Juvenile crime Essay

Children Juvenile hall; Its Just Not Right

    “Time for lock down” is what many young teenagers hear from the juvenile halls after they have committed and have been sentenced of a crime.  Some of the times it allows the adolescence to get away from home due to an occurrence that may be going on at home and this was their only escape route without being homeless, so they end up in juvenile hall.  The other half of the time teenagers were either misguided or minimized for what they did, as well as many other reasons that are out there in the society. E.g. gangs, dysfunctional families, Drug related incidents and poverty.  However, in today’s society and judicial system should pause, and consider whether we should sentence juveniles as adults, as a solution to juvenile crime. Many kids commit crimes, but the only hope which seems logical is just to lock teenagers away, yet consider keeping the less minor cases in the juvenile system rather than cases where it was a planned out murder. Instead of being harsh with juveniles trying them as adults or under the 3 strikes law. We should consider their circumstances and judge their perceived wrong with mercy.
    Even though teenagers would at one time or another would hang around with the wrong crowd at the wrong time, we should give them mercy and a chance for rehabilitation to redeem themselves and become a productive member of society. There is a saying that goes “you are who you walk with.”  Teenagers lacking judge of character at times are victims of this and fail to create their own identity. There was a situation in the story “True Note-Books” written by Mark Salzman, where a young minor/teenager was tried as an adult, because he was next to the shooter although he did not shoot the victim was later arrested; then later in court he was sentenced as an adult, for 48 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.  At the time of the incident he was only a minor that was at the wrong place and at the wrong time. Instead of punishing the young boy as an adult who does not see the world from the perspective of an adult yet, the justice system should provide him a chance before the jails system corrupt his mind even more than what it already is by the mentality other young juveniles have and the future jails as well.
    Many young teenagers soon to be adults, if they make it out alive, face many emotional challenges just to get through the day of the pressure of knowing they may never see the streets again. We should have mercy for them because these juveniles are also humans, with the same emotional challenges as you or me, if not that even more. This sentiment is expressed when Francisco writes, “Dear stranger, this is my last statement on earth. I know people look at me like a criminal and a no good person. A gang member that’s a menace to society because I am incarcerated, but it’s not true. I am a person who is discovering who he really is.” (pg 64) It takes a toll on the kids to then realize the poor decisions they make in life that ended their civilian life. Therefore it is too late for them to make a difference in the world because they are incarcerated and ended up facing 52 years to life like Francisco Javier.   Javier understood and appreciated the concept of life and the help that was offered by Mark Salzman although later he had no chance to change in the outside world because he was later convicted and transferred to a state prison were he would spend majority of his life along with others that were tried as an adult at an early age.
    In my personal experience I have too, seen many of my friends get arrested for childish acts such as car thefts, store robberies and drug related events.  The cars was because they loved to drive other peoples cars that were not their own and they steal what they wanted and what they needed in order to trade in for money.  However, behind all their actions something deep down inside of them caused them pain and hurting feelings; the reason why I know now is because I reflected in my past and seen what really went on. Some of my friends had parents that were drug abusers, which never provided food for them or their younger siblings so they had to go out and get it on their own. Some even had so much anger from their personal life experiences that lead them to act violent and none of them would ever talk about how they really felt and they have been due to keeping your pride in the streets. Yet, talking to someone could of made a difference in his or her lives. That is why after having read True Notebooks, I truly understand their stories and tribulations and their struggles that could of cause them to end up in a place where you get three decent meals a day and Medicare and able to play sports with your friends at certain times, although to some teenagers it is better than home. But not every one is comfortable with being inside.
    Time was running out for Jimmy Wu and Francisco Javier which court was just around the corner trying to make a better turn in their lives to prove to the court that that can be successful in society and that they understand what they did wrong. Sadly to say when it was day for judgment jimmy and Francisco lost their cases and Jimmy Wu was sentenced 15 years in prison, which was not worse than Francisco who was sentence 52 years in state prison. “Why couldn’t you give me a chance? Why are you taking away fifteen years of my life for one mistake. Why couldn’t you look at me and see how I have Changed”. And all the judge could do is say “Good luck”, emotions that ran around the room like wild fire as jimmy and Francisco were sentenced, but in a way jimmy and Francisco were free again in a painstaking way that the worries are now over and time to adapt to the jail life for a long period of their lives. It was probably one of their hardest days in jail, because not only did they lose there freedom and loved ones, but they lost the opportunity to enjoy life outside they know now from a mature perspective and state of mind.
    The system has to find alternative routes to see the good in young juveniles rather than go by the rules because at times they can be wrong by seeing a just black and white vision, instead the system could go off on believing that these children have a chance to succeed in society. “ Young children fail in society because we fail as a community.” We want them to always make a difference when they are out but at times we fail to provide programs, recourses, and a friend to overlook the bad in them and bring out the good in them.