Juvenile ≠ Adult

                           At one point in our lives we have all wanted to be treated as adults. What about if you had committed a crime though (and you were still a minor), would you still want to be treated as an adult? In this case you would probably want to go back to being the minor you are. Ultimately circumstances and contexts shift ones views and preferences. For example in Mark Salzman’s, True Notebooks most of these minors committed adult crimes yet they were not ready to face adult consequences and environments (state penitentiaries). If a minor engages in adult crimes and activities he should be treated as an adult, right? – No he/she should not. Treating a juvenile as an adult will forcefully internalize on the minor an image of his/herself as an actual criminal and unwelcome member of society.     

           Before I had read the articles and the book, True Notebooks I had a different concept on juvenile justice: I believed juveniles should be treated as adults. My argument for this was that at a certain age one develops own criteria, therefore one has the choice to pick a delinquency path or try to be a productive member of society. Then I realized this was a selfish point of view. Just because I had chosen not to commit criminal acts, does not mean the other kids committed them for pure fun. Different factors can corner an individual to turn to deviant behavior. Factors that I probably did not experience myself therefore I cannot compare them to me nor can I judge these juveniles since our situations were possibly different. For example I don’t really recall ever being in a situation in which I had nothing to eat, but some of these minors might have been in a situation like that, leading them to steal.  

           Once I read the articles and the book by Mark Salzman my view on juvenile trials and justice was transformed. I analyzed the situation but this time I placed myself in their shoes, after this it was when I decided adults and juveniles are not the same. They are not the same demographically, physically and most important not the same mentally. The mentality of a juvenile “delinquent” can still be changed for the best. While the mentality of an adult criminal is way more difficult to even try to alter it. This is due to the fact that an adult who has practiced crime all their life for let’s say thirty or forty years has a defined identity by now, a criminal identity. On the other hand these adolescents are still trying to construct their identity. To treat a juvenile as an adult has a lot more implications than simply moving a minor from one location to another.  If you treat a juvenile as an adult you will only corrupt the minor and his/her identity even more. Due to the fact that these teenagers once in state penitentiaries will probably have contact with consolidated hard core criminals, therefore putting these minors to through much exposure. If you treat a juvenile as an adult you might be depriving him/her of an honest opportunity to realize the harm of their actions and become a better person. It does no good to try to teach a minor a lesson on bad behavior by surrounding him/her with individuals that only portray this behavior. If you surround a minor with this context it is more likely that once out the minor will “go back to the same environment as before”, as Steve Mitchell states from his experiences at the juvenile facility. 

          Another confounding factor that also changed my view were the personal and emotional descriptions Steve and Mark both had about these juveniles. Within the book Mark shares with the audience free writes written by these youths making the reader feel closer to the conflicts and feelings experienced by these young men. Mark Salzman shows us the human and compassionate side of these “criminals” by portraying their capacity to feel remorse and want of a better life situation. With time and interaction it was inevitable for Salzman to grow fond of these kids and fret for them, “Not only did I miss them, I worried about them. They were somewhere in the adult prison system now, where they would almost surely be targets for abuse and cruelty”, (Salzman, pg. 211). In this same manner Steve Mitchell confesses that his feelings do influence his job, “obviously you get to know them so emotions do present themselves, it’s human nature”.This is true, feelings do present themselves and I speak from personal experience. I had the opportunity to go up to the juvenile hall where Steve Mitchell works and I got the opportunity to talk to this fourteen year old girl and a couple of boys. From these short encounters I could not abstain myself from feeling distressed and desolate, because this might be how these teens feel. When I was talking to this girl, Melissa, she seemed so innocent and pure. She was in there making lanyards, very intricate ones too, how can she be a criminal? Think about it only fourteen years old and she had been in there since she was thirteen, Melissa can still make a productive and happy future for herself. With encouragement and knowledge not only Melissa but all the other teens in there can build brighter futures. I want to volunteer to help these teens, because if “I am not part of the solution I am still part of the problem”.  

          Last but not least I want to mention a fact I found most interesting between Mark Salzman and Steve Mitchell. Mark and Mitchell share views about how a lack of a parent, especially a father, can be a confounding factor for the imprisonment of these teens. One of these cases was that of Frontunto, “Dad why weren’t you there?... not having a fatherly figure I turned to the streets”, (Salzman, pg. 299). Steve also agrees that most of the kids in the Youth Facility “have similar upbringing; a lot of them don’t have dads.

          Even after knowing that some of these juveniles killed, robbed or injured somebody I cannot help to feel compassion and sympathy for them. Why? Because not all of them chose to be involved in gangs for the enjoyment of it. Some just wanted to feel protected and accepted. Others did not really understand what they were really doing, they were too young and one naive mistake now has them in prison for decades. Decades sentenced by a judge, because the system decided to treat these minors as adults, even though juveniles and adults do not equal themselves. An adult has lived more than a minor and usually if you’re an adult and you are still in prison is because you have chosen to define your life as a criminal. Minors should be given a second chance, putting aside our prejudices and reflexive nature to condemn others because they made a mistake.