Juvies

Danica

Member
Feb 5, 2006
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I watched an HBO documentary the other night called “Juvies”. It showed a group of young offenders who were being tried as adults for the crimes they committed.

One of the young boys was driving a car when his friend pulled out a gun and attempted to shoot someone, but missed. He now faces life in prison.

Some of these kids that committed murder, or manslaughter are getting not as stiff sentences 10 years, 12 years, etc.

Apparently there is a new law that will now give kids larger sentences. The idea is that they may be gang-related or may go on to do more crime in the future.

Do you believe that children should be tried as adults? And do you agree with them getting stiffer sentences if they are involved in a crime?

I personally think it should be kept on a case by case basis. Obviously it’s not fair if that young boy has to stay in prison his entire life, while kids who do horrible crimes get less time.
 
I didn't see the show, but I definitely agree with you! If the child/juvenile didn't actually commit the crime, they should be given at least one chance, either by placing them in heavy family counseling or placing them in a positive environment where they can learn to take responsibility for their actions and see the consequences. There is way too many jails in this country, not to mention overcrowding! Things need to change, not every person that goes to jail, go in as harden criminals, especially the very young ones.....but, they'll BE harden when they come out someday and into our communities.
 
it's a documented fact that prison time creates lifetime criminals because prison reinfornces the identity, which becomes the individuals master status, and follows them for the rest of their life. their romantic partners are limited, they can't get good jobs, being a criminal defines their life. military service or military school is a MUCH more reliable way of turning young criminals in to contributive members of society (it assigns them a master status with positive connotations), and i fully believe that juvenile offenders under the age of 16 should go in to that system first. if they reoffend, prison might be more appropriate.
 
amanda said:
it's a documented fact that prison time creates lifetime criminals because prison reinfornces the identity, which becomes the individuals master status, and follows them for the rest of their life. their romantic partners are limited, they can't get good jobs, being a criminal defines their life. military service or military school is a MUCH more reliable way of turning young criminals in to contributive members of society (it assigns them a master status with positive connotations), and i fully believe that juvenile offenders under the age of 16 should go in to that system first. if they reoffend, prison might be more appropriate.

Far more detailed version of what I would want to say !! :lol:

If the goal of imprisonment is partially besides deterring crime, to rehabilitate and hopefully reintegrate people back into the system, you may be shooting yourself in the foot by calling for longer sentences, especially for younger offenders since they are more impressionable.
 
Children are not accessories, they are a full time job. If you let them run wild when they are young, and don't set rules reinforcing appropriate behavior, this is the kind of behavior that can result. Perhaps if we start holding the parents liable as well as their children we can stop some of this crime before it starts.
 
The father of the child who was driving the car...who got life, beat him his entire life. I believe the dad actually went to jail for it for awhile. I was surprised he was admitting it on film, and the mother was sitting beside him justifying it, saying they come from a different culture. The dad's dad beat him also. Its sad, and must be so hard to break away from that. But it doesn't matter now, the cycle has stopped with life inprisonment.
 
Danica said:
One of the young boys was driving a car when his friend pulled out a gun and attempted to shoot someone, but missed. He now faces life in prison.

That's the way it is...if you are involved in a crime being committed, you get the same punishment as the person who pulled the trigger. I don't have any problem with that.

Do the crime, do the time. If a child kills or maims someone, yes they should be tried as an adult.
 
ayla said:
Far more detailed version of what I would want to say !! :lol:

If the goal of imprisonment is partially besides deterring crime, to rehabilitate and hopefully reintegrate people back into the system, you may be shooting yourself in the foot by calling for longer sentences, especially for younger offenders since they are more impressionable.

I agree, people often forget that the goal of prison is not only to punish but also to rehabilitate. The problem is that prison has no good effect on young people. I agree that they should be different kind of centers for young people. IMO, it is suicide for a society in general to put a 12 or 13 year old in prison (what's the next step: 8 or 9 years old?). It does not solve any problem. But it isn't good either to let them go. An intermediate solution would be more reasonable. I also agree that parents should be held responsible at some level.
 
^^^ I'm sorry but I don't pay taxes so some 12 year old killer gets "rehabilitated" for his crimes...I pay taxes so that kid gets put away for the rest of his LIFE. What about the victim and the victim's family? Where is their satisfaction that justice has been served?

It pisses me off that as a society no one takes responsibilities for their actions anymore. It's always someone else's fault. We have to stop passing the buck. Not every criminal can be rehabilitated...
 
esiders said:
^^^ I'm sorry but I don't pay taxes so some 12 year old killer gets "rehabilitated" for his crimes...I pay taxes so that kid gets put away for the rest of his LIFE. What about the victim and the victim's family? Where is their satisfaction that justice has been served?

It pisses me off that as a society no one takes responsibilities for their actions anymore. It's always someone else's fault. We have to stop passing the buck. Not every criminal can be rehabilitated...

I agree that not all criminal can be rehabilitated but I think for a 12 or 13 years old it is worth trying. His life is not over yet.

For the rehabilitation part, as a lawyer, I was just stating the philosophy of prison originally and why it was created and how it is viewed in all ********ic countries, it was not a personal opinion. When you learn criminal law, that the first thing you are taught.

I do understand the victims' point of view and I am often very pissed when I see a criminal going out of prison too soon. A child is different IMO. I was just talking on a larger level, what is good or not for society: the utltimate goal is to have less violence and not to put everybody in prison. However, I totally understand your point of view.
 
Personally I think it has to do with what they see daily, abusive families, video games, gangs etc. Now a days I also think that the kids rule the parents which isn't good. I mean I work at the mall pt and I see 10 - 12 yr olds come in and spend like $200 and they talk to their friend's like yeah my parents have to give me this much...another girl who was 15 came in with a credit card and my manager asked just out of curiosity how she got her credit card, her respone oh my parents gave it to me when I started private school..I don't know about you guys but when I was 15 i didn't have credit cards, cell phones, expensive bags, or brand name clothes. Unless rules r set and boundaries these kids r running wild and they think they can do anything they want and get away with it
 
esiders said:
^^^ I'm sorry but I don't pay taxes so some 12 year old killer gets "rehabilitated" for his crimes...I pay taxes so that kid gets put away for the rest of his LIFE. What about the victim and the victim's family? Where is their satisfaction that justice has been served?

It pisses me off that as a society no one takes responsibilities for their actions anymore. It's always someone else's fault. We have to stop passing the buck. Not every criminal can be rehabilitated...

Not every one can, but that doesn't mean that we should condem them all, since there are a number that can. And it's okay, I'll gladly pay those taxes. :smile:
 
there was a case years ago about a 6 year old elementary student, a female, who brought a gun to school ( i think it was from her father's collection) and shot a fellow student, a male. when asked why she did it she said it was because she got tired of him teasing her about her skin color. she's afro-american and the boy was white. should she be tried as an adult? she knew what she was doing. obviously it was pre-meditated. she was being harrassed and wanted revenge. i don't know. some say there's no excuse to take one's life, so should this little girl's life be wasted away in a jail cell for being teased?