Ethical Considerations in Incarcerating Juvenile Offenders with Adults

Ethical Considerations in Incarcerating Juvenile Offenders with Adults

Under certain circumstances, juveniles’ trials are transferred to adult courts for trial as adults. These circumstances include judicial waivers, whereby judges have the authority to transfer the minors, and statutory exclusions, whereby juveniles are legally required to be transferred to adult courts for certain crimes. Finally, prosecutorial direct-files are whereby prosecutors have the authority to transfer juvenile cases to adult courts (National Institute of Justice, 2017). Subsequently, the trying of juveniles as adults occurs explicitly under these circumstances for various objectives, such as controlling young people’s unlawful behaviours; however, the incarceration of young people with adults affects them in multiple ways.

Incarceration with adults affects juveniles because of the age difference, and consequently, juvenile offenders should not be incarcerated with adults. Further, several factors support this disagreement on the incarceration of juveniles with adults. The first support is the increase in subsequent criminal activities following the release of the juvenile delinquent. According to the National Institute of Justice ( 2017), there is a higher chance for juveniles incarcerated with adults to re-offend following their release than juveniles who remain under the juvenile system. Thus, this possibility illustrates that incarceration of kids with adults poses more negative impacts on the kids. The second support is the leniency in sentencing associated with the age of the kid. According to Semple & Woody (2011), age matters since younger juvenile offenders are given shorter sentences than older juvenile offenders despite the requirement to overlook age. Subsequently, some juvenile offenders face more prolonged and stricter incarceration with adults as compared with others. This factor contributes to the high chances of juveniles committing crimes once released.

The nature of the crime committed is significant in trials to determine the danger a juvenile offender poses. Therefore, the Justice System should consider the severity of the crime. In addition, age is also a significant factor that should not be overlooked. In conclusion, the trying and incarceration of juveniles as adults is essential in the Justice System, and they should consider factors such as the nature of crime and age.

References

National Institute of Justice. (2017). Practice Profile: Juvenile Transfer to Adult Court. CrimeSolutions, National Institute of Justice. Retrieved from https://www.crimesolutions.gov/PracticeDetails.aspx?ID=64.

Semple, J., & Woody, W. (2011). Juveniles Tried as Adults: The Age of the Juvenile Matters. Psychological Reports, 109(1), 301-308. https://doi.org/10.2466/07.17.pr0.109.4.301-308

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Ethical Considerations in Incarcerating Juvenile Offenders with Adults

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