The trial and sentencing of young children as adults is occurring too frequently, according to report released this week by the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at UT.
The report focuses on how some states treat pre-adolescent children, especially those age 12 and under, who have committed serious crimes. It also examines the transfer of young children to adult criminal court, its consequences and also offers policy recommendations to both federal and state legislatures.
The adult criminal justice system is a not a good fit for young kids, said Michele Deitch, LBJ school adjunct professor and author of the report.
High-profile cases have drawn attention to the issue of children in the adult criminal system, according to the report. In August 2007, the UT Law School Supreme Court Clinic represented Christopher Pittman, a 12-year-old boy accused of killing his grandparents. Pittman was tried as an adult and sentenced to 30 years in prison with no parole. Pittman remains in the adult criminal justice system in South Carolina, said Michael Sturley, UT law professor and director of the UT Law School Supreme Court Clinic.
“Unfortunately, Chris is not the only child this has happened to,” Sturley said. “He is only one example. People act like we want to give these kids a free pass or something. We know that they committed serious offenses, but they need to be housed in separate facilities.”
More than half of the states in the U.S. permit children age 12 and under to be treated as adults for criminal purposes. In 22 states, as well as the District of Columbia, children can be sentenced as young as seven. Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and South Carolina’s transfer policies and adult sentencing laws and practices allow children to be subject to harsh adult sanctions, long prison terms, mandatory sentences and placement in adult prisons.
The juvenile court system handles the majority of crimes committed by young children, including serious offenses like murder. Every year, 80 children 13 years of age and younger are judicially transferred to adult court. Between 1985 and 2004, 703 children age 12 and under were judicially transferred, and half of these children were black. Most of these crimes are not murder but property crimes, according to the report.
Adult facilities are poorly equipped for the special programming, education, supervision and treatment that children need. In adult facilities youth face higher risks of physical and sexual assault and suicide, according to the report.
Deitch said children need to be separate, where they can receive rehabilitative services and programs in order to help them become productive adults.
Scientific research shows that children’s brains are still developing in ways that affect impulse and control and researchers argue that children are less blameworthy than adults, according to the report.
“Young children with developing brains and personalities are capable of rehabilitation and reform,” Deitch said.
In Texas, children cannot be tried in the adult justice system until the age of 14.
“Youthful offender programs have separate programs for younger children and separate facilities,” said Michelle Lyons, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
The report recommends that children be kept in the juvenile system by raising the age for transfer. The report claims that mandatory sentencing should no longer exist.
“Lawmakers must reconsider and reverse these laws,” Deitch said.
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