Searching for Justice for Juveniles in America: Are There Lessons to be Learned from the United Kingdom?
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Author
Becker, Cristina
Subject
Washington and Lee University, Shepherd Poverty Program
Discrimination in juvenile justice administration
Social justice
Recidivism
Juvenile delinquents -- Rehabilitation
Juvenile detention
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Capstone; [FULL-TEXT FREELY AVAILABLE ONLINE] Cristina Becker is a member of the Class of 2013 of Washington and Lee University School of Law. This paper suggests that if the U.S. continues its existing detention-heavy approach to juvenile justice, it will fall short of its social and criminal justice goals. Instead of deterring youth offenders, adult imprisonment increases the recidivism rate by exacerbating the same poverty issues that tend to influence child criminality in the first place. Essentially, the criminal justice system produces counter-rehabilitative effects in juveniles. A child enters a prison, but leaves as an adult—often an adult with a more developed criminal mind who is then released back into his community. This paper ultimately points out that the U.S. should espouse the U.K.’s approach, and that adult imprisonment is not the answer for juvenile offenders because the harshness and poor outcomes do not contribute to the majority of its social and criminal justice goals. [From Introduction] Cristina Becker