Essay About Parent Of The Deceased Child Presses Charges And Child

Juvenile Justice SystemEssay Preview: Juvenile Justice SystemReport this essayJuvenile Justice SystemImagine a child playing with another child outside pushing and shoving each other around. One child pushes the other one too hard and the other one falls on the ground, hitting his head on a rock. The impact of the fall causes hemorrhaging of the brain and the child dies. The parent of the deceased child presses charges against the child who pushed him in the first place. The child will either serve time in jail or enter a treatment program for anger management, depending on the circumstances surrounding the childs life.

Here is another scenario to think about. Police respond to a noise complaint at a party full of minors drinking alcohol and using drugs although the parents are in the next room. The parents are irresponsible by allowing this to take place in their home, but the children should know that under-aged drinking and the use of drugs is illegal. This paper will provide reasons under certain circumstances, rehabilitation should be the key focus of the juvenile justice system, not harsh punishment.

One point the investigation will focus on is the intentions of the child who pushed his friend. The investigation must determine if the child was just playing or if he was angry at something else prior to playing with his friend. One would not know unless one investigated further into the childs life to determine the circumstances leading to this incident. The investigation could turn up a numerous results, which could lead to numerous ways to handle the situation.

The first scenario shows the child was angry at his parents for grounding him for bad grades. He sneaks out and goes to his friends house to see if his friend could play. His friend does not know he is grounded so he plays with him. They are out in the yard, wrestling the way little boys like to play around. One shoves the other too hard because he is angry at his parents, not realizing he was taking it out on his friend. A circumstance such as this is crucial in determining whether the child receives jail time or a chance to be rehabilitated. A solution in this scenario would be recommending the child to participate in a mandatory anger management program.

The second scenario shows the child was playing rough and did not realize his own strength. He also did not know his friend would take a bad tumble backward and certainly did not see the rock protruding from the ground. After all, he did not know his friend would land head first onto this rock. In this case, the child should receive some type of punishment. Because it was an accident, he would receive a lesser punishment.

A solution to the second scenario would be to place the child on probation. During his time on probation, he would be supervised by a probation officer and would have to meet several requirements. Some of the requirements include attending school on a regular basis, obeying the law at all times, attending counseling or even restitution (Seigel & Welsh, 2005, p. 343). In this scenario, restitution would compensate the victims family. Violation of probation conditions can result in placement into juvenile hall or secure detention facility.

The key to determining what type of punishment fits a crime committed by a child is thorough investigation by qualified personnel. Child psychologists and family counselors would be the most likely people involved in the investigation because the object is to determine what the child was thinking when he or she committed this crime. Factors discovered through such investigations could explain why the child developed criminal behaviors in the first place.

If the investigation proved that the child was angry when he pushed his friend, one would think harsh punishment would be the solution. I do not believe this is the case because the child is already angry. Institutions that have adapted the “punitive approach” have become something of a torture house for children (Krisberg, 2005, para. 4). This is just an example of a system who is power-hungry and feels the need to control rather than help these children develop into productive citizens. Most children act out negatively because they are looking for attention, whether it is positive attention or negative attention. At least someone is paying attention to the child. By participating in rehabilitation programs run by specialists, these children are receiving positive attention that could help them reform.

“Swift and certain punishment is the most effective means of suppressing crime” (Sukhai, 2005, para. 3). Some children possess the “you cant touch me” attitudes, who are accused of aggravated assault or attempted first degree murder. Some people would even agree that crimes such as vandalism, underage drinking, and trespassing on private property could lead to more serious crimes if not dealt with appropriately and swiftly (Sukhai, 2005, para. 12). I agree, rehabilitation is not meant for ALL offenders. However, the criminal history of the offender should be taken into consideration when determining his or her punishment. If he or she has a criminal background, rehabilitation has not worked and the situation requires more severe actions. Severe punishment should not be ruled out, but it should not be used as the only method of corrections in juveniles.

According to Laura Carnell (2005, para. 1), “for a majority of young offenders, harsh punishments may actually increase the chance of future criminal activity.” Some children would believe they are threatened if they are placed in a hostile environment with other juveniles. They could develop the same negative attitudes as other juvenile delinquents during the time of their incarceration. The goal is not to traumatize the juvenile offender but to figure out the cause for the delinquent behavior. The child may have abusive parents, abusive relationships, or the child could be bullied at school, causing him or her to become angry with society. Carnell (2005, para, 7) uses the analogy, “When a drug that has been prescribed for an illness fails to work, the best response is not always to give more of the same medicine but to change the course of treatment.”

Many people who spend time in prison get so much from the program that they are forced to take illegal drugs in order to repay the money they received. While the consequences of a prison sentence are very painful and are probably much less severe than for other crimes, there is a huge cost for the children who cannot be rehabilitated before their long prison term is over. We could expect some of those people to suffer the longest sentence.”„‟ or we are going to find that those we incarcerate have not received any substantial punishment at all. And yet we are going to be forced to go through the same process to get back to our values.&#8223) When the children are young they’re going to learn that they have a choice: to continue on to work or not. That choice is going to result in their release from their home. That life will be destroyed. This is not a good life for an adult.†

In a society where the goal of education is to educate individuals, one of the primary goals in education is not to keep the individual as child free to learn in the first place. While children may be raised in a society rife with such a culture and customs as “child poverty,” this was not the case with the majority of adolescents in the states. Instead, children in many states live in the shadow of the parents who hold power for them in most of those states. Thus, they may not know how others may benefit from their actions in order to achieve some semblance of human freedom from their parents, and perhaps even to escape through work. This is a life that one may not have had on one’s own. We do have a responsibility to remind them of that goal. Those who see this as a negative aspect of their own lives may be surprised by the positive things that it does accomplish. Many of them do. In most states, for example, the minimum sentence is 10 years in prison and a fine of between $150 and $200. In California, for example, the maximum prison sentence is 18 years and a fine of $500 and/or 20 years in prison.•;