him
September 29, 2017 Officer Beckman, Supervisor Manley County Probation Department 555 Chestnut Lane Bouldercreek, GA 28394 Dear Officer Beckman: When it comes to life outcomes for any given person, there are unlimited people, circumstances, and personal choices that can affect a person and the life that they may lead for themselves. When trying to understand the details that produce any final result, the truth of the matter can be messy, complicated, and sometimes unclear. In most cases, there is not any one thing that caused a downward spiral or an upward shot, but rather a sequence of events, a plethora of circumstances, and a wide variety of people.
Prosecuted as an adult to 45 years in prison for a second-degree murder, Miguel Quezada is hoping to get out soon on parole after serving 19 years in prison. He was 16 years old when he dropped out of high school and started to get involved with the wrong crowd. Quezada being influenced by these people, thought that it would be a wise idea to go and fight with their rival enemies. One day Quezada shot a rival gang member in the chest that causes him to go to jail. After being sentenced to prison, he started to go to school in the jail.
157). The guards allowed other inmates to gang rape him, and he performed sexual favors on the strongest inmate, protecting himself from violence. During this time, he learned about “human behavior and the criminal underworld” and knew that he never wanted to return (Rosewood, 2015, p. 12). He took what he learned from prison and applied it to his criminal activities throughout his life, and once he reached eighteen, the facility reluctantly released him, arguably a significant downfall to the juvenile detention system. His release report stated: “[he was] anti-social and there is something in his past development that is preyed upon his mind” and “we consider him dangerous and also believe that he has the homicidal tendencies peculiar to a paranoid type” (Rosewood, 2015, p.
The “Three Strikes Law” has been highly controversial since it was introduced by our government in the early and into the mid 1990’s. Specifically the “Three Strikes Law” looks to target persistent and prior offenders to impose harsher sentences. Since such a small percentage of the population commits such a large percent of crime, the “Three Strikes Law” was designed to incapacitate the repeat offenders. The mandated and elongated prison sentences given out by the judges for repeat offenders have been criticized and enclose both benefits and detriments. Throughout this paper I will look to delve deeper into the “Three Strikes Law” to determine the constitutionality of the statute while looking at specific case examples to support my theory
The federal government’s “War on Crime” by the Johnson administration in the 60s made way for tougher law enforcement and surveillance (Hinton, 2015). However, with this came the separation of children and adults in the criminal justice system; then the separation of juvenile delinquents from status offenders. As mentioned, status offenders are different from juvenile delinquents because they had broken rules which apply to only children. Meanwhile, juvenile delinquents are youths under the age of 18, who committed offenses that would be punishable to adults as well. By the late 1960s, there became a growing concern that juveniles involved in the court-based status-offense system, were not getting their best interests met (Shubik & Kendall, 2007).
Today, courts ruled life without parole for non-homicide crime is unconstitutional. Some states allow experimenting with alternate sentencing options such as a “blended adult” portion of their sentence until they turn 21. Therefore the judge can keep track of the progress that the child had made and make as needed changes to the sentencing. (Sentenced Young) The juvenile court system will forever need adjustments as year’s progress and generation cohorts and crime rates change.
Finally, after 18 years they were released, but were strongly recommended to take the Alford Plea, in which the defendants have to admit to the crime to get out of prison. The state of Arkansas offered the men the Alford Plea, so they could not sue the state when they got out of prison. In my opinion, that is not
is that Enough?"). Many people who know Greg in prison have said that he have improved and that he might be an example for other juvenile. Greg’s casework manager, Dennis Hood, said that "He’s just a great worker," and that he's "enthusiastic, solves problems on his own, never complains. I have no doubt he’ll succeed in whatever he puts his mind to when he’s released." (Page 5, "Greg Ousley is Sorry for Killing His Parents.
The concept of injustice has always been something that has infuriated me, especially when experienced by juveniles. One particular example is portrayed in a documentary called When Kids Get Life, which I watched during an undergraduate juvenile delinquency course. This documentary, and the injustice it portrays, ignited my passion to stand up for unjust policies and laws against juveniles. In When Kids Get Life, produced by PBS, FRONTLINE producer Ofra Bikel traveled to Colorado in 2007 to document a story about five individuals who were sentenced to life without parole as juveniles.
Juvenile Justice Essay Do you feel safe around juveniles? Today it’s hard to answer that question because of the 2014 statistical numbers. According to statisticalbrain.com credibility over 60,000 Juveniles have committed a violent crime and receive a slap on the wrist after alternating a victims life forever. Here are three argumentation why Juveniles should be convicted as adults for violent crime, because they plan their crimes, constantly murder others voluntarily, assault and kill innocent people without wisdom.
In Northern Ireland the law of juveniles is different from Ireland and England. Following the 1998 the Good Friday Agreement, an independent review of the criminal justice system was created. This Criminal Justice Review changed the way juveniles were looked at. It created a shift towards the increased use of restorative justice, juveniles within the youth justice system, and also created the incorporation of human rights standards within legislation. After the Criminal Justice Review, more changes were required, these came in the form of the Justice Act (NI) 2002 and 2004.
Can you imagine waking up behind closed walls and bars? Waking up to see your inmate who is a 45-year-old bank robber and you are a 14-year-old minor who made a big mistake. This is why minors who have committed crimes should not be treated the same as adults. Some reasons are because the consequences given to minors in adult court would impact a minor’s life in a negative way. If a minor is tried through a juvenile court, they have a greater chance of rehabilitation.