The presence of places of deprivation of liberty is an indispensable attribute of any state, as any penitentiary system provides an isolation of the offender as one of the measures to curb their illegal activity. Therefore, the presence of prisons and educational institutions, special treatment is not something unexpected even in developed countries with a low crime rate. But do children have to suffer from this system and if so, how much ‘adult’ must they be?
Each country has its own prison system, wherein the existence of certain rules and conditions of detention. Often these conditions do not meet any standards and regulations, which are contrary to adequate coexistence on the same territory. This fact applies not only to men's prisons, but women's and juvenile correctional facilities too. Special attentions in this regard deserve correctional institutions and prisons for minors.
The presence of places of deprivation of liberty is an inalienable attribute of any state, like any prison system provides for isolation of the offender as one of the measures to curb their illegal activities. Therefore, the presence of prisons and educational establishments, special treatment is not something unexpected, even in developed countries with a low crime rate.
It is hard not to mention the USA when it comes to prison system in different countries. The United States of America is in first place by the number of sentenced young offenders – their population is 90,000 people ("Juveniles").
The legislation provides full responsibility of children for their crimes including the death penalty in the age of 13-14 years. Only three countries practice similar system – South Africa, Tanzania and Israel. Nevertheless, still the judicial system of America is the most severe in relation to minors in the world.
In the USA it is also possible to replace executions with life imprisonment without possibility of parole. Such prisoners only have one chance to get out of the prison – a deadly disease at its last stage.
A feature of prisons in America is in the difference of adjudications and provided the court sanctions from state to state. So, in 26 States minors could be put in jail only for school truancy or running away from home. Although major decisions about the measures concerting illegal teen were submitted by Federal agencies. As in most prisons, prisons in USA are divided into male and female, and teenagers serve their sentence separately from adults.
On the numerical indicators, the US has approximately 3000 juvenile correctional institutions, of which about a thousand are colonies, where 2\3 of prisoners are Hispanic or people of color ("STATISTICS OF NOTE"). “But providing such a measure as establishing jails for schoolboys could not be approved by the whole population of America despite its success. Beginning in the late 1980s, communities across the nation began to experience dramatically increased rates of juvenile crime. The arrest rate for violent crimes of both males and females began to increase in 1987 and continued to escalate until the mid-1990s.”(Reno et al. 8)
The problem is that a lot of Juveniles have been imprisoned for not crimes at all. Comparatively with past years, the level of imprisoned people (not even counting children) has risen rapidly. This may be connected with the number of laws which has grown up as well. In the meantime speaking about children, being in jail only for hating one particular school subject is not the way of raising a healthy and motivated nation ("Who, What, Where And Why").
"All teenagers make mistakes because of their age, - said the former overseer of the prison for young Ben Richards. – But if children grow up in dysfunctional families, the probability of committing the crime is 99%. Society should treat them as sick and very unhappy people. In my opinion, minors should have a chance to fix whatever horrible crime was not committed" ("Who, What, Where And Why").
However, the provision about the possibility to sentence a juvenile (under 18) to have the death penalty is in 41 of States. Only in 2005 the U.S. Supreme court in practice has abolished the death penalty for them, replacing it with life imprisonment. In addition, this was accepted without the possibility of parole. Among these prisoners there is only one opportunity to get out of prison and it is to "earn" a deadly disease on the last stage (for example, cancer or HIV).
But the court system varies from state to state. For example, in Florida, a child can be brought before the court in 12 years. In the district of Columbia to death sentence can be given to children who are at least 19 years of age (and generally the juvenile court here applies until the age of 21 years). In the state of Michigan both parents can visit their child in prison only once a year.
Human rights activists remembered about children in prisons for three reasons. First, the content of one minor thug cost the state Treasury nearly $100 000 annually. This is significantly more than the separation of adults and independent criminals. Given the fact that juvenile delinquency in the country is slowly but surely creeping up, the cost can exceed all expected forecasts.
Secondly, several medical organizations have published the results of interesting research. From them it follows that a minor cannot be jailed because three-quarters of them suffer from mental illness. Some believe that if a child or teenager is sent to a correction facility, the chances of him committing a crime will only increase.
Thirdly, young age is not considered a lenient factor for sentencing. 20% of criminal cases against minors end with real prison time. This shocking and very alarming statistics scares defenders more than anything.
It is worth noting that the courts and prisons skillfully manipulate the consciousness of the public. They are forbidden to mention the names and show faces of criminals under the age of 18. If a 10-year-old boy goes to jail for life, America usually learns about it only when he becomes an adult. From a psychological point of view an 18-year-old prisoner has much less compassion and empathy than older convicts.
Many prisoners which were sent to jail as young children, do not remember, how their childhood was and how normal human life is. Every day they see only their cameras, a dining room, the exercise yard of a correctional institution, guards and other prisoners. In this situation the government only increases the number of correctional facilities instead of building up schools or colleges. May be, if there were more schools with laws not so strict with children’s behavior, there would be less misbehaved children? ("The U.S. Has More Jails Than Colleges. Here’S A Map Of Where Those Prisoners Live").
Another suggestion that will help improve the situation with juvenile delinquency is to enter at schools special seminars about the crime, the date of the opinions and lives of prisoners. In my opinion, it is a very good decision because many juvenile offenders do not have the slightest clue about what awaits them after the arrest. Stories about real human’s lives or even from them directly can show them what life in any way is not to be (Reno et al.).
Anyway, the problem of youth crime and fair punishment for juveniles needs to be addressed in the near future. Otherwise, not always a fair system of sentences and penalties may ruin the life of many Americans.
Works Cited
"Juveniles". Bureau of Justice Statistics. N.p., 2016. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
Reno, Janet et al. Juveniles In Adult Prisons And Jails - A National Assessment. Washington:
This document was prepared by the Institute on Crime, Justice and Corrections and the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, under grant number 97–DD–BX–0026, awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs, 2016. Print.
"STATISTICS OF NOTE". American Jail Association. N.p., 2016. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
"The U.S. Has More Jails Than Colleges. Here’S A Map Of Where Those Prisoners Live.".
Washington Post. N.p., 2016. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
"Who, What, Where And Why". The Economist. N.p., 2014. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
