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Early in the twentieth century the judicial system in the United States had begun to develop a separate juvenile justice branch that recognized the special needs of juvenile offenders.  Before then,  juvenile offenders were tried in adult courts, subjected to the same penalties as adults, and often incarcerated with the adult prison population.  Society began to realize that housing juveniles within the adult prison did almost nothing to help with their rehabilitation, and subjected them to great danger of abuse and exploitation.  Consequently, over the last fifty years America has developed a  juvenile justice system that emphasizes rehabilitation,  provides schooling and training, and allows for the release of young prisoners by the time they reach twenty-one years of age.

The exception to the policy of releasing juvenile offenders at twenty-one years old happens when the court decides that a juvenile will be tried as an adult.  The flexibility to try juveniles as adults is usually granted to judges when society considers the offense to be particularly heinous.  The general idea is that older teenagers  (perhaps at sixteen or seventeen years of age) are capable of committing heinous crimes with well thought-out intent, and with the fore-knowledge they will be released from imprisonment within a few years.  These individuals are unlikely to be rehabilitated by the age of twenty-one, and will continue to present a clear danger to society upon release.  The concept of trying certain juveniles as adults definitely has merit in some circumstances, and most likely helps to protect society against crime.

However well intentioned, there are times when a judge’s decision to try a juvenile offender as an adult goes beyond the bounds of reason.  This, in fact, is case with Jordan Brown, a twelve year old boy from Western Pennsylvania, charged with the execution-style killing of his father’s girlfriend and her unborn child.  When he was still eleven years old, Jordan Brown took his father’s shotgun and shot the woman to death at point blank range.  Prosecutors in the case allege that Jordan was upset about being asked to move out of his room to make way for the new baby.  Over the last year, since the murder was committed, Jordan has refused to take responsibility for the crime, which court psychiatrists have testified is necessary for rehabilitation.  Based on Jordan’s refusal to admit guilt, the court has decided that Jordan will never be able to be rehabilitated within the confines of the juvenile justice system; ergo, he will be tried as an adult.  If convicted of first degree murder, eleven year old Jordan Brown will become the youngest person in the country to serve a life sentence in prison without parole.

Regardless of Jordan Brown’s refusal to admit guilt for his crime, it is hard to believe that an “enlightened” society would allow him to be tried in an adult court, and potentially spend the rest of his life in jail.  Although his crime was particularly heinous and cold-blooded, it occurred when he was only an eleven year old child.  Jordan should be allowed to “grow up” in a juvenile detention facility, where he can be rehabilitated over a long period of time.  It is most likely that the twenty-one year old “adult” that emerges from juvenile detention will be very different from the eleven year old murderer that entered.

—Rich

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