Rehabilitation is goal of juvenile justice system
Rebecca Davis, Memphis
Waiving juveniles to adult court has proved to be ineffective, unbeneficial and even detrimental to youth, families and communities (June 26 article, “Teen showed signs of trouble / Transferred to adult court in mother’s death”). The goals of juvenile justice systems are to provide services and treatment, not that of punishment, in order to pull youth out of a life of crime and rehabilitate children, so they have a chance to become successful adult participants in society.
When youth are transferred to criminal court, social services and education programs are no longer able to reach them. Services that effectively work with the court, such as Juvenile Intervention and Faith Based Follow-up (JIFF), Just Care Family Network and even Memphis City Schools may no longer be able to work with transferred youth. Safety also becomes an issue to youth being housed with adult inmates, with younger inmates being more likely to be assaulted. Further, youth in adult facilities are 35 percent more likely to re-offend than those youth held as juveniles, perpetuating a revolving door into the criminal system (often beginning at such a young age —14 in this case).
There is no sufficient evidence that the practice of transfer is a deterrent for youth crime. Another consideration is juvenile maturity and cerebral development related to the action and the resulting consequences. Adolescents make rash decisions, are less competent to stand trial than adults, and are more likely to go along with suggestions from authority (i.e. police questioning, plea bargaining), which makes adult court an inappropriate and unacceptable placement for youth.
The lack of maturity is all too evident in the Jonathan Ray case. This youth made a horrible mistake, and he and his family will pay for it for the rest of their lives. However, this decision to transfer him will help no one and will take away any chance for this child to be rehabilitated, furthering his family’s grief.