M6: Discussion: Children in Juvenile Court

Below are some of the headlines across America over the past years that have struck an emotional chord. The public reaction often involves calls for greater accountability related to children who commit crimes-- including treating the juvenile perpetrators as adults, resulting in potentially longer prison terms and more secure incarceration. The process of transferring children to adult criminal court is called "waiver" in many jurisdictions. 

15-year-old Jose Martinez and two older companions tortured and decapitated an eight-year-old boy in San Jose, California.

15-year-old Sandy Shaw lured James Kelly, 24, into the Nevada desert so that she and two friends could rob him.  They needed money to post bail for Sandy's boyfriend.  They stole $1400 and then shot him six times.  They took friends out to see the body.

12-year-old Lionel Tate killed his 6-year-old neighbor Tiffany Eunick while the 166-pound boy was mimicking professional wrestling moves with the 48-pound girl.

WHAT YOU HAVE TO READ, LISTEN AND VIEW:

I.  Juvenile Waiver in NJ in a Nutshell

II.   New Jersey: The Teenage Brain and Current Thinking on Juvenile Waiver (ATTACHED BELOW)

III.  CASE 1  Cat Cruelty Case - Paterson NJ (ATTACHED BELOW)IV.  

CASE 2 - WASHINGTON STATE 5th Graders Murder/Rape Conspiracy: View the video clip (ATTACHED BELOW)

WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO: Using the readings and video posted below post your thoughts/reactions to the following questions.  

• Should children and others who commit serious crimes be treated as adults? (For this part of the assignment I want you take the be against it. So the answer should be no that children and others who commit serious crimes be treated as adults. The reason for this is because children do not belong in adult prison. Elaborate more on that and talk about the negative affects of having charging children as adults and sentencing them to adult prisons. Furthermore I want you to give an example of Kalif Browder case. Kalif Browder was a young man who took his his own life after years of reliving the trauma of spending three years in an adult prison beginning at the age of 16, for a crime of stealing a backpack in which he was never convicted. Include this as an example and talk more about it.) 

• Discuss the societal advantages and disadvantages of juvenile waiver statutes.

• What role, if any, should current knowledge related to the teen-age brain play in waiver decisions?

• Post your own opinions and thoughts, supported by your readings/multimedia.

With regard to the New Jersey Cat Cruelty Case and based upon your multimedia assignments above. Some considerations for your discussions:

• Is juvenile waiver possible in for these children in New Jersey?


• If not, should they have been charged at all?


• Is any information is missing and relevant to your analysis about whether the children should be charged and/or prosecuted as adults?


• What kind of information wold influence your opinion?

With regard to the Washington State 5th Graders Murder/Rape Conspiracy  and based upon your multimedia assignments above. Some considerations for your discussions:

• Should they be transferred to Adult Court?


• Is any information is missing and relevant to your analysis about whether the children should be prosecuted as adults?


• What kind of information wold influence your opinion?

Post Due (Thursday October 1, 2020, 3:00 pm EST): initial post

I HAVE ATTACHED ALL READINGS AND VIDEOS FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT. YOU CAN ALSO DO ADDIONAL RESEARCH AND PLEASE CITE EVERYTHING CORRECTLY.