Juvenile Transfer Laws, By Alonza Thomas

Juvenile Transfer Laws Alonza Thomas was a 15 year old teenager with no prior convictions or a record. He decided to run away from home and found himself staying with someone he thought he could trust. Unfortunately, the man he was staying with demanded that Thomas was to rob a gas station to pay him back in return for staying in his house and eating his food. The man supplied Thomas with a loaded gun to rob a gas station. Fearing for his safety Thomas tried to rob the store. Having no experience in crime or robbery, Thomas first attempt was botched. While in the process of the robbery, the gun accidently went off scaring Thomas and he decided to flee with no spoils from the botched robbery. Before he could leave, he was attacked …show more content…
Juveniles housed with adults tend to commit more violent crimes when released from jails and prisons. They tend to recidivate more frequently than juveniles who are housed with juveniles in juvenile facilities. Those housed 23 hours a day alone commit suicide more frequently, and require therapy more frequently than those housed in juvenile facilities. Juveniles housed with adults are victimized, abused, raped and assaulted more frequently than juveniles housed with juveniles. Alonza Thomas describes what he went through as being housed in a cage and handcuffed from one cage to another cage. Thomas was present when a juvenile in a cell close to his cell hung himself. Thomas and other juveniles are encouraged to stay in segregation/solitary confinement away from adult inmates for their safety by detention officers and correctional staff. Juveniles are housed in a cell 23 hours a day, only coming out for an hour to shower and walk around. As a direct result, many become suicidal and suffer from depression. Often the side-effects of being housed alone for years require years of therapy after incarceration has ended. Thomas tried to commit suicide several times while incarcerated. He describes talking in full conversations to himself with himself. Thomas began to reach out for help because he had given up and was ready …show more content…
Juveniles require therapy and each juvenile need to be treated as a person in need of treatment in the juvenile justice system. The adult criminal justice system was designed to incarcerate adults for extended periods of time; its primary purpose is punishment. Prisons and jails are to house adults for short and long periods of time. Jails and prisons are dangerous for adults, but they can be detrimental and deadly for juveniles, especially those housed alone and those living with adult violent offenders. The criminal justice history has shown that rehabilitation of juveniles works best for most juvenile because they do not think and act as adults. The majority of them can be rehabilitated and returned to the community. If they are housed with adults they learn how to become a more violent criminal and/or they become prey to the adults they are housed with suffering from rape, violent physical attacks and committing suicide. Therefore they should be given a chance for rehabilitation before they are considered transferable to adult prisons and courts. History of the court and prison system has shown that when juveniles are tried and housed with adults