100 word response 1 reference due 2/2/2023
Cauley
In our current criminal justice system, our goal is to rehabilitate the youth so that they can understand their actions. They need to learn to make better choices in the future. The punishment that they do receive is to hold them accountable for their wrongdoing. Some receive detention, fines, community service hours, jail, and if charged as an adult prison. I believe that the current justice policy for juveniles a little more punitive rather than rehabilitative. Nowadays we have juveniles that range between 10-15 that are committing harsh crimes. This is mainly due to their upbringing and babies raising babies. Just the other day I saw on the television where a six-year-old child took a gun to school and shot a teacher. I believe that this is a baby that needs rehabilitation and counseling rather than being punished. Here in the state of Florida I believe a child can be as young as seven to be taken into custody.
Today, juvenile offenders are either seen as young adults or as children which plays a role in the punitive or rehabilitative treatments they receive. When we look at these juvenile offenders as young adults, we tend to punish them rather than rehabilitate them, but their brains are not working at the same capacity that an adult’s brain would be, so they are more prone to make negative choices and may not fully comprehend the consequences. (Ainsworth, 1996) Over the past few decades, American juvenile justice policy has become progressively more punitive. It has been proven that youth who are 13 or 14 can be tried and punished as adults for a broad range of offenses, including nonviolent crimes. (Piquero & Steinberg) Even within the juvenile system, punishments have grown increasingly severe.
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