Charging youths as adults presents serious problems – and doesn’t reduce crime rates
We know too much, and have seen enough evidence of the consequences, to continue punishing juvenile offenders as adults.
We know too well the research explaining the development stages of a young brain to say that the actions of a 16-year-old are derived from the same comprehension as those of a grown man or woman.
And we’ve had generations to understand that the biggest impact of confinement and felony records isn’t as a deterrent or eye-for-an-eye punishment, but a lifetime trying to overcome the traumatic and sometimes criminal lessons of imprisonment.
This is not to excuse the actions, sometimes horrific, of young adults. A crime is a crime. But youths of color are disproportionately in the crosshairs of heavy-handed Measure 11 charges that carry the very real threat of serious prison time. It is often an intimidation tactic, with plea deals nearly guaranteed.
RELATED: Youths and Measure 11: Plea deals and racial disproportion
When four boys from Grant High School shoved and threatened another student, they deserved to be punished. They deserved to learn their lesson. They were 15 and 16 years old at the time. They had time to learn and make retribution.
Measure 11, passed by Oregon voters in the mid-90s, requires that juveniles age 15 and older be automatically tried in adult court and face a mandatory minimum sentence if the prosecutor charges them with one of 21 Measure 11 crimes. These crimes range from assault and robbery to rape and murder.
Measure 11 charges of first- and second-degree robbery meant the Grant High boys were treated as adults and faced mandatory minimum sentences of more than five years in prison. As predicted, the intimidation worked and their charges were reduced to lesser offenses. (Even if you had the money and time to go to court, would you risk five years in prison with no early release?) But the youths are still channeled through the adult system, rather than the juvenile system with services designed for youths. And their mug shots and names were in the media, distributed online and forever affixed on the Internet to serious felonies, regardless of the ultimate conviction.
Since 1995, Oregon district attorneys have processed more than 4,000 juveniles younger than 18 through adult court under Measure 11. Multnomah County has the highest rates, charging 1,200 youths with Measure 11 between 1995 and 2012. Of those, 66 percent were kids of color, according to Oregon Justice Resource Center data for both local and statewide figures. In 2015 alone, among resolved juvenile Measure 11 cases in Multnomah County, three out of four involved youths of color.
One could argue that charging youths as adults might hold some merit if the practice was shown to reduce crime rates.
It’s not.
RELATED: Measure 11 makes no sense for youths (commentary)
So let’s take our heads out of the tough-on-crime sandbox and really look at what we’re doing to juveniles under Measure 11. It is ineffective and damaging. It is costly and unnecessary. It is time to let it go.
