Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Why does the US gov. have the option to prosecute a 14yo as an adult?

Ustwo · 10-14-2007, 06:07 PM

Lets get some outside opinions.

Quote:

Prosecutors weigh merits of charging kids as adults

By ANDY HUMBLES
Staff Writer

In most legal definitions, a child becomes an adult at age 18.

But the age at which a child becomes an adult in court can vary.

Whether a child charged with a crime is prosecuted as a minor or as an adult in Tennessee depends on several factors, including the severity of the charge, the child's criminal history, his or her mental condition and other elements of the minor's background.

''You take this home with you at night,'' said Jeff Burks, an assistant district attorney general assigned to juvenile transfers in Davidson County. ''It's the edge of so many of our problems. You try to strike a balance of what is salvageable in a young person with punishing a violent act and protecting society.''

One local case involves Ben Bower of Mt. Juliet, who was 17 when he was charged as an adult in the 2002 killing of Cumberland University football player Michael Bochette.

Bower, now 18, was one of three young men charged in Bochette's slaying and is scheduled to go on trial May 17.

At 12, Cole Thomas of Smith County was charged as a juvenile and subsequently pleaded guilty in the 2003 shooting of his father's live-in girlfriend. As a juvenile, Thomas will remain in the custody of the state Department of Children's Services until he is 19.

''The juvenile system is designed to rehabilitate,'' said District Attorney General Tommy Thompson, whose district includes Smith County. ''For some, based on their lifestyle, rehab is out of the picture. Most of the time, if a juvenile is treated as an adult, it's a pretty bad set of facts.''

In Tennessee, the local district attorney's office recommends whether to transfer a minor to adult court, and a juvenile court judge makes the decision.

''When you are dealing with juveniles, the first issue is, what can we do to help this person?'' said David Durham, an assistant district attorney in Thompson's office. ''With adults, it's 'what can we do to protect society from this person?' But (for) certain crimes, statutes allow us to change focus. Court dockets across the country have 12-, 13-, 14-year-olds (committing violent crimes) and society should be protected.''

Nashville defense attorney Tommy Overton has represented several juveniles who have been prosecuted as adults. While the system works for the most part, he does feel there are some cases that don't warrant a minor being transferred to the adult system.

''I don't feel young minors have the mental capacity to understand the difference between right and wrong, perhaps because they haven't had any upbringing whatsoever. It's easy to lock the door and throw away the key, and sometimes transferring people to adult court is the easy way out.''

Considerations on whether a juvenile is transferred include the seriousness of the offense committed, how close the child is to turning 18, the child's mental health issues and their history, including efforts at rehabilitation, said Barry Tatum, Juvenile Court judge in Wilson County.

''If the state can show that criteria, the court has to look at a best-interest consideration as to the nature of the offense and whether the person is a risk to the community,'' Tatum said.

''Someone who is escalating is a concern because they've been in the system and the system has not helped them,'' said Linda Walls, who prosecutes juvenile cases in Thompson's district.

In a Florida case that made national headlines, Lionel Tate was tried and convicted as an adult for killing a 6-year-old playmate when he was 12. Tate, who turned 17 last week, beat the girl to death, claiming he was mimicking pro wrestling moves he saw on television.

Tate was originally sentenced to life in prison but, in December, a Florida appeals court ordered a new trial, saying his mental competency should have been evaluated before his first trial. Tate pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was released from prison last week.

In Nashville, Terrence McLaurine was convicted as an adult for second-degree murder in a 1997 shooting death during a drug deal when he was 12.

McLaurine, now 19, was at Middle Tennessee Correctional Facility, a state prison for adults, as of last week, according to the state's online felony offender database.

Robert Schwartz, executive director of the Juvenile Law Center in Pennsylvania, said 10,000-20,000 minors are transferred to adult court per year nationwide. But about 200,000 people a year under age 18 are tried as adults because, Schwartz said, some states have lower age limits for certain crimes that automatically put a juvenile in the adult system.

Tennessee has no automatic mandates for juveniles.

There can be advantages for minors in moving up to adult court, including the possibility of probation for an offense instead of being sent to a juvenile detention facility, Overton said.

However, Overton said, his biggest objection is that juveniles transferred up are often housed in adult jails while awaiting trial.

''I think the system works except for … when a minor is presumed innocent until he or she is found guilty. I think some things can be done to help increase security of a juvenile to keep (them) away from violent people a lot older than they are.''

In Nashville in 2003, Burks said, 29 juveniles were transferred to the adult system for either aggravated robbery or homicide cases. He estimated about five more juveniles were transferred outside his caseload.

''When you are 12, the guidelines aren't necessarily different, but there is a lot more opportunity to rehabilitate than at 17 because of the short time juvenile services would be applied,'' Burks said.

Judge Tatum said there are other frustrations in the juvenile system involving minors committing less serious crimes that can't be transferred to adult court.

''The law doesn't make a distinction between someone 14 or 17, or 10 months old. I may see a case where a young person is 17 and 363 days and charged with a felony or even a misdemeanor, but I'm still limited to the same kind of sentence as if he is 14.''

I've always thought it comes down to this question its rehab vrs danger to society. Some children are not worth 'saving' when in so doing you expose innocents to their violent behaviors.

Mean and heartless I know, but life sucks that way. Life is not about the lowest common denominator.