Why States Are Changing

Course on Juvenile Crime

Written by: Sarah Childress

Powerpoint by:

Shaunna Laurita
Samson Lautzenheiser
Andrew Olson
Andriana Oshiro

Claim 1
-We are past the mentality of, You do an adult crime, you do adult time (pgh. 8).
-Claim of Value
-said by, Delbert Elliott, an emeritus professor at the University of Colorado who studies
juvenile crime.
-This works with claim one to develop the author's argument by it being a very similar
claim but worded differently by two different college professors who studied juvenile crime
and law. Although not directly written by the author, both claims included relate to the topic
as a whole and reflect the opinions of the author herself.
Samson

Claim 2
-Kids are not adults. Children are different (pgh. 11).
-Claim of Value
-said by, Barry Feld, a juvenile law professor at the University of Minnesota and a
leading expert on juvenile justice.
-This works with claim one to develop the author's argument by it being a very similar claim
but worded differently by two different college professors who studied juvenile crime and law.
Although not directly written by the author, both claims included relate to the topic as a whole
and reflect the opinions of the author herself.
Samson

Evidence
The evidence used to support the two claims is factual and statistical evidence
cited in the article which is from reputable sources because the article is found on
PBS Frontline.
Claim 1 was made in response to 46 states reducing their rate of commitments to
a penitentiary for juveniles between 1997 and 2011.
Claim 2 was used in a supreme court case which resulted in 28 states altering its
juvenile justice system.

Shaunna

Summary
Sarah Childress in the article, Why States Are Changing Course on Juvenile Crime, argues that because of recent
statistics and Supreme Court rulings, states are changing the way in which they incarcerate juveniles and attempting to
decrease the amount that proceed to prison. She claims that despite the decrease of juvenile crime since 1997, juvenile
facilities and adult prisons continue to fill up with juveniles, but she believes that things are changing for the better.
She most attributes the change in policies to the recent Supreme Court rulings that have in essence declared and
made the official distinction that a juvenile is not an adult, by revoking states ability to give life sentences to juveniles for
crimes other than homicide, by declaring that juveniles having a mandatory life sentence is constitutional. Despite these
rulings, Childress expresses that only 13 states have so far changed their laws to accommodate the ruling, but she states also,
though, that in a currently deliberating case, Toca v. Louisiana, the Court is looking into if the rulings need to be applied
retroactively, meaning they are in use immediately and dont have to wait for states to change their laws. She also claims that
it is uneconomical to in prison juveniles, and also that there exists racial bias in the juvenile justice system.

Andy

Rhetorical Devices
Tone: In the introduction the author opens with a sympathetic tone towards kids sentenced
as adults to jail. (Between 1997 and 2011, 46 states reduced their rate of commitments for
juveniles. (Helps to indirectly explain the authors viewpoint early on)
Transitions: There is a strong use of transitions by the author, including: Theres another
factor, Meanwhile, A year later etc. (Adds to the lucidity of the text)
Analogy: The juvenile justice landscape has been reshaped in part by a trio of Supreme
Court decisions, starting in 2004. (The analogy is called the juvenile justice system a juvenile
justice landscape which is saying that it is a very broad topic with many factors affecting it.)

Andriana

Questions
Evidence: Why do some people think that there is racism in the juvenile justice
system?
Details: Why do juveniles commit crimes?
Categories: What are some causes for blacks to be targeted more than whites?
Elaboration: What are some other areas that juveniles are affected by that need to
be changed?

Link to the PBS Frontline Article

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/why-states-are-changing-course-on-juveni
le-crime/