As a product of the peak “tough on crime” years of the 1990s, many states adopted the practice of automatically handling 17-year-olds as adults in the criminal justice system. Nine states hold this view, while two states, New York and North Carolina, charge 16-year-olds as adults. As a result, many kids face some adult-sized consequences including a criminal record, fines and sometimes stints in notoriously violent prisons.
Louisiana and several other states among the nine are taking another look at the laws that treat kids like adults. As part of the ‘raise the age’ movement that has won bipartisan support, new laws would increase the cutoff to a more standard age of 18 in light of the growing neurological evidence that young people’s brains are different from adult brains. Officials in Connecticut, Illinois and Vermont are even discussing raising the cutoff to 21.
The passage of new laws can’t come soon enough for the 5000 17-year-olds arrested each year for non-violent misdemeanors in Louisiana alone. Seen as juveniles instead of adults, many will have the opportunity to receive therapy and earn their high school diplomas rather than be straddled with a criminal record and exposure to hardened criminals. Evidence suggests that treating 17-year-old offenders and younger as juveniles makes them less likely to commit future crimes than youths who are punished as adults - a step in the right direction.
If you or a loved one has been charged with a crime as a juvenile, the Law Offices of Andrew C. Ladd can help. We provide complete, aggressive and experienced juvenile defense services to minors charged with juvenile crimes, such as drug charges, underage drinking and minor possession of alcohol. In addition, we have a successful record in defending serious felony charges for violent crimes such as assault. Contact us today.
Source: The New York Times, “States Move Toward Treating 17-Year-Old Offenders as Juveniles, Not Adults”, by Erik Eckholm, May 13,2016.
