3 Responses to “RadioActive: Juvenile Justice in CT”

1. adamquinn says:

   May 13, 2009 at 11:58 pm

   it’d be alright, even great, if the age was kept at 16 as long as the age of majority changed to 16.

   what makes an 18 year old any more capable of making ‘adult’ decisions than a 17 year old? after a certain point, making smart decisions has less to do with age and more to do with life experience. it’s a lot harder to gain that experience without having any legal control over one’s own life.

   not to mention the plethora of teens who suffer from depression because of the life they’re legally forced to follow. then by the time they do have control over their own lives, they’re already indoctrinated into following the same traditional path.

   my rant is barely relevant, but i guess my point is that if you’re going to try 16 year olds as adults then why don’t you consider them adults? it’s kind of a double standard. apparently the state thinks minors are capable of making adult fuck-ups but not making adult choices.
2. David Samuels says:

   May 14, 2009 at 7:43 am

   Adam, you make a valid point about double standards & age – 18 year olds can’t go into certain dance clubs but they can die in an illegal war. Scientific studies find that our brains aren’t fully formed until age 25, which explains the behavior that lands some teens in the juvenile justice system. That being said, I think that Raise the Age is a good thing because it would allow for younger teens to be diverted from the adult to the juvenile system, where mental health treatment services are in place that aren’t available in adult jails.
3. adamquinn says:

   May 14, 2009 at 5:08 pm

   ah i didnt realize that.
   i just got carried away with my idealism.
   but yeah that does make sense then.

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