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Surprising as it may sound, almost every state in the U.S. has situations where they will allow juveniles to be tried as adults. Troubled teenagers should also have the opportunity to go through rehabilitation because of their young age. Once a teen would be placed into an adult prison system it is believed that chances for reformation are pretty slim. Rhode Island decided to try 17 year-old teenagers as adults, under the assumption that it would also save state money. The Rhode Island prisons chief chose to place these teens in the maximum security wing in order to protect them but it also costs money to ensure these teenagers’ safety in such a prison.
Of course, much research shows how the maturity levels of teenagers differ from adults. The physical brains of teens differ, which researchers believe can explain why a teenager may make an impulsive, irresponsible decision or engage in reckless behavior. But with the right treatment and care provided, a juvenile offender may be seen correcting his younger path of behavior.
The legal age of criminal responsibility has been set younger than 18 in 14 states. This may definitely lead many teen offenders who pass through the adult criminal justice system straight into prison. But research has shown how the risk of being harmed in an adult prison is actually greater for teenagers, and after being released the chances for them to re-offend are even greater.
The state of Maryland’s system may allow teens younger than 18 to be tried as adults in situations pertaining to crimes of violence, but it also has an approach where the judge can bring them back to the juvenile system. In this case, the judge himself would be the one holding the power to decide. Maryland permits a life-without-parole sentence for those young offenders who are convicted of major crimes as juveniles. A study made by the Equal Justice Institute of Alabama observed this type of sentence as a result of a 1990s crime strategy which actually placed 2,200 juveniles all over the country in prison for life.
Recently, Colorado put an end to its life-without-parole sentence for juveniles and exchanged it for a mandatory 40-year sentence with no review. Compared to life without parole, this new alternative at least gives a troubled teen some room to breathe. |
