Juveniles in Adult Incarceration Facilities

Juveniles in Adult Incarceration Facilities

Between 1992 and 1995, nearly every state in the union passed laws that made it easier to try juvenile offenders as adults (Elikann, 1999). If convicted, these youths are either sent to segregated facilities for younger adults, sent to juvenile facilities until the age of 16 or 18, or sent directly to adult prisons (Biden, 2). While it used to be true that judges made the decision on whether to try a youthful offender as an adult, the new laws have made it possible for these life-changing decisions to rest in the hands of prosecutors themselves, who are more likely to be swayed by bias (Elikann, 1999). This is partly due to more and more violent crimes being committed by younger and younger children and adolescents, and accompanying research indicating that these youths would likely continue their criminal ways (Elikann, 1999). But while it is true that first-degree psychopaths and pedophiles will likely not benefit from therapy or other rehabilitative services, the great majority (95%) of juvenile crimes are still non-violent (Elikann, 1999). In most cases, although these offenders know the difference between right and wrong, there are issues of immaturity involved that decrease their culpability (Bilchik, 2003). Moreover, once a child is treated as an adult by the legal system, particularly once he or she is placed in adult correctional facility, the chances of that child ever regaining a sense of "normalness" are very slim (Pagnanelli, 2007).

Immaturity and Peer Pressure

While it is true that most juvenile offenders are aware of the difference between right and wrong, there are developmental factors at play which in many cases makes them justifiably less culpable (Feld, 1997). For example, juveniles are less able to make rational, well-informed decisions about how their actions will affect themselves and others in the long run, leading to impulsive behaviors and unwise decisions (Feld, 1997). In addition, children and adolescents are often at a different moral developmental stage, where they are primarily concerned with avoiding punishment, and at the same time are more likely to believe they can "get away with" a crime because of their "unrealistic optimism, or feelings of 'invulnerability' and 'immortality'" (Feld, 1997). Therefore, younger criminals may not have developed the inner ethical strength to refrain from committing a crime when under the impression they will not get caught (Feld, 1997). Furthermore, adolescents are naturally prone to risky behaviors, partly as a result of ignorance of the consequences, and particularly when under the influence of peers (Feld, 1997). This is evidenced by the "greater prevalence of accidents, suicides and homicides as the primary causes of death of the young" (Feld, 1997).

Peer pressure and inexperience with the effects of drugs and alcohol can exacerbate the impulsivity and risk-taking tendencies of adolescents (Feld, 1997). Peer pressure is extremely powerful during adolescence because it is the stage when children are breaking away from their parents to form their own identity, and therefore are more concerned with acceptance by their peer group (Feld, 1997). Additionally, some degree of experimentation is necessary to achieve this sense of independence and of being in control of one's own life (Feld, 1997). Unfortunately, this means many adolescents are forced to learn difficult lessons from their own experience, including facing punishment for criminal activities. Also at stake is the issue of who is really at fault in a peer group crime, since the truth will not likely come to light and all participants will face the same liability (Feld, 1997).

Adult Incarceration, Irreversible Damage, and Recidivism Rates

As a result of their still-moldable identity and impressionability, adolescents are particularly susceptible to lasting damage from experience with the adult court and incarceration system (Feld, 1997). This includes effects on self-esteem and outlook that make these youths even more likely to continue a life of crime than those tried and sentenced in the juvenile system (Biden, 2). Juveniles housed in adult facilities are routinely placed in close physical contact with, and allowed to communicate with, adult prisoners -- as long as a guard is present. Of course, within a correctional facility these rules are easily broken (Biden, 2). In addition, statistics reveal that juveniles in adult facilities are nearly 10% more likely to experience a physical attack at the hands of other inmates, 5 times more likely to be the victim of sexual assault, twice as likely to be beaten by a guard, and 50% more likely to be attacked with a weapon (Klein, 1998). In one shocking example, a 17-year-old was tried and sentenced to 25 years as an adult merely for serving as a "look-out" in a store robbery; soon after, he was stabbed to death by white supremacists in his adult prison (Klein, 1998).

Juveniles tried and sentenced as adults are also 8 times more likely to commit suicide, usually within the first 24 hours of placement in an adult facility (Klein, 1998). This is evidence of their fear, vulnerability, and impulsivity -- all reasons to keep them out of adult jails. As juvenile justice researcher Eric Klein (1998) noted:

" Juveniles in adult prisons repeatedly indicate that the only way to survive is to fight. One young man serving a life sentence for killing his adoptive parents and sixteen-year-old sister while he was high on LSD stated, 'As long as you are willing to be violent, people will leave you alone.' This attitude does not remain in prison when the one-time juvenile is eventually released. In speaking of the trial of the first thirteen-year-old to be tried as an adult under a new North Carolina law, the head of the Dangerous Offenders Task Force for Wake County, North Carolina, said, 'It's kind of scary to think what kind of monster may be created. He could be released at the age of thirty-three after having been raised in the Department of Corrections with some of the most hardened criminals North Carolina has to offer.' (p.378)

Of the handful of studies conducted to date, researchers have unanimously found that juveniles sent to adult correctional facilities are "startlingly" more likely to reoffend, and usually graduate to more serious and violent offenses upon release (Elikann, 1999; Bilchik, 2003). In essence, upon release from an adult prison, these youths have graduated from "criminal school."

The Exceptions: Psychopaths and Pedophiles

While the majority of youthful offenders are non-violent criminals, swayed by immaturity and peer pressure, there are cases that send a chill down the spine of the most jaded detectives. These are cases in which psychologists and psychiatrists recognize right away that they are dealing with a first-degree psychopath -- someone born without the ability to empathize with another living creature. Before committing a crime against a fellow human being, these morally vacuous individuals have generally revealed their true nature by abusing or killing helpless animals. First-degree psychopaths are born that way, and are therefore more likely to begin their life of crime very early. Unfortunately, this type of "personality disorder" is considered nearly impossible to treat at any age (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1290564/?page=1).

Pedophilia is also shown to be genetic and impossible to "cure" (http://www.registeredoffenderslist.org/what-is-pedophilia.htm). As a result of the nature of both psychopaths and pedophiles, and the nature of the crimes they commit, any juvenile offender who is diagnosed with either of these disorders should be tried and sentenced as an adult -- and kept there for life. Upon release, their behavior will only escalate in violence and severity, transforming innocent lives into horror stories.