In the documentary “When Kids Get Life” by Ofra Bikel we see five men who were sentenced to life in prison for committing crimes in their teens. We hear the stories of how it happened, why it happened, and what life is like for them today. This documentary sheds light on the battle that juveniles face when they commit crimes and the judicial system. This documentary relates heavily in the material we learn because although it is about teenagers who receive life in prison, the judicial system plays a key role. It plays a key role because the fate of these once teenagers’ lives, was in the hands of a jury and a judge. Many people find this way of punishment unfair. How can you sentence someone who is just entering middle school to life in prison? …show more content…
For example, we meet Erik Jenson. Erik had been friends with Nathan for some time when he had noticed odd behavior. Nathan had an odd relationship with his mother, that turned out to be sexual abuse. After time passes and help going unnoticed, Nathan snapped. On June 5th, 1998, Erik dropped Nathan off at his home. While waiting for Nathan in the other room, Erik heard the murder happen. He was shocked and did not have time to react or stop it. After the murder, Erik and a friend Brett helped Nathan clean up the crime scene. Now what got Erik life in prison, was the “confession” of Brett. Claiming that Erik also helped with the murder, he was then arrested on murder charges also. Where the courts come into play is when Erik got to his trial. During Erik’s trial the Columbine shooting happened. In the same town, with another white teen whose name was also Eric. This gave him an unfair trial because of the media surrounding the shootings. Some might argue today, that if Erik had a fair trial he, might not be found guilty or have a lesser sentence. The perpetrator, Nathan, even said himself that there is no reason for Erik …show more content…
One of the main things that I liked about this documentary is how we got to hear the criminal’s side of the story. Many times, all we hear is about the gruesome acts of teens who kill. Media often paints teens who kill to be monster who do things out of rage and hatefulness. Frontline gave the background story and knowledge to its viewers. We get to hear the stories that made these teens commit horrible crime and how they feel about it today. Most of the teens in this documentary faced abuse such as mental, physical, and sexual abuse. Though what these teens did was horrific, it was understandable. Many of these kids were pushed past their breaking point, causing them to snap. This documentary shows that most of these teens did not kill out of cold blood, but out of fear. In fact, 59% of juveniles who receive life without parole the crime they committed was their first crime ever (Second Chance 4 Youth, 2016). Another thing I liked about this documentary is it exposes the judicial system. Nathan’s trial lasted three days, in these three days his defense attorney called no witnesses. With this, Nathans voice was silenced giving him no chance to tell his side of the story and what was happening behind closed doors. This sheds light on the courts because it makes you wonder if they want justice, or do they want to do what “looks good” and guarantee him life in prison. These are some things that I liked about the
Draft Paper In the documentary film, “Kids for Cash”, Robert May shows his audience the horrors of the Luzerne County justice system. He uses imagery, appeals to logos and pathos, personal experiences and anecdotes to support his claim. Robert May made this documentary to show the world that the government needs to make sure that even minors have a fair trial and justice before being incarcerated.
The article is focused around interviews with Greg and how the murders panned out. The first paragraph leaves the reader on a cliff hanger and makes the reader want to read more. In the beginning it is clear that 14-year-old Greg has a severe mental illness because he says to his mother all he thinks about is suicide
Richard Ross has interviewed over 1,000 juveniles in over 200 facilities all over the United States, he has gone to detention centers, correctional centers, and treatment centers. He has also worked alongside with the police department and juvenile courtrooms in order to get a better inside on how juveniles feel while they are locked up. All the people he has interviewed are as young as 10 years old to their late 20’s there are both females and males, who are placed behind bars. Almost 3 of every 4-youths detained in a facility for delinquency are not in there for a serious violent crime (Ross, 2012).
Leading up to this project I have been made aware of the details of how unfair and immoral the United States prison system is. In Bryan Stevenson’s book, Just Mercy, he explores the ways that criminal cases are handled, how not every police encounter is fair and legal, and the mistreatment of women and disabled inmates at below standard prisons. Subjects are plentiful because Stevenson does not limit himself to one injustice, instead he works to help as many innocent people as possible. For my research project, I have chosen the subject of wrongful sentencing of juvenile offenders as my topic, because I find that it is a complicated problem that may develop into misguided youths being completely targeted by the law. Before reading Just
In Last Chance in Texas, The author researches the treatment of juveniles that are in the Capital punishment program at the Giddings State School. Giddings is a facility in Texas that is ran aggressively and has one of the most successful, treatment programs in America for young offenders (Hubner, 2008). The juveniles in this program have committed violent crimes and were sentenced to this school for rehabilitation and the ability to reintegration back into society. Throughout the book, Hubner studied three sets of nine students of Giddings for nine months. Hubner discovered that the treatment programs worked by making the juveniles understand their past and how their actions affected other people was the key to a successful rehabilitation
The article “On Punishment and Teen Killers” written by Jennifer Jenkins is an article with very weak ethos. The author argues that teens who commit heinous crimes should receive life without the possibility of parole and that the victims rights should be considered. The author is a victim of a crime committed by a teen, her pregnant sister was brutally murdered by a teen gunman who wanted to “see what it felt like to shoot someone” (2). By bringing her sister into the paper the author lowers her credibility because she is emotionally connected to the case and has an obvious biased opinion. This leads to the readers to question her reliability on an unbiased opinion in the article.
There are many victims of unfortunate circumstances in the world today, yet some of these results could have been easily avoided. In the novel, Just Mercy, the author Bryan Stevenson addresses many cases in which children under the age of 18 are incarcerated within the adult criminal justice system. By treating children as adults in the criminal justice system their innocence and undeveloped person, become criminalized. These children become dehumanized and only viewed as full-fledged criminals and as a result society offers no chance sympathy towards them. Stevenson argues that children tried as adults have become damaged and traumatized by this system of injustice.
Erik is very rude, disrespectful, dissolute, sneaky, and egocentric, versus his brother being very kind and caring to others. Erik’s actions of evil traits are ongoing, but definitely more pronounced by his actions after Mike Costello’s death. “I carried my bags of groceries on into the kitchen and set them down. Then I heard a strange sound. It was the sound of voices in the backyard.
What if your loved one was savagely killed by a teenager with no remorse? Juveniles should be convicted as adults for ferocious crimes because even though they are “kids” they kill innocent people and should get punished for the crime they committed. Teenagers commit gruesome crimes like murder and knowing what they are makes the situation far worse. In the article “Kids are Kids-Until They Commit Crimes” the author Jennifer Jenkins talks about the teenagers that committed gory murders against innocent people that didn’t deserve to die like a road animal. For example, a 13 year old shot to death an english teacher.
The book Burning Down the House: The End of Juvenile Prison, by Nell Bernstein is a compelling expose on the inherent evil of juvenile detention facilities. In her eye-opening account of the danger that lies within locking up this nation’s youth, Bernstein utilizes a plethora of rhetorical strategies to urge her audience to recognize and act on her claim. In writing this account on the heinousness of juvenile detention centers and why the system as a whole must be reformed, Bernstein uses personal cause and effect examples, studies and statistics, as well as concrete refutations to advocate the world for change. Bernstein starts her argument by providing readers with personal examples of the effects juvenile detention centers had on a handful of the kids she interviewed. Her first example briefly narrates how Jared, an adolescent many would
There are differences between a juvenile court and criminal court in the United States. The focus of the juvenile justice system is on rehabilitation, in hope of deterring the minor away from a life of crime so they will not commit a crime again as an adult. In contrast, the criminal justice system focuses on the punishment and often bases the sentencing outcome on the criminal history of the youth. In a study conducted, Butler (2011) showed that the participants’ experience with adult jails and prisons show that those facilities may instill fear but are otherwise emotionally—and often physically—dangerous for youth. Many of the adult prisoners, who were minors when they enter the adult institution, felt they were forced to “grow
There are many children in the world who are being put behind bars and detained for alleged wrongdoing without protections they are entitled to. Throughout the world, children are charged and sentenced for actions that should not be considered as adult crimes. Here in the United States, the minimum age of criminal responsibility is age 12. Law enforcement officials and those in the juvenile justice system nationwide tend to mistreat underage individuals by trying cases while working through the lens of an adult. Unfair punishments are still handed down domestically, which is in violation of Supreme Court law.
15 to life: Kenneth’s Story Introduction The movie that was considered in this paper is “15 to life: Kenneth’s Story”. This story depicts about the person seeking for the life in prison due to his crime activities in childhood. The person is sentenced to death in prison without paroles. After the certain period, the person seeks for the release or resentencing for being a rehabilitated person in prison.
Jessie Townsend May 3rd, 2016 Prof. Allen Wong ASOC283 Why Kids Get Life The documentary “When Kids Get Life” delves into four cases involving juveniles who are serving life without parole in Colorado prisons. All of these juveniles are serving this time due to first degree murder among other charges they have received. The ages of these juveniles at the time of their crimes range from fifteen to seventeen and all of them still currently remain incarcerated. By applying different delinquency theories to each case, there is a chance that one could explain or even rationalize why these juveniles committed the crimes that they did.
“Politicians claim that the public has demanded “get-tough” policies, but this demand may often be a transitory response to a highly publicized juvenile crime” (Scott and Steinberg, 2008). January usually represents a new beginning, positive outlook, new goals and shedding last year shortcomings. This was not the case for Lionel Tate, who is the youngest American sentenced to imprisonment for life without the possibility of parole, at the impressionable age of thirteen. Lionel, who was tried as an adult, was convicted of the first-degree murder of his playmate who he viewed as his little sister, six-year-old Tiffany Eunick, on July 28, 1999, in Broward County Florida.