As the text points out, the whole idea of a “juvenile justice system” is to avoid stigmatizing juveniles while rehabilitating them. Yet we are trying juveniles as adults in greater numbers than ever before. Thinking back to previous topics in this course, when we looked at sentencing goals, the juvenile justice system is supposed to reflect a rehabilitation model as opposed to a punishment model. But in many states, a punishment-based model not only punishes, but seems to want to punish juveniles even more harshly by sentencing them as adults rather than making an affirmative effort to save them from a permanent life of crime.
Based on this information, answer one of the following discussion questions:
Do you believe juveniles should be tried as adults? If so, at what age should a child be tried as an adult? Why?
If you were revising the juvenile justice system, what would be the first modification you would make and why?
