States rethink trying juveniles as adults

Many minors in the adult correctional system aren't violent offenders, a new report finds.

from the March 22, 2007 edition

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Many of these laws were passed when crime had ticked up to record highs in the early 1990s and conservative criminologists were talking about a new breed of "superpredator" youths. In most cases, legislatures acted after a particularly sensational case, such the attack on a Central Park jogger in 1989, when police said that a gang of roving kids raped and beat a woman almost to death. But in the ensuing years, crime has dropped significantly, and the superpredator theory has been discounted. And 13 years after five youths were convicted in the Central Park attack, an older serial rapist confessed to the crime.

New research has also shown that juveniles serving in adult facilities are at a much higher risk of being assaulted or abused. They also have significantly higher rates of recidivism compared with similar kids in the juvenile system.

"In fairness to the legislators, when they passed these laws, sometimes in haste, they didn't have all the information that we have now," says Liz Ryan, executive director of the Campaign for Youth Justice.

A handful of states have already revised some of their legislation. Others have set up commissions to study the issue. Ms. Ryan and other youth advocates are also pressing for Congress to amend legislation so that states are forbidden from housing any juvenile in an adult jail before trial.

But some conservative criminologists say the changes in the law in the 1990s have helped bring about the drop in crime. The laws are working as they should, they believe. "Usually, when a child is moved to the adult system, it's a case where they have a long history of crime," says David Muhlhausen, a senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation.

For his part, Keith went to night school to make up for the time he was in jail. He graduated and now intends to go to college. But because he has an adult felony conviction, his ability to get college loans will be limited.

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