Four Kids Four Crimes: Frontline Juvenile Justice

The first boy's name is Manny. He grew up on the streets of San Jose, joined gang life, and believe that the only way to protect and prove himself was through physical violence. He was only fourteen years old when he was sentenced to juvenile court for rape. At age seventeen Manny and two other of his gang members attacked a family in his neighborhood, and was arrested on four counts of attempted murder. Manny was found guilty in adult court and sentenced to nine years in an adult prison. Manny says "It might as well be a done deal. Two strikes. . . . I am only 18 years old. I plan to live until I am 50, I'm not perfect. I don't know, I don't think I'm going to make it, you know? I don't think I'm going to stay out for good" (PBS Frontline).
The second boy's name is Shawn. He grew up in an affluent neighborhood in California. Shawn's father was awaken in the middle of the night by Shawn stabbing him repetitively with a knife. He was sixteen years old at the time. Shawn agreed to plea guilty which allowed to stay in the juvenile system, thus having a much lesser punishment. Shawn was allowed to stay in the juvenile system despite his criminal background. He was charged with strong armed burglary and his drinking and marijuana use lead him to be kicked out of two different schools. "Judge Edwards ruled that Shawn remain in the Santa Clara County's Juvenile Hall until he turns 19. In addition, Shawn would be allowed to leave the facility during the day to attend community college classes, private counseling sessions, and Narcotics Anonymous meetings. Eventually he was even allowed to go home for meals with his family."
The third boy's name is Marquese. At seventeen years old he had been in and out of the juvenile justice system quite frequently. Marquese's last charge was auto theft and residential burglary. Prosecutors pushed to have Marquese tried as an adult due to his criminal past, but Marquese's lawyer disagreed. She believed that due to Marquese's childhood circumstances that the juvenile justice system would be the best option to rehabilitate Marquese. The judge in Marquese's case agreed with his lawyer. He believed although the nature of Marquese's crimes were violent his terrible childhood allowed him to have another try at rehabilitation in a Juvenile facility.
The last boy's name is Jose. At fifteen years old Jose was charged with murder. He was involved in a street fight that ended in a death of a young boy. Jose fled the scene. According to Frontline "After fleeing the scene of the assault, José and his friend had found the second victim struggling to walk with a broken ankle, and they helped the victim to get home and clean up. It was also discovered that while José had participated in the beating, he appeared to have played a lesser role in the attack." He was sentenced to 208 days in Juvenile Hall.
Four different juveniles with four different crimes. I believe all the punishments that these young offenders received were appropriate with the exception of Shawn. I believed with Shawn's past criminal experience he should have been tried as an adult. The nature of his crime was heinous. I do not believe that Shawn's life should be ruined for his actions, but I think it sends a message with an affluent, white, teenage boy tries to kill his father and still gets to go home for dinner, while Manny will sit in adult prison for nine years. While there crimes are not the same, they are similar. It is tough to say what should be done with teenagers who commit adult crimes, but what is obvious is the inconsistency between cases.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/juvenile/bench/adulttime.html