So how would you handle 15 year old murderers? Let them back on the street? Probation?
No...
There should be an abolishment of sentencing teenagers as adults. It's ridiculous, I understand it never will happen, but it 'should'...
If that isn't an even an option to sentence kids as adults, there would be a true juvenile punishment code. I don't think any teenager deserves more than 20 years for any crime whatsoever, I don't care what they've done. I've seen all the crimes they can do, it doesn't matter. I hate that we throw these guys away, if all the "experts" can acknowledge that a child's brain isn't even fully developed then why is it okay to criminalize them as if it is?
So I'm in favore of sentencing them under strict juvenile punishments, 20-year maxes, and varying lengths of parole after, that fit the crime. Alot of these crimes they don't need prison for, and juvenile detention centers should be extended to house guys until maybe 20 years old. Functionally ain't no difference between a 17 and 18 year old anyway so I've always disliked this arbitrary "18 is an adult" marker, but I've seen guys as young as 13 charged as an adult so even that 18 line is untruthful, they not going by that shyt anyway...
I never went to a juvenile center but from my understanding they aren't flush with resources anyway, I do think there's basic "school" but you can do that in many jails and prisons, it ain't special. Juvenile housing for guys charged and convicted as juveniles, up to age 20, should have sophisticated counseling and education services, moreso than adult jails and prisons. Not the bare minimum programs, emotionally and societally we're framing them as adult or career criminals anyway jailing them with substandard programs...
This imaginary system I'm proposing would let guys know that once you've completed whatever sentence you have, any further crimes you'd be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. But while in an honest and transparent juvenile justice system, there'd be way more effort to helping steer these kids towards a different path...
hes already committed murder and a attempted murder during a carjacking, the reality is hes way to far gone at this point. he has serious impluse issues
This is a fact, those impulse issues aren't going to regress by charging, convicting, and housing him as an adult. But I do know a 15-year old with impulse issues is more prone to mature out of them than a 30-year old with impulse issue because the 15-year old is still evolving, developmentally. They are still evolving physically. They are still evolving mentally and emotionally...
I don't know why this is always omitted when we discuss juvenile crime...
Ain't no gotdamn 15-year old "too far gone". Truth, a parent(s) may not have the skills or resources to rear a reeling 15-year old. The states and certainly the federal government does but they don't deploy them to 15-year olds like him. So again everybody with influence to help has this "he's too far gone" and we throw these guys away and expect them to rehabilitate themselves. Grown ass men rarely rehabilitate themselves, why the fukk do we think kids should be able to?
Interesting perspective. Do you mind sharing your story?
I was charged as an adult at 16 and 17, sent to prison at 17. I had one hearing to decide if I would be charged as a juvenile and it was an emphatic no because "the nature of my crimes". Hearing lasted all of 5 minutes. And the crimes I went up for were stolen cars and burglaries...
I've told this before, I was on a careening path regardless so I'm not positive if "I" would have benefitted from a full and complete juvenile system, because of where I was at the time, but thay doesnt mean others wouldnt have. The point is that option was taken off the table completely. It shouldn't be optional. I was 16 and 17. I was literally a minor, a child...
Even if I'd been charged and convicted as a juvenile the "juvenile justice system" is nowhere near as philanthropic as it could be...
I got to meet many kids along the way who were teenage criminals, and we were housed with adults. In county, and in prison. So we were influenced by older criminals. Guys who were criminalized as adults as young as 13 I knew personally, living with them day after day. No teenage criminal is "too far gone" until the criminalization process of these kids is allowed to fully anchor itself and muhfukkas can have their gotcha, I told you so moment...
You were lucky. I was lucky.
This current generation is gonna need to be luckier than ever. The patience is long worn thin across the board.
That's the problem though, bro. The patience was fleeting in the first place. It's never been about truly rehabilitating teenage criminals...