Topic: Juvenile Justice

Trying youths as adults hurts families and taxpayers, but not crime

If a juvenile court decides today that accused Chardon High School shooter T.J. Lane is competent to stand trial, he could become one of 250,000 youths prosecuted in adult criminal court every year. This practice harms young people, doesn't save taxpayers money, and doesn't reduce crime.

Supreme Court sizes up teens who murder

Two cases involving life sentences for 14-year-olds who murdered will test the Supreme Court's past rulings that teens are not small adults and must be given a chance for redemption.

Students return to Ohio high school after Monday's shooting

Police were on hand as students arrived under cloudy skies by car, on foot and by school bus at 1,100-student Chardon High School, which resumed classes following Monday's shooting. 

Ohio school shooting: State likely to seek adult trial for teen suspect

Suspect T.J. Lane appeared in juvenile court Tuesday, where the judge ordered him held in custody pending trial for Monday's school shooting in Chardon, Ohio. The state is one that routinely transfers minors to adult court.

'Kids for cash' judge sentenced to 28 years for racketeering scheme

A Pennsylvania judge was sentenced Thursday for his part in what prosecutors called a 'kids for cash' scheme that sent juvenile offenders to privately run detention facilities in return for kickbacks.

Why one city is spending more on antigang efforts despite budget cuts

The National Gang Symposium highlighted Fort Worth, Texas, for its commitment to gang-intervention programs. Panelists worried that budget cuts will hurt antigang efforts.

More states correct the mistake of trying juveniles as adults

More states are finally understanding that juveniles are not the same as adults, and that juvenile defendants should not be tried in adult courts or housed in adult jails and prisons. A new study shows the progress.

America corrects a mistake: trying minors as adults

After nearly every state made it easier to try minors as adults in the 1980s and '90s, several states are taking steps to send them to juvenile court. That's a more productive and less costly approach.

Supreme Court moves in the right direction on juvenile sentence

It bans life without parole for crimes short of murder. By doing so, the Supreme Court confirms that youths do not think or behave like adults, and should not be treated like adults under the law.

Supreme Court on juvenile crimes: Justice Kennedy

Supreme Court puts limits on life sentences for juveniles

Juveniles who commit crimes that aren't fatal to their victims cannot receive life sentences without possibility of parole, the Supreme Court ruled 6-to-3 on Monday.

Teen juries put a new spin on juvenile justice

In L.A.'s peer courts, teen juries grill young offenders and then devise deterrents. The new juvenile justice approach is quickly building a track record of preventing repeat crimes.

At Supreme Court, no accord over life sentences for juveniles

After two hours of arguments Monday, Supreme Court justices seem split on whether states can mete out life sentences to juveniles who aren't killers.

Supreme Court case: juvenile offenders serving life in prison

The Supreme Court on Monday takes up two cases that explore the question: Should juveniles convicted of nonlethal crimes be sentenced to life in prison without parole?

In Turkey, hundreds of minors imprisoned on 'terrorism' charges

The 2006 antiterror law makes it a crime to take part in demonstrations supporting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Life in prison for criminal teens? Supreme Court to decide.

Two Florida teens were given life sentences without parole for nonlethal crimes. The top court will consider if the punishments are constitutional.

Teen Somali pirate to be tried as adult

Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse, who was charged in New York Tuesday, is the first in more than a century to be tried for piracy in the US.