17 Year Old In Prison Essay

The average weight and height of a 17-year-old male is 142 lbs. and 5ft. 7 in. tall. The average weight and height of a 17-year-old female is 120 lbs. and 5ft. 3in. tall (Disabled-World). The average 17-year-olds intelligence about their actions and repercussions is close to none. After reading these things, does it seem fair to place a 17-year-old in adult prisons and jails? Sadly, multiple states place teenagers into their adult system everyday. Erik Eckholm of The New York Times states, “…as of today, in nine states, including Louisiana, they are automatically handled as adults, rather than as juveniles. In two states, New York and North Carolina, 16-year-olds are as well” (Eckholm). Although some of these states are looking to make changes on this law, the process is slow because of one main …show more content…
A teenager is considered a teenager for a reason; they have juvenile prisons for that reason. Teenagers should not be placed into the adult prison system. A teenager in an adult prison is not mentally or physically prepared to protect him or herself from abuse. This abuse could be sexual, physical, or verbal. This can be seen in an article written by Maurice Chammah’s article, A Boy Among Men. The article is about a boy named John Doe who was sentenced to spend 3 years in the Richard A. Handlon Correctional Facility in Ionia, Michigan for a couple break ins. In prison, John faced almost instant sexual abuse. It started by people sliding letters under the door, Chammah wrote, “not always explicit, some certainly were. “You are one sexy nigger,” one read. “You need a white man to show you how to act...When the opportunity comes I want to sneak in your house and hit that.” Another letter said he had a “fan club” (Chammah). The inmates started out by trying to affect John mentally. A quote from the article, “…and