CRIME, PUNISHMENT…AND TEENS

How should teen criminals be punished? Some people say that teens are just kids. The justice system should go easy on them. Other people think teen criminals should be punished like adults—with prison. If teens can don the crime, they should do the time.
More than two million teens get arrested in the United States each year. What happens to them once they enter the justice system? Is justice served—or denied?
The following sources will provide you with different viewpoints on this issue. You will use these sources later to support your feelings on this issue.

SOURCE A (News Article)

Too Tough on Teens?

Boot Camps Under Criticism for Teen Abuse

By Shefali Patel

(1) Teen boot camps are supposed to put troubled teens back on the right track. But some camps are more out-of-control than the teens they treat.

(2) Stacy Polidoro and Tony Haynes were both troubled teens. Tony was having problems at home. His mom sent him to boot camp to lean discipline and respect. Unlike Tony, Stacy was in trouble with the law. Police gave her a choice: jail or boot camp.

(3) Both teens worked hard at boot camp. For Stacy, it was a positive experience. She got counseling and learned how to control her anger. Boot camp made a crucial difference in her life. Stacy’s parents give the camp credit for turning her life around.

(4) However, Tony got harsh physical treatment at camp. One day, camp leaders made him sit in the hot desert sun for hours. Tony became dehydrated and died. The director of the camp went to prison for just under six years.

(5) Tony’s devastating story shows that parents must carefully evaluate boot camps. The camps should help—not harm—troubled teens.

SOURCE B (Personal Narrative)

LEAVING CRIME BEHIND

As a young teen, Anthony Carroway led a street gang. Drugs and violence were part of this everyday life. Then he landed behind bars. In prison, Anthony could have become just one more life lost to crime. Instead, he decided to change his life. Here’s his story.

By Anthony Carroway

GETTING INTO TROUBLE

(1) Growing up in New York, I got involved in gang at a young age. By the time I was 13, I was a gang leader. I thought I was a big man, but in reality, older gangsters were using me. My early teen years passed in a haze of drugs and violence.

(2) Mom was one of the few people who encouraged me to get out of the gang life. My mom told me back then, “You’re going to end up in jail, or God forbid, dead.”

(3) However, in my neighborhood, being in a gang was respected. When I strolled down the street, everyone would give me high fives or applaud me. People were nice to me, but it was only out of fear.

ARREST AND CONVICTION

(4) Gun violence was what finally got me off the streets for good. I was in a fight with a rival and we both had guns. I shot him, then turned and ran. Even when the police caught me, I thought I would get out of trouble somehow. I was accused of first-degree assault, and the evidence against me was so strong that I pleaded guilty.

(5) At state prison I had ample time to think because I was locked in a single cell for most of the day. I realized how much I missed the outside world. I wasn’t missing what I did with the gang. I missed the simple things that my family did.

(6) I decided the first step was to join a class to get myself off drugs. I took the class and subsequently helped lead it. I wanted to challenge myself further, so I enrolled in the prison’s school part-time.

CONFRONTING VIOLENCE

(7) Later I was transferred to a medium-security prison. Even though I was in prison, I still had access to drugs. As a consequence, I slipped back into my violent ways.

(8) One day I met someone special whose words would change my life. I had gotten into a fight on the basketball court. Afterward, an old man admonished me, saying “You’ve got to control your anger. There’s a class that teaches you how to deal with violent feelings without fighting.”

(9) The violence class woke me up. I learned to control my temper by talking instead of fighting. After I completed the course, I knew I could teach it. I taught it for the rest of my sentence.

A NEW LIFE

(10) When I got out of prison at age 26, I didn’t know how people would accept me. I was going back to New York—where I used to lead a gang. I went to the Fortune Society, an organization that helps ex-prisoners find jobs. Fifty-seven days after I got out of prison, I was hired as a youth counselor.

(11) When I went to thank the Fortune Society, they said, “No, thank yourself. You chose to turn your life around. No one else did it for you.” So I went home, looked in the mirror, and said, “Thank you.”

SOURCE C (Social Studies Text)

Youth Crime…Adult Time

Teens are getting into trouble with the law. Do they deserve special treatment? Or should they be treated like adult criminals?

By Misako Suzuki

Justice for Teen Criminals

(1) The U.S. juvenile justice system began more than 100 years ago. Back then, juveniles—people under the age of 18—were not thought of as criminals. People believed that kids were less responsible for their actions than adults were. The goal of juvenile justice was to help troubled kids so that they would make a transition back into normal life.

(2) By the 1990’s, attitudes toward young criminals changed. People began to question the structure of the juvenile system. Teen crime was on the rise, and juvenile prisons weren’t stopping it. People wanted to punish teens as adults to scare them away from crime.

(3) Soon, many juvenile cases were being tried in adult criminal courts. As many as 250,000 juveniles are tried as adults every year. Prosecutor James Backstrom said, “Clearly, when you’ve reached 16 0r 17, you’re accountable for your actions.” Many law enforcement officials agree.

Shaun’s Story

(4) When Shaun Miller was 15 and a high school sophomore, he and three other teens robbed a convenience store in a small Nevada town. Shaun was tried as an adult and given a 15-year prison sentence, the same as an adult criminal. Shaun was shocked. He thought he would get off easy because he was a juvenile. “I was sent straight to prison like I was a real criminal,” said Shaun.

(5) Once he was in prison, Shaun faced a bleak future. He would have to spend his young adult life behind bars and then go back into the world with a prison record.

(6) “What am I going to write on a job application?” Shaun asked. “‘Yeah, I was in prison since I was 15. I robbed somebody.’ Who’s going to hire me?” Shaun began to realize the effect his crime would have on the rest of his life. His potential for a normal life was seriously diminished.

Teen Crime Today

(7) Teen crime is still a serious problem. Shaun is just one of many teens arrested every year. In 2008, 1.6 million people under 18 were arrested.

(8) However, if you evaluate the statistics over time, teen crime is actually dropping. The 2008 data shows that teen arrests dropped 3 percent from 2007. Also, the 2008 numbers are 32 percent lower than the numbers from 2000.

(9) Like Shaun, many teens are still tried in the adult judicial system. In many states, anyone over a certain age is automatically tried as an adult. The map below shows the upper age limits for juvenile courts.

The Debate Continues

(10) Should teens still be tried as adults? Many prosecutors say yes. They say that the drop in teen crime is because of the threat of adult courts. They say that teen criminals are aware of the fact that they might be sent to an adult prison.

(11) Victims’ rights groups also support trying teens as adults. They say that rapists and murderers should be punished harshly even if they are young teens.

(12) However, others say that adult prisons are wrong for teens. One study shows that teens who serve with adults are more likely to stay criminals.

Source of materials:

Read 180: Next Generation. Scholastic, 2012

The Debate Continues

(10) Should teens still be tried as adults? Many prosecutors say yes. They say that the drop in teen crime is because of the threat of adult courts. They say that teen criminals are aware of the fact that they might be sent to an adult prison.

(11) Victims’ rights groups also support trying teens as adults. They say that rapists and murderers should be punished harshly even if they are young teens.

(12) However, others say that adult prisons are wrong for teens. One study shows that teens who serve with adults are more likely to stay criminals.

Source of materials:

Read 180: Next Generation. Scholastic, 2012