On 2015-12-122015-12-12 By jiahewu留下评论

Juvenile Justice

In recent years, with the rapid grow of the world, the temptation is everywhere, like money and power. This situation makes lots of adults to commit crimes because they cannot resist the temptation, still less a lot of young people do not have ability to resist the temptation. Juvenile delinquency, one of the most controversial issues throughout the world, has attracted a lot of attention from both the social scientists and the general public. From the OJJDP, which is office of juvenile justice and delinquency prevention, it shows the statistic that tells lots of young people committed crimes between 1980 and 2012. This statistic shows how the juvenile delinquency serious is. Right now, whether the category is murder or robbery, mugging or rape, the story is the same: juvenile crime is on the rise. In addition, many families do not have enough time to take care about their children in order for their jobs. The environment factor and the human factor are the main reason to make the juvenile to commit the crimes. Therefore, the juvenile justice system is established in most countries of the world and become one of the main legal systems in these countries. The juvenile justice system is not only a punishment system for the young people, but also is is a chance to help youth. According to the survey by The PEW Charitable Trust, for juvenile justice, people have different opinions, and these opinions can be divide into two parties (PEW, 2014).

People’s opinions

Most of people support the juvenile justice system because they think the system is necessary. In their opinion, the ages of the young people are young that between 12 to 21 years old. The young people do not have mature thought to make right decides, so they always easier to make mistake than adults. Because the value and thought of young people still in the development stage, people think juvenile criminals should have chances to turn over a new life and they have capacity to change. The teens will be affected easily by human factors and environmental factors. They will learn what they see and listen from the people and environments around them. Additionally, place juvenile criminals in adult prisons that is not a good way to let the young people be better. In the article, “Juveniles Should Not Be Placed in Adult Prison,” the author points out the juvenile criminals will at a great risk of physical and sexual assault. And many juvenile criminals become badder than before. Separating the youth from the adults that is very necessary because it is a way to protect the youth (American’s Prisons, 2010). The juvenile justice system is a good way to help the juvenile criminals reshape their views and thoughts. The juvenile justice system will have prison education program to teach them right attitude and views that help them move to a right direction.

However, other people do not agree this point. They think the juvenile criminals should receive the same sentences as adults. The law should be fair, and everyone should take responsibility for what they do. Therefore, some juvenile criminals deserve serious sentences. And the young people should not use their ages to be an excuse. So, these people think the juvenile justice system is not necessary and the government do not need to separate the youth criminals form the adults. In the article, “Some juvenile killers deserve adult justice,” the author Peter A. Weir shows some crimes that the juvenile criminals are too serious. No matter how old the young people are, they should receive the same sentences and punishments as adults (Peter A. Weir, 2013). This article gives some good reasons to explain why some people do not want to give a chance to the juvenile criminals.

Conclusion

To sum up, the juvenile justice system is a controversial issue. People have different opinions about this issue because this issue is about how to judge juvenile criminals. Teenage, which is a stage of development in the physiology and psychology, will be influence easily by human factor and environmental factor. Some people think we should treat young people different from adults. We should give a chance to them to turn over a new life. Other people think we do not need the juvenile justice system because they deserve the same sentences and punishment as the adults. Each person is holding a piece of the truth, so we cannot say anyone is wrong or right. In my opinion, the juvenile justice is very necessary. The juvenile justice is not only important for the society, but also it is what the juvenile criminals need the most. The juvenile criminals are still very young, so we need to help them get on the right track. Not everyone wants to close to the criminals, so how to help the criminals be better and make the society be safer. The juvenile justice is one of few ways can help the juvenile criminals. In addition, everyone makes mistakes, but the real test is how you react to that. The juvenile criminals made some serious crimes, but they get the punishment and take the responsibility for what they did by the juvenile justice. They go to prisons to pay debt for the crimes they committed against society, but when their terms end, society rarely gives them a paid-in-full receipt. They still get the punishment from the society after they are released. However, lots of them do not think the life of prisons and the juvenile justice system are not helpful. They learned lots of things from the juvenile prisons because the prisons involve prison education programs. They know what they should do and what they really want to do. The juvenile prisons help them get the right direction. That is why lots of juvenile criminals do not think the juvenile justice system is not necessary though they will hard to find their positions in the society after release. Therefore, why not give a chance to the young people to be better. This is my opinion, what about you?

Citation:

Weir, P. A. (2013, November 29). Some juvenile killers deserve adult justice. The Denver Post. Retrieved from http://www.denverpost.com/ci_24557362/some-juvenile-killers-deserve-adult-justice

“Juveniles Should Not Be Placed in Adult Prisons.” Jailing Juveniles: The Dangers of Incarcerating Youth In Adult Jails in America. Campaign for Youth Justice, 2007. Rpt. in America’s Prisons. Ed. Noah Berlatsky. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11 Dec. 2015. Retrieved from http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010108423&source=Bookmark&u=sfsu_main&jsid=bc282966e2e8fa26ab6a45b4a1d74b9a

Public Opinion on Juvenile Justice in America. (2014, December 11). Retrieved from http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2014/12/public-opinion-on-juvenile-justice-in-america

OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. (2014, December 9). Juvenile Arrest Rate Trends. Retrieved from http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/crime/JAR_Display.asp?ID=qa05200

Conclusion

On 2015-11-21 By jiahewu留下评论

Juvenile Justice: Conclusion

Introduction & My position

On 2015-11-142015-11-14 By jiahewu留下评论

Juvenile Justice

Juvenile delinquency, one of the most controversial issues throughout the world, has attracted a lot of attention from both the social scientists and the general public. Right now, whether the category is murder or robbery, mugging or rape, the story is the same: juvenile crime is on the rise. Therefore, the juvenile justice system is established in most countries of the world and become one of the main legal systems in these countries. The juvenile justice system is not only a punishment system for the young people, but also is is a chance to help youth. For juvenile justice, people have different opinions, and these opinions can be divide into two parties.

However, other people do not agree this point. They think the juvenile criminals should receive the same sentences as adults. The law should be fair, and everyone should take responsibility for what they do. Therefore, some juvenile criminals deserve serious sentences. And the young people should not use their ages to be an excuse. So, these people think the juvenile justice system is not necessary and the government do not need to separate the youth criminals form the adults. In the next blog posts, I will make the explanation of different opinions be more specific. I will not only introduce the different opinions, but also I will give some stories and more sources to make the posts to be storytelling and diversity.

In my opinion, the juvenile justice system is necessary to help youth criminals turn over a new life. Although they may receive lighter sentences than the adults, they also take the responsibility for what they did in their ages. These kids should have a chance to change and prove they can be better. Therefore, I will give some examples and reasons to show how the juvenile justice system help these kids be better.

Different Views

On 2015-11-07 By jiahewu留下评论

Juvenile justice system:

Pro: Juvenile justice system is necessary

There has been a significant increase in juvenile crime in recent years. So, the juvenile justice system is necessary to the juvenile criminals and the society. The reason is that the juvenile justice is a chance for the juvenile criminals to turn over a new life, and the juvenile justice will reduce crimes. In the article, “Tough Juvenile Justice Policies Reduce Crime by Holding Juveniles Accountable,” the author James Backstrom shows the juvenile justice system is useful to decrease youth violence and other crimes because the juvenile justice policies are tough enough. The juvenile justice polices do not need to be more strict (2012). This source shows why the juvenile justice system is necessary. In addition, lots of people think we should give a chance to the juvenile offenders because people think the young people have the potential to change. Liane Gay Rozzell also points out this idea in the article,“Alternatives to the Punishment-Oriented Juvenile Justice Model Are Necessary.” (2012) And the young people do not have mature thoughts, so they are easier affected than the adults by human factors and environment factor. Another reason why the juvenile justice system is necessary is most of the juvenile justice systems involve prison education programs to help the young people to be better. One of the functions of the juvenile justice system is to separate the juvenile criminals from the adults. In the article, “Juvenile Should Not Be Placed in Adult Prisons,” the author shows youth at risk in adult jails. Lots of young people are easier to have physical and mental problems because the risk of physical and sexual assault (2010). Therefore, the juvenile justice is necessary.

Con: Juvenile justice system is not necessary

The reason why some people think the juvenile justice system is not necessary is some juvenile criminals deserve the same sentences as adults. In the article, “More Teenage Criminals Should Be Tried as adults,” the author LindaCollier points out the increase of the juvenile delinquency in recent years. Some teenage criminals think their ages can be an excuse to avoid the heavy sentences, and the juvenile justice system can be a good tool to help them receive the lighter sentences than adults (2004). And people also think everyone should take the responsibility for what they did. No matter what ages they are, they have to receive the sentences. James Backstrom shows a point in his article, “The Criminal Justice System Should Treat Some Juveniles as Adults.” Some young people committed the serious crimes, like murder. They should receive the same sentences as adults that will show the justice system is fair. The serious sentences are not only the punishment for the young people, but also these sentences are a good tool to prevent the crimes. In another article, “Harsh Punishment Is the Best Way to Prevent Juvenile Crime,” the author Kenneth Sukhia shows the harsh punishment is the best way to reduce and prevent juvenile crime (2005). The harsh punishment can be a caution to the young people. The young people will not try to commit the crimes because the harsh punishment. These reasons are why some people think juvenile justice is not necessary.

Citation:

1.Rozzell, Liane Gay. “Alternatives to the Punishment-Oriented Juvenile Justice Model Are Necessary.”Juvenile Crime. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints.Rpt. from “These Are Our Children: New Models Are Transforming Juvenile Justice.” Sojourners Magazine 38 (June 2009): 7. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 1 Nov. 2015. Retrieved from: http://0-ic.galegroup.com.opac.sfsu.edu/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&u=sfsu_main&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010149420

2.”Juveniles Should Not Be Placed in Adult Prisons.” Jailing Juveniles: The Dangers of Incarcerating Youth In Adult Jails in America. Campaign for Youth Justice, 2007. Rpt. in America’s Prisons. Ed. Noah Berlatsky. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 1 Nov. 2015. Retrieved from:

http://0-ic.galegroup.com.opac.sfsu.edu/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&u=sfsu_main&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010108423

3.Backstrom, James C. “Tough Juvenile Justice Policies Reduce Crime by Holding Juveniles Accountable.”Juvenile Crime. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints.Rpt. from “America’s Juvenile Justice System Is Not Broken.” http://www.co.dakota.mn.us. 2007. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 1 Nov. 2015. Retrieved from:

4.Collier, Linda J. “More Teenage Criminals Should Be Tried as Adults.” Teens at Risk. Ed. Auriana Ojeda. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2004. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from “Adult Crime, Adult Time: Outdated Juvenile Laws Thwart Justice.” Washington Post 29 Mar. 1998: C01. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 1 Nov. 2015. Retrieved from:

5.Sukhia, Kenneth W. “Harsh Punishment Is the Best Way to Prevent Juvenile Crime.” Juvenile Crime. Ed. Andrea C. Nakaya. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from “testimony before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Crime, Committee on the Judiciary.” 1999. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 1 Nov. 2015. Retrieved from:

6.Backstrom, James C. “The Criminal Justice System Should Treat Some Juveniles as Adults.” Juvenile Crime. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from “Adult Prosecution Is Warranted in Certain Cases.” http://www.co.dakota.mn.us. 2008. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 1 Nov. 2015. Retrieved from:

Identify an issue

On 2015-10-312015-10-31 By jiahewu留下评论

Should young people receive lighter sentences than adults when they commit crimes?

For juvenile justice system, juvenile criminals should receive what level of sentences that is an important debatable issue. The reason why this question is important is it will decide the juvenile justice is necessary, or not. If young people receive the same sentences as adults, the juvenile justice system will not be necessary any more. And the existential significance of the juvenile justice system is separate young criminals from adults, and gives a chance to them turn over a new life. People have different needs, different perspectives, and thus different means for understanding and describing their experiences.

Therefore, the opinion of this question is separated to juvenile criminals should receive the same sentences as adults, and juveniles should be different from adults. In addition, the reason why the readers should care about this issue is they need to know what different between juveniles and adults. The readers can find the answer from these two opinions. In my previous post, I also mentioned these two opinions about the juvenile justice system.

Young people should be the same as adults

Many people think teens should be tried the same way as adults because most teens did not belong in the juvenile system. Some teen criminals committed to serious crimes, like rape, murder and etc. Although they are young, they still should take the same responsibility as adults. The juvenile criminals deserve the heavy sentences when they committed serious crimes. And the age of some juvenile criminals is between 15 and 18, they have basic concept about what the right and the wrong is as adults.

Juvenile criminals and adult criminals should be treat differently

Many people think children who involved in criminal activities can be guided to the normal life easily than the adult criminals. No matter what crimes are, young people deserve different treatments because they are different from adults. Some juvenile criminals committed the crimes because their personal experiences or background. Young people are affected easily by the environment factor and human factor, because they do not have mature thoughts. Therefore, young people always make some mistake.

Overall, young people should receive what level of sentences that is an important issue. The readers can find the answer they like from these two different opinions. So, what do you think? Do you think young people should receive lighter sentences?

Interacting with Multiple Perspectives

On 2015-10-17 By jiahewu留下评论

From my last posts, I only focused on how juvenile justice influences youth criminals and their families, and what the different between the juvenile criminals and adult criminals. I find some useful information I missed from the last posts through Opposing Viewpoints Database. Therefore, I will give two sources to explain why we need a good juvenile justice system and why we need to separate young people from adult prisons.

Racism problem:

In the article, “The Juvenile Justice System Should Address Racial Inequalities,” the author, Jeff Amour and SarahHammond, state the racial problem is a very important issue in the juvenile justice system. (2012) The research shows more African American juveniles are arrested than white people because of drug, property and other violent crimes by the report of OJJDP, which is the Office of Juvenile Justices and Delinquency Prevention. “Analysis by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency indicates that three out of four of the 4,100 new admissions to adult prisons were minority youth.” (2012) From this quote, I think the reason why most of the prisoners were minority youth is they are not recognized by the society. Their skin tone, accents or other racial traits make them feel discriminated, so they committed the crimes. Everyone should care about the racial problem because that will influence how the juvenile justice changes the youth to better. The racial problem is not only is important to the society, but also it is important to the juvenile justice. If we can figure out this problem, the rate of the youth criminal will be decreased. Therefore, we should pay more attention to racism because we cannot judge anyone only by the race.

The situation of young people in adult jails:

The last important issue I missed is what situations the youth offenders will meet if they come to the adult prisons. And I also need to add more details about why we need a good juvenile justice system. In the article, “Alternatives to the Punishment-Oriented Juvenile Justice Model Are Necessary,” the author Liane Gay Rozzell shows the youth offenders come to the adult prisons with higher risk for assault, abuse and suicide. The young people cannot get the services they need, and they are more violent in the adult prison than the juvenile system. (2012) Therefore, separating the juvenile criminals from the adult prisoners is necessary. In addition, the only thing these youth can learn is how to be more criminal and violent. The reason is these youth need to fight back the adults if they do not want to be bullied in the adult prisons. Many people think the juveniles should receive the same sentences as the adults, and put them together in the adult prisons. That is the most appropriate punishment the people think. The function of prison is for self-reflection, not just for punishment. Therefore, people should understand why we need to separate these juveniles from the adults.

Overall, the racism and the age problem are important factors to influence the juvenile justice. These factors will affect how juvenile prisoners become better, and how they can receive a just and fair sentence. And the correlation between race and age in the prisons is that race and age are the important reasons to separate to different groups. The race and age will decide what the situations the juvenile criminals will meet in the prisons. So, if we can figure out the race and age problems, the juvenile justice can be better. And a good juvenile justice can help more juveniles change their lives better.

APA:

Armour, Jeff, and Sarah Hammond. “The Juvenile Justice System Should Address Racial Inequalities.”Juvenile Crime. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from “Minority Youth in the Juvenile Justice System: Disproportionate Minority Contact.” www.ncsl.org. National Conference of State Legislatures, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 12 Oct. 2015. Retrieved from: http://0-ic.galegroup.com.opac.sfsu.edu/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&u=sfsu_main&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010149418

Rozzell, Liane Gay. “Alternatives to the Punishment-Oriented Juvenile Justice Model Are Necessary.”Juvenile Crime. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from “These Are Our Children: New Models Are Transforming Juvenile Justice.” Sojourners Magazine 38 (June 2009): 7. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 12 Oct. 2015. Retrieved from: http://0-ic.galegroup.com.opac.sfsu.edu/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&u=sfsu_main&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010149420

The reading list

On 2015-10-10 By jiahewu留下评论

New Polling on Public Views on Juvenile Justice Issues. (2011, November). Right on Crime. Retrieved from http://rightoncrime.com/2011/11/new-polling-on-public-views-on-juvenile-justice-issues/

In the article, “New Polling on Public Views on Juvenile Justice Issues,” this website Right on Crime shows the survey of 1,000 adults’ opinions about the juvenile justice. Most of people think the juveniles have the potential to change for better, so the government should more focus on how to help the juveniles rehabilitate than punishment through the juvenile justice. (2011, November)

Weir, Peter A.. Some juvenile killers deserve adult justice. (2013, November). The Denver Post. Retrieved from http://www.denverpost.com/ci_24557362/some-juvenile-killers-deserve-adult-justice

In the article, “Some juvenile killers deserve adult justice,” the author Peter A. Weir points out some reasons why youth criminals should receive the same sentences as adults. The first reason is some young people committed so serious crimes, so they deserve punishment. The second reason is some young people use their ages and they are young to an excuse to explain why they committed crimes. (2013, November)

Teen Crime Risk Factors. (2014). ACS Distance Education. Retrieved from http://www.acs.edu.au/info/psychology/child-development/crime-risk.aspx

Wickliffe, Joseph A.. Why Juveniles Commit Crimes. (2000, February). Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. Retrieved from http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2000/2/00.02.07.x.html

The other sources from ACS Distance Education (2014) and Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute (2000, February), which is an educational partnership between Yale University and the New Haven Public Schools, list some reasons and factors to explain why the juveniles commit crimes. And family factor and human factor are the most important reasons to influence juveniles’ minds.

Armour, Jeff, and Sarah Hammond. “The Juvenile Justice System Should Address Racial Inequalities.”Juvenile Crime. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from “Minority Youth in the Juvenile Justice System: Disproportionate Minority Contact.” http://www.ncsl.org. National Conference of State Legislatures, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 9 Oct. 2015. Retrieved from http://0-ic.galegroup.com.opac.sfsu.edu/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&u=sfsu_main&currPage=&disableH

This source shows the racism problem in the juvenile jails, and the racism problem will make young people commit crimes. That can help me prove the reasons why we need to have a good juvenile justice system. In addition, this source also points out the federal solutions of racism in the juvenile justice system. By this source, the readers will understand how a good juvenile justice system is important.

Analyzing the Stakeholders

On 2015-09-28 By jiahewu留下评论

My topic is juvenile justice, and I will introduce some differences of opinions on my topic. The juvenile crimes involve fraud, rape, fight, even murder and etc. Most of juvenile criminals need to go to the jails because their crimes are very serious as adults. For juvenile justice, many people think young people should receive lighter sentences than adults. The reason is they are just children and they do not understand what they do. Their brains are not fully developed, so they cannot make good decisions or be held fully accountable for their actions. And the area of the youth is people who are under 18 years old. Not only the physiology still in the growth stage, but also the psychology is not fully developed. Therefore, the environmental factor and human factor will have a big influence on the young people. The young people always follow what they see and what they hear easily. So, where the young people live and whom they like to follow is very important to shape the young people’s personalities. There is an old saying that it is easier to fall than to rise. That means people are easier to learn bad things than good things. Some juvenile criminals committed crimes because they did not have a good environment to live. Domestic abuse and bullying are the best examples to explain why some juvenile criminals committed crimes. The reason is they want to protect themselves and be brave to fight with the bad situations. However, they just chose a wrong way to fight back their bad situations. Therefore, many people think juvenile justice can help juvenile criminals to receive a fair sentence. In addition, most of people think the juvenile justice system should focus on prevention and rehabilitation before incarceration and punishment. The juveniles have the potential to change for the better because they are still in the development stage. This opinion is used the situation and the purpose of analyzing rhetorical strategies. The writers want the readers know why some juvenile criminals committed the crimes and why the juvenile justice is important for the juveniles.

The opposite opinion is some juvenile prisoners deserve adult justice. The youth criminals should receive the same sentences as adults. Although some youth offenders are younge, they commit crimes so serious and heinous. Therefore, they should take the same level responsibility for how serious mistake they made. Additionally, the justice needs to be fair and just. Therefore, a developing adolescent brain cannot be an excuse for unspeakable behavior. From my research, there are some information shows there are one-quarter of juveniles can function in a manner very similar to adults. That means some juveniles have the same abilities as adults to make decisions. We should not make the juvenile justice become a plea for these juveniles. In the analyze rhetorical strategy, the writers used the situation and the purpose to let people know why the juvenile criminals should receive the same sentences as adults. The writers also want people to focus on what the crimes the juveniles commit, not how young the juveniles are. Some juvenile criminals deserve adult justice.

My personal opinion is juveniles should receive lighter sentences than adults, so juvenile justice is very important to help them change their lives. They can be bad, but they also have abilities to be good. There is no reason to wipe out the possibility of change. Although they all committed serious crimes, they still need chances to explain why and prove they will change.

Background of Juvenile Justice

On 2015-09-212015-10-24 By jiahewu留下评论

Topic Background:

The reason why I choose juvenile justice:

Juvenile delinquency is a serious social issue, and I know how serious it is. I have a cousin who came to juvenile prison because he participated in a group brawl. That year he was fifteen years old. When my aunt and uncle knew this news, their heart was broken. I never see their smiles any more before my cousin came out the prison. According the police investigation, my cousin was a gangster and he also was a recidivist. The officer asked my cousin why he participated in the fight. My cousin’s answer was he felt bored at home. The home was always empty, and he always was the only person at home. His father and mother were very busy, so they did not have any time to stay with my cousin. Therefore, my cousin wanted to make his parents pay attention to him. He joined in the gang, and did lots of bad things. By this case, my aunt and uncle understood what my cousin thought. Some juvenile delinquencies are happening because they do not have a good family situation, make friends with bad people and so on. Therefore, juvenile justice is very important to the youth offenders and their families.

The opinion of the government:

Not only my family thinks a good juvenile justice system is important, but also the government has some positive opinions for the juvenile justice. Begin with the next blog post, I will give some information about what juvenile justice is. In the article, “Youth in the Justice System: An Overview,” this website shows the opinion of the government about the juvenile justice system. People under the age of eighteen who are charged with a crime are usually sent to juvenile court. However, most of the states allow young people to remain under the supervision of the juvenile court until age twenty-one. The government thinks the juvenile justice system is an important tool to protect the young people who committed crimes. And the government recognizes that young people who commit crimes are different from adults because young people have a greater capacity for change. The government has established a separate court system for juveniles, and they have created a separate, youth-based service delivery system that is different than that provided to adults. And these special courts are designed to meet the special needs of children and teenagers charged with crimes. The juvenile courts are also designed to rehabilitate, counsel and educate kids, whereas adult criminal courts are more likely to focus on punishment. Most of juvenile halls have prison education programs to help the youth prisoners to learn what the wrong and right is. The prison education program is involved in the juvenile justice system.

Overall, I will introduce what are the reasons making young people commit crimes and why the juvenile justice system is important to young people and their families on my blog. Not only the basic information about the juvenile justice, but also the opinions of people is very important. So, I will let you know what the opinions of people are about the juvenile justice. I also will post some information about the life of juvenile prison. And how the prison education program helps juvenile criminals change themselves.

Citation:

“Juvenile justice.” (Jun 4, 2015) Legal Information Institute. Cornell University Law School. Retrieved from:https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/juvenile_justice

“Youth in the Justice System: An Overview.” Juvenile Law Center. Retrieved from: http://www.jlc.org/news-room/media-resources/youth-justice-system-overview

Juvenile Justice

On 2015-09-11 By jiahewu留下评论

Juvenile delinquency, one of the most controversial issues throughout the world, has attracted a lot of attention from both the social scientists and the general public. There has been a significant increase in juvenile crime in recent years. Therefore, juvenile justice is the most important measure to deal with juvenile delinquency that becomes more than more serious. In the process of building the harmonious society, if the juvenile justice system is to be reformed, the concept of juvenile justice must be clearly and correctly understood. Although many countries have been developing the juvenile justice system for a long time, the juvenile justice system still has many problems. For example, some people think juveniles should receive lighter sentences than adults when they commit some serious crimes. And juveniles always receive lighter sentences in today’s society. However, other people think juveniles should receive the same sentences as adults. This is one of conflict appear in the juvenile justice system. Therefore, we should figure out what the good juvenile justice system is, and what the advantage and disadvantage is. A good juvenile justice system can help more juveniles receive just and fair sentences.

In my opinion, young people convicted of crimes are capable of change, so they should receive lighter sentences. The physiology and psychology of young people are in rapid change and development so that they are easily influenced and tempted by people and environments. Some teens commit crimes because their family situations or make friends with bad people. For example, some young people think being gangsters is a cool thing. These young people will learn lots of bad behaviors from the gangs. Most of young people are not mature thought, so the gangs can control them easily. And the young people always think they should do something for the gangs when they become a gangster. Therefore, they will not and cannot reject any requirements of the gangs. The young people will be good guilty tools of the gangs. However, some youth offenders committed the crimes because of their family or school situations. They have experiences about physical and emotional abuse. They live day after day with the fear being violently abused and humiliated by the people they live with. Erupt in the silence or die forever in the silence. The young people would hurt the people who ever abuse them. Therefore, a good juvenile justice system can help these young people receive just and fair sentences. In the book, “True Notebooks,” the author Mark Salzman shows his teaching experience at Juvenile Hall. Salzman had a writing class at juvenile hall for teaching young people how to express what they think. When he read the kids’ writings, he knew what the kids think and why they committed the crimes. One of the students in Salzman’s class was called Francisco who was a gangster. He came to the prison because of robbery. According to Francisco’ writings, he did not have a good family. His father abused his mother, so he always helped his mother. He joined in the gangster because he thought he could be stronger.

Some people think young people should get the same sentences as adults. Everyone should take the responsibility for what he or she does. No matter who they are or what age they are. Young people should not receive the lighter sentences just because they are young. Some young people also know lots of things as adults. Another point of mine is the adult crimes are different to the juvenile crimes. Young people will be affected by external factors and human factor because of their faulty thinking. However, adults have their own thoughts and the values of individuality and independence. That means adults are not easily influence by people or other factors as young people. When adult criminals commit crimes, they know what they do. In addition, young people still in learning stage so that they still have chances to be better. Before juveniles learn how to become a good person, they should have a just and fair sentence. If the society has a perfect juvenile justice system, the juvenile criminals can turn over a new leaf and make satisfaction.