Debate Over Trying Juveniles as Adults Intensifies Despite Evidence of Effectiveness of Rehabilitation
Lawmakers in several states are pushing to make it easier to try juveniles as adults and impose harsher sentences, despite decades of research showing rehabilitation is more effective at reducing recidivism. The movement is driven by recent crime spikes and high-profile incidents of teen violence, reversing years of reform efforts. This matters because juvenile crime and arrests have fallen 75 percent since 1995, yet policy is moving toward stricter punishment rather than addressing root causes.
The article examines the case of four Indiana teenagers charged with felony murder after an unarmed burglary resulted in a death, with three tried as adults and sentenced to at least 50 years in prison. Indiana's Supreme Court later ruled one sentence disproportionate given adolescent brain development research, reducing convictions and ordering resentencing. Despite this precedent and decades of studies showing incarceration increases recidivism rates among juveniles, lawmakers in Missouri, the House, and other jurisdictions are recently moving to expand adult prosecution of minors as young as 12 or 14. The article notes that juvenile crime arrests have plummeted 75 percent since 1995, yet political pressure to impose harsher penalties resurges during crime upticks, prioritizing punitive measures over evidence-based approaches like therapy, mentors, and job training.
What different sources said
- The AtlanticLeft
Bad Ideas About Juvenile Crime That Won’t Go Away
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