First Place Essay by Aaron J. Knodle
Age 18
Neillsville High School

I do not believe that seventeen-year-olds should be tried as adults in our criminal justice system. I feel that this is an unfair practice, which does not positively "correct" the child. I believe it is simply an effortless way for our government to deal with criminal situations perpetrated by minors, without addressing society's problems that are causing children to commit so many horrendous crimes.

To begin with, seventeen-year-olds are not considered adults in any other societal circumstance. They are not protected under the constitution; they can not vote; they can not drink; they can not work a forty hour week during the school year; they can not get married without parental consent; and they can not get a loan to buy a house. These privileges are valid for men or women eighteen years of age and older. Thus in all fairness, if the government is going to prosecute a seventeen-year-old as an adult, then it should bestow the seventeen-year-old with all the privileges of an adult.

Furthermore, most seventeen-year-olds are immature. They lack the knowledge and wisdom to adequately function in the adult work. These attributes come from experience. A seventeen-year-old, who has spent the better part of their years in school, is just learning how to get along in the adult world. Immature people do not make good decisions. An immature child does not make good decisions. Our court system is filled with cases concerning juveniles making bad decisions. Many communities offer first offender juveniles the "Teen Court" option. This is where the first offender is offered sentencing by a court of their peers. This is a binding court. Typically, the sentencing consists of restitution and public service. For many teens, this is an exit out of a bad decision.

However, seventeen-year-olds that commit serious crimes such as murder, and are tried as a minor, should not get too lenient of a sentence either. The punishment must fit the crime. In most cases, though, a seventeen-year-old needs to be corrected, not punished. They need a second chance. If they are tried as an adult and sent to an adult correctional facility, society is giving up on that child. These facilities rarely "correct" criminals, they just confine them. Many criminal seventeen-year-olds have grownup in a hazardous environment consisting of drugs, crime, and violence. Their past can not be changed, but their attitude can. Given the correct coaching, motivation, and change in environment, these teens can be rescued, and their lives can be positively altered. They can become productive members of our society.

Finally, the odds for becoming a productive citizen are against the child if he or she is tried as an adult. As Emeritus Professor of Law at University of Richmond Law School, Robert E. Shepard Jr. says, "Those sixteen and seventeen-year-old kids held in adult institutions had much higher recidivism rates. They're-offended much sooner than those in juvenile institutions, and thus treatment as an adult created a greater risk of community safety in the long run". Further, "Juveniles incarcerated in adult correctional institutions are also at greater risk of assaults, both sexual and physical. Studies show that such youth are five times as likely to report being a victim of rape, twice as likely to be beaten by staff and 50% more likely to be assaulted with a weapon than youth in juvenile facilities and they are eight times more likely to commit suicide".

These facts are shocking. I believe we should not place a child up against such bleak odds. There has to be a better way to deal with juvenile offenders than to try them as adults and place the child in the violent seditious atmosphere of an adult prison. Such an atmosphere would quickly take away their hope, and any dreams they may have for a positive future. Our society, government, and court system has to do more for our children than to throw their lives away.

Second Place Essay by Edward Gilbert
Age 18
Elk Mound High School

Allan's mother was depressed, her son, at the age of 17, was so violent. Alan had stolen bullets from a hardware store. He and his friends were going out shooting at rocks to see if they could hit each other with the ricocheting bullets. One night Alan and his friends went on a rampage, smashing and shooting mailboxes, maliciously destroying federal property. One of their bullets mortally wounded a cow. Had Allan been born in Wisconsin and committed his crimes in the 1980's, he would have been considered to be an adult and been thrown into jail with other adults and perhaps even faced a prison sentence. He would have had a criminal record as an additional punishment which certainly would have affected his job prospects.

But Allan committed his crimes in Wyoming in the 1950s and was dealt with by the Juvenile Justice System. 'Alan was thought worthy of rehabilitation and was assigned probation. Alan Simpson went on to become a U.S. Senator from the state of Wyoming. What would his future had been had he been tried as an adult instead of in the Juvenile Justice System?

The Juvenile Justice System was established in the United States as a response to the problems associated with the rapid growth of cities in the 1800's. Reformers felt that a strong, informal court system was needed to intervene in the lives of troubled youth that would emphasize reform. The first juvenile court was established in 1899, under the assumption that children are less guilty of criminal intent.

A Juvenile Court would have:

- more civil than criminal procedures
- intervention by a juvenile police officer, probation officer, and social worker
- judges could use discretion
- separate institutions for juveniles and adults.

Many children experienced the Juvenile Justice System over 150 years. People agreed that the Juvenile Justice System provided better solutions for troubled children than putting them into jails with adults. But, from 1984 to 1994, arrests for juveniles suddenly jumped 78%. Criminologist James Fox, suggested that by 2000 we'd have an 'influx of super predators', Newsweek contained an article entitled "Should we cage the new breed of vicious kids?" With this emphasis on the impending doom, the public became worried, blaming the Juvenile Justice System. It was accused of "coddling offenders" and endangering the public " 'If you're old enough to do the crime, you're old enough to serve the time' became a campaign slogan as policy makers responded to public fear. Talk of overturning the 150 year old Juvenile Justice System was everywhere. Forty-nine states changed laws to transfer juveniles into adult court with little concern for the circumstances of the crime 218,000 additional children received punishment rather than rehabilitation 1996 to 1999.

Wisconsin passed the "Juvenile Justice Reform Act" which mandated all seventeen year old criminals to be tried and sentenced as adults 8,125 seventeen year olds were admitted adult jails in 1997.

The new laws weren't set up to be revoked if found ineffective. Yet recidivism increases for youth sentenced' to adult court. A study conducted in Florida matched cases for similar crimes where one member was sentenced to adult court and the other to juvenile court. 49% sentenced to adult court recidivated while only 35% sent to juvenile court recidivated. A Miami Herald study found that when juveniles were sentenced to prison, the odds of them re-offending increased by 35%.

Youth are still developing mentally and emotionally. Children aren't born with judgment or the ability to feel remorse. These are learned. Probation officers say that seventeen year aids aren't mature enough to understand repercussions of a criminal record. Scientists have proven that youth's brains are less developed than adults. The frontal lobe which is responsible for judgment and impulse control, undergoes tremendous change between ages 12 and 22. When social services and the juvenile justice system work together, both arrests and high risk behavior decrease. There was an extreme overreaction to a rise in the juvenile crime rate which has been proven to be more destructive than helpful. Seventeen year olds need to be returned to the Juvenile Justice System. There could be many future senators out there that just need some help.

References

Adams, P. (2000). The History of Louisiana's Juvenile Justice System: Juvenile Justice Policy from 1968 to Present, Retrieved December 26, 2006 from the WorldWideWebat www.burkfoster.comlJUVENILE.html.

Bilchik, S. (2004). Sentencing juveniles to adult facilities fails youth and soci~ty. Corrections Today, 65. Retrieved November 22, 2006, from EBSCOhost.

Gondles Jr, JamesA. (2004).Kids are Kids,Not Adults. Corrections Today, 66. Retrieved November 22, 2006, from EBSCOhost.

Hubner,J. (2006). Discardedlives. AmnestyInternational Magazine, 42. Retrieved November 22, 2006, from EBSCOhost.

Kurlychek, &Johnson,B (2004). The juvenile penalty; a comparison of juvenile and young adult sentencing outcomes in criminal court. Criminology, 42. Retrieved November21, 2006, from EBSCOhost.

Miller, J. (1998). Riding the crime wave: why words matter so much. TheNieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University 52. Retrieved November 21, 2006, from EBSCOhost.

Orvitz,A. (2003). Juvenile death penalty; is it "cruel and unusual" in light of contemporary standards? American Bar Association Magazine, 17. Retrieved. November21,2006, from EBSCOhost.

SecondChances: Giving Kids a Chanceto Make a Better Choice (2000) National Criminal Justice Reference Service Publication, May2000. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on December 26, 2006.

Torbet, P. Griffin, P, Hunter,H Ryan MacKenzie, L. (2000). Juveniles facing criminal sanctions; three states that changed the rules. U.S. Department ofJustice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Retrieved November21,2006, from EBSCOhost.