Court Prosecution of Minors
On September 30, 2018, Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 1391, into law. This bill bans prosecutors from charging 14 and 15-year-olds as adults. The passage of this bill has been extraordinarily polarizing; two main arguments are clashing. With regards to his vote, Governor Brown stated, “There is a fundamental principle at stake here: whether we want a society which at least attempts to reform the youngest offenders before consigning them to adult prisons where their likelihood of becoming a lifelong criminal is so much higher,” Brown brings up the importance of creating a rehabilitative justice system rather than maintaining and punitive justice system. In contrast, families who have lost relatives due to the lethal actions of 14 and 15-year-olds. Their biggest concern with the law is that it will allow heinous killers, such as Daniel Marsh, to be tried as juveniles instead of adults. They fear this transition because juveniles commonly are released around the age of 25, instead of serving a full sentence. These families believe that they are not getting justice because Marsh would most likely serve many decades less than if he were tried in adult court.
This is an incredibly important discussion. The conflict between institutionalizing rehabilitative justice and getting justice for heinous crimes committed by disturbed young individuals is difficult. However, I believe that there is an issue in which the arguments are presented, specifically, the families. Their losses are incredibly sad, however, their argument is a based off a representative heuristic rather than data. Many more children are broken down because of the adult prison system, than people murdered by 14 and 15-year-olds. They are arguing that we should not attempt to reform the prison system in this manner because there are a dozen 14 and 15-year-olds who “deserve” to be punished and treated as an adult. Yet, this mindset does not help anyone. It does not bring the family members back and serving years behind bars benefits no one’s emotional state. I believe that Governor Brown made the right decision by allowing this law to pass, as he shows that California cares about improving our prison system and creating a more rehabilitative system.
Yes, I completely agree with your viewpoint in this article. I feel like it is not fair, morally or ethically, to put juveniles in adult prisons. The amount of abuse people, especially juveniles, face behind bars is horrifying, and I think that the prison system should be reformed as a result. I also think that Governor Brown definitely made the right decision by passing this law. I think that there is never a good reason to try minors as adults, especially given how unfair and discriminatory our justice system can be.
ReplyDeleteI understand both sides of the controversy surrounding this bill. However, I do think it is important to emphasize that there are certainly cases, such as the example mentioned of Daniel Marsh, where it is very dangerous to restrict 14 and 15-year-olds from being tried as adults. In many situations, there could be much more gained from a more rehabilitative system, especially for the youngest offenders. Yet, people who, despite their young age, commit horrific crimes-like Marsh's brutal, cold-blooded murder of an innocent couple-may still very much be threats to society and therefore should not face a more lenient sentence. Additionally, while I agree with the benefits of reforming the system for the children who do not actually deserve such harsh punishments (those who commit much less disturbing crimes), I still feel it would still be unjust for the victims of the juveniles who commit heinous crimes like murder, although there may be fewer of these victims than children whom a more rehabilitative system could benefit, to know these people will walk free after serving a sentence that may not actually fit their crimes, because of their young age. I understand both perspectives, as many victims will likely be affected by crimes committed by juveniles for the rest of their lives, so for the perpetrators to only have to suffer the consequences for a much shorter part of their lives may seem unjust; however, there may be fewer situations where this is the case than where it is not.
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