Juvenile Justice
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Traditionally the ideology of the American juvenile justice system in this country has embodied the belief that the moral character of juveniles is less formed than adults, thus they are viewed as more deserving of a second chance than their adult counterparts. However, an increasing number of violent juvenile crimes have begun to turn the tide on this belief in the opposite direction. A seemingly callous new breed of violent juvenile offenders are making many believe juveniles should be jailed alongside adult offenders. At the core of this division in belief a conflict regarding human nature. The main question it poses is: Should juveniles be responsible for their actions to the same degree as adults? Recently, a six-year-old boy acquired a gun from the floor of his uncle’s crack house and fatally shot a six-year-old schoolmate. No one questioned the decision by authorities to prosecute the uncle while exonerating the child of any crimes. However, is a 12-year-old developed enough to be much more responsible than a six-year-old for his or her actions? Many argue that no juvenile should drive, vote, serve his or her country, drink alcoholic beverages, or smoke tobacco before they are 18 or 21 because they are not responsible enough to handle these things. However, many argue that 11-16-year-olds are as responsible as adults for delinquent behavior, “In 1999, 100 years after the establishment of
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the defense arguments in the case of Joseph. I believe in the intent of the Nobel Prize winning social reformer, Jane Addams, who felt “troubled children should have access to specialized treatment services” (Dodge 1). This is why I reject the argument of the prosecution. However, I also reject the argument of the defense for community service as being too lenient in the case of a chronic offender.
(Two) It is not fair to place Joseph in a high security treatment center with older youth. One of the main reasons for this is that Joseph has experienced few character-building role models in either his home environment or his community. Sending him to such a facility would increase the risk that his only role-models will continue to be other offenders who have issues of their own. There is virtually no support in the literature to disprove the notion that when juveniles are incarcerated with older offenders, they are often physically abused and have a high rate of recidivism.
(Three) The needs of society do not outweigh the needs of the child’s right to treatment. Every child should have the right to treatment “The juvenile court was meant to give kids a second chance—to allow them to make youthful mistakes without being
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Jane Addams, JUSTICE Traditionally, Kent Markus, Support Intervention, Intervention Joseph, Six Seven, Justice Joseph, Treatment Joseph, Program Joseph, Markus Testimony, juvenile justice, juvenile court, juvenile delinquency, justice system, community service, youth violence, guidance counselor, school failure, plan resolve joseph, reject argument, beyond help, youth violence subcommittee, juvenile justice counselor, action plan resolve, responsible actions degree,
Approximate Word count = 1702
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
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