The harshness of punishment in such cases appears to be disproportional to the crime. Indeed, Macallair states that the system was originally implemented to target the "worst of the worst." This does not appear to be the case in reality.
A further problem specific to Florida entails the disproportionate representation of race in cases transferred to the adult court system. According to Macallair's report, African-American youths are 2.3 times more likely than their white counterparts to be transferred to the adult court system.
A consequence of the disproportionate manner of punishment and racial representation, is the prison system and its effect on juvenile offenders. According to several reports, including those of Macallair (2000), Schiraldi, and Griffin, the danger that young people face in adult prisons is more extreme than that faced by normal adults. The vulnerability of a young person often makes him or her the victim of violence in adult prisons. The effect of this in turn is, ironically, not rehabilitation, but an increased tendency towards violence and further crime. Indeed, this affects not only those actually convicted, but also the youths awaiting trial for crimes from which they may be exonerated.
The current system is such that many different kinds of crimes and youths are tried and convicted through the same system. More youths are transferred to adult court systems than should be, and authorities in whose care these youths are placed are not sufficiently schooled in education to adequately help rehabilitating these youth. Indeed, available statistics show that this system is in fact hopeless in such a mission. While it has little effect in terms of deterring other youth from committing similar crimes, the recidivism rate of current youthful criminals...
In principle, the United States should follow international treaties only if it is a signatory to that specific treaty. However, the Supreme Court of the United States cannot ignore international standards completely either. There are several reasons for this. The world is becoming more and more globalized. Large numbers of immigrants have flocked to the United States in the last several decades and likewise American military and the FBI increasingly
Juvenile Justice Compare The author of this report has been asked to do a compare and contrast of the juvenile justice system of three different states. While all states have a juvenile justice framework, each state does things at least a little differently and thus these differences and outliers should be explored and explained. The three states that will be compared and contrasted are New York, California and Georgia. While these
Treating Juvenile Delinquency Juvenile Justice Delinquency treatment program: Peer mentoring program for African-American male juveniles A brief description of your community African-American males are disproportionately represented in the incarcerated juvenile population, relative to their percentage of the general population. The reasons for this have been hotly debated amongst criminal justice professionals and laypersons. Possible reasons include racism within the police and justice systems, the ways laws are written, and also a lack of vocational opportunities.
In July, 2001, a 14-year-old boy died following the brutal treatment he was subjected to at the Fountain Hills facility in Arizona. The staff had forced him to "stand in the Arizona sun" in 100-degree temperatures, wearing black sweat pants, according to an article in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing (Bush, 2001). When he - or any of the other inmates - asked for water or
According to Lawlor, Connecticut has "developed a flexible approach geared toward immediate intervention and proven results" (Lawlor). He explains that not every teenaged car thief with a record of several arrests should be sent to prison, just as not every 10-year-old first time truant needs to be simply sent home to his parents (Lawlor). The state of Connecticut has sole responsibility for all probation, adult and juvenile, and all graduated
Juvenile Delincency in Urban Areas Juvenile delinquency is a contemporary term for an old problem. One of the oldest relevant studies of the phenomenon was 'social disorganization' theory, which was developed by the Chicago school of sociology in the 1920's. This theory posits that there exist areas in a city in which traditional institutions have little or no control. This was studied in Chicago using a system of 'Concentric Zones' which
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