Please show your support for our youth by signing this petition with hopes that we can make a change in our policies surrounding juvenile transfers. 

Juvenile transfers indicate when there is a decision to prosecute an adolescent individual in adult court, otherwise known as criminal court, instead of being tried in the preordained juvenile court system (Braswell et al., 2023). The distinct system that we know as the juvenile justice system was established over 100 years ago, and was formed with the idea that adults differ from juveniles in substantial ways, so their punishment should follow suit. Focusing more on restoration and rehabilitation, the juvenile justice system grants a less extreme punishment than what would be expected from a criminal court (“Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice”, 2001). 

Years of research has been dedicated to demonstrate the differences of adolescents and adults on a scientific level. It has been proven that, when it comes to decision making, a developing brain will rely more on its amygdala, while adults will process information through their frontal cortex (Kwon, 2023). So what does this mean? The amygdala is "the area of the brain associated with the primitive impulses of anger, aggression, and fear" (Kwon, 2023). Conversely, the frontal cortex is "the area of the brain that controls reasoning and helps us think before we act", and it is well known that the frontal cortex does not fully develop until adulthood ("Teen Brain", 2017). Knowing this, how can it be that juveniles can be held to the same caliber as adults when, scientifically, their mental maturity is beyond comparison? There still needs to be accountability for wrongdoing, and there is always a distinction between what is right and what is wrong no matter the age. However, there have been multiple instances where even the U.S. Supreme Court has acknowledged that juveniles are less culpable and have the ability to change and respond to rehabilitation (“Youth tried as adults”, n.d.). The difference in competency should have an impact on how juveniles are punished, yet when they are sentenced to an adult correctional facility, there is no mercy. 

Adolescents should never be subject to the endangerment that they would face behind the bars of an adult correctional facility. Having youth in these institution makes their risk of suicide, sexual assault, and physical assault substantially higher (“Youth tried as adults”, n.d.). In fact, according to the National Juvenile Justice Network, “studies show that youth held in adult facilities are 36 times more likely to commit suicide” (“Keep Youth Out”, n.d.). The Department of Justice has surveyed the youth in adult prison, which brought to light reports of sexual assault from not only adult inmates, but even facility staff (Lahey, 2016). As one can assume, these traumatic events are particularly catastrophic for a young, developing brain.

It should also be noted that there is no real benefit to jeopardizing our youth by placing them in adult correctional facilities. It has been proven that, when compared to juveniles in the juvenile justice system, juvenile transfers have higher rates of being rearrested and higher rates of recidivism (“Treat Children as Children”, n.d.). Juveniles in adult facilities are losing their access to the rehabilitation aspects and education that they could be provided with while in a juvenile detention center. These features of the juvenile justice system are so crucial for troubled youth to have the ability to make a successful reintroduction to society. Juvenile  transfers are denied the chance to truly learn from their wrongdoing and how to make better decisions. 

As of today, every state has policies that allow a juvenile to be transferred to an adult court. In Colorado, a child as young as 12 can be tried as an adult. The juvenile justice system was created for a reason and should be utilized. Clearly there needs to be some revision in the criminal justice system, as it is evident that state jurisdictions and policies are failing to catch up to science and reason. 

 

 

Resources

Aacap. (2017, September). Teen Brain: Behavior, Problem Solving, and Decision Making. American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry . https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/The-Teen-Brain-Behavior-Problem-Solving-and-Decision-Making-095.aspx#:~:text=Studies%20have%20shown%20that%20brains,This%20region%20develops%20early 

Braswell, M.C., Edwards, B.D., McCarthy, B.R., & McCarthy, B.J. (2023). Justice, Crime, and Ethics (11th ed.). Routledge.

Espinoza, M. M. and M. (2022, December 16). Youth in adult courts, jails, and Prisons. The Sentencing Project. https://www.sentencingproject.org/reports/youth-in-adult-courts-jails-and-prisons/

Forman, J., & Vinson, K. (2022, April 20). The superpredator myth did a lot of damage. courts are beginning to see the light. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/20/opinion/sunday/prison-sentencing-parole-justice.html

Juvenile Crime, Juvenile Justice. The National Academies Press. (2001). https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/9747/chapter/7 

Keep Youth Out of Adult Courts, Jails, and Prisons. National Juvenile Justice Network. (n.d.). https://www.njjn.org/about-us/keep-youth-out-of-adult-prisons

Kwon, M. (2023, April 19). Trying and sentencing youth as adults: Key takeaways from recent Petrie-Flom Center event - bill of health. Bill of Health - The blog of the Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School. https://blog.petrieflom.law.harvard.edu/2023/04/19/trying-and-sentencing-youth-as-adults-key-takeaways-from-recent-petrie-flom-center-event/

Lahey, J. (2016, January 13). The steep costs of imprisoning juveniles with adults. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/01/the-cost-of-keeping-juveniles-in-adult-prisons/423201/

Puzone, K. (2023, September). Juvenile Court Exists for a Reason. https://law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Puzone.pdf

Treat Children as Children. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. (n.d.). https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/about/ojjdp-priorities#:~:text=Treat%20Children%20as%20Children&text=Research%20indicates%20that%20youth%20whose,in%20the%20juvenile%20justice%20system

Youth tried as adults. Juvenile Law Center. (n.d.). https://jlc.org/issues/youth-tried-adults