Fair or Foul: Should Teens Face Lengthy Prison Sentences?

Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley's office made an application to the court to keep the case of four teenage girls indicted for robbery and assault in youth court instead of family court. The teenagers are being accused of attacking a 62-year-old woman at Greece Ridge Mall. The teenagers whose names were not released are 14 and 15 year-olds. According to reports, at least one of the girls stabbed the woman and her car was stolen. Doorley stated, "We believe this is a very serious case, and should be adjudicated as adolescent offenders rather than being sent to family court,"

WHEC's Berkeley Brean spoke with a defense attorney for one of the girls. Brean asked, "Have you ever had to defend a 14-year-old accused of these kinds of crimes?". "I've defended a 14-year-old accused of shooting someone on their way home from college. He was 14 at the time," said attorney Jim Hinman. "Right now I have two under age 18 clients who are charged with murder."

On April 22, 2021, District Attorney Sandra Doorley tweeted, "16-year-old Edgar Tolentino was charged with Murder 2nd in relation to the attempted carjacking & murder of Richard Sciascia in the Town of Gates on 4/7. Thank you to @GatesPolice for this investigation. We look forward to prosecuting this case & finding justice for Mr. Sciascia."

In August of 2021 two teens, ages 16 and 17 were accused of tossing a loaded firearm from a vehicle during a high-speed police chase.

NY Daily News reported eight NYC teenagers at Horizon Juvenile Center held staffers hostage. According to the report, the teens became angry because their lunch arrived late.

The increase in violence across the nation has sparked a debate on how underage suspects should be prosecuted. According to a report by Stanford Children's Health, recent research has found that adult and teen brains work differently. Adults think with the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s rational part. This is the part of the brain that responds to situations with good judgment and an awareness of long-term consequences. Teens process information with the amygdala. This is the emotional part.

In teen’s brains, the connections between the emotional part of the brain and the decision-making center are still developing—and not always at the same rate. That’s why when teens have overwhelming emotional input, they can’t explain later what they were thinking. They weren’t thinking as much as they were feeling. crimes that have increased across the nation. Unfortunately, some of those crimes were committed by juveniles. Forcing many to ask the question how should teenagers be punished?

Houston, Texas developed Teen Court. The website states, Teen Court is a court for teens, by teens. Our TEEN COURT hears real cases of juveniles who have received citations, and they are responsible for determining the sentences of teen defendants.

How it works: Juvenile defendants plead guilty or no contest and choose to have their cases adjudicated via TEEN COURT. Our teen volunteers work with real justice professionals to prosecute or defend the defendant. At the conclusion of the case, teen jurors are responsible for hearing the cases and deciding the punishment. The judges presiding over TEEN COURT are official Municipal Court Judges. Defendants can be sentenced to serve subsequent jury terms as a form of punishment.

Equal Justice Initiative reported, the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Senate Bill 1391, which prohibits the prosecution of 14- and 15-year-olds as adults, is constitutional because it furthers voters’ intent to keep kids out of adult prisons.

What do you think should happen to teenage defendants?