Discuss The US Juvenile Crime Control Act was designed to ensure that youth who carry out serious crimes will be held accountable for their actions. It provided substantial amounts of federal funding to any states who could demonstrate that they had taken decisive action to hold juveniles accountable in cases where they have chosen to take adult actions. Senators were known to use the slogan “adult crime, adult time.” In some states, this has meant a push for mandatory policies holding all juvenile offenders convicted of a violent crime accountable under adult standards. Do you believe that an individual under the age of 16 should be considered an adult in a court of law? Why or why not? In what circumstances? Include your analysis of the case below. Ex. In 1997, 11 year old Nathaniel Abraham was convicted of second degree murder after he shot and killed an 18 year old male; earlier in the day he had stolen a .22 caliber rifle and attempted to shoot another neighbor, but missed. After the missed shot, he was heard yelling from his porch that he “gotta kill someone today, for real.” Nathaniel’s prior record with the police is as follows: Caught smoking marijuana at 6; caught drinking at 9; threatened to shoot boy on the school bus at 10; shot sister and aunt with bb-gun after they hid it from him at 10; and, in the week before the murder, he was questioned as a suspect in local burglaries, a home invasion, and the brutal beating of two local teens with a metal pipe.
Journal Answer each of the following using complete sentences: Some states have recently proposed that any juvenile who is proven to be a member of a gang caught committing a crime be automatically tried as an adult. Agree or disagree, and why? What impact did the In re Gault case have on juvenile justice in the US? Juvenile justice was born of the struggle between the control and humanitarian philosophies of corrections. Explain the difference between these two theories. Which do you believe is more supported by the citizens of the US in cases involving juveniles, and why? Which do you believe is more effective, and why?
Juvenile Justice: An Exploration Part I: Using any available online resources, find three current-events cases involving a juvenile offender. Cases should be from the US, and within the last two years. For each, be sure to explain their crime, how they will be tried, and any expected sentence. Part II: Using online resource, visit websites for two different types of juvenile facilities. At least one should be a Juvenile Detention Center, while another should be an “alternative” to detention (which could include boot camps, youth alternative centers, “youth homes”, etc… Examples include but are not limited to Eckerd Youth Alternatives, Tarheel ChalleNGe, etc… Then, create a two to three slide powerpoint presentation expressing your view of the effectiveness of each facility. For each, you need to explain their purpose/mission statement, method of reform, staff (and staff training, if provided), facilities description, and a general idea of their daily schedule. No credit will be given for work copied and pasted. Slides will need to be printed in 2/page handout format. Part III: Prepare a brief illustrated glossary of juvenile justiceadult system translations.