Post articles here dealing with juvenile crime in Korea. Be sure to discuss which myths are involved.
Below is an article about a recent US Supreme Court case involving juvenile offenders.
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This is a news blog for my Undergraduate Criminology class at Ewha University in Seoul, South Korea for Spring 2010.
Court rules out some life sentences for juveniles
ReplyDeleteBy MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer Mark Sherman, Associated Press Writer – Tue May 18, 12:38 am ET
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court took two cracks at one of the law's thorniest questions Monday: When can you lock up a prisoner and throw away the key? Not when it's a teenager who hasn't killed anyone, the justices said. But when it's a "sexually dangerous" inmate, maybe so, even if he has completed his federal prison sentence.
By a 5-4 vote, the court said young people serving life prison terms must have "a meaningful opportunity to obtain release" if they haven't killed their victims. The majority opinion by Justice Anthony Kennedy extended the "children are different" rationale that drove his decision five years ago that outlawed the death penalty for killers under 18.
The court ruled in the case of Terrance Graham, who was implicated in armed robberies when he was 16 and 17. Graham, now 23, is in prison in Florida, which holds 60 percent of juvenile defendants who are locked up for life for crimes other than homicide.
"The state has denied him any chance to later demonstrate that he is fit to rejoin society based solely on a non-homicide crime that he committed while he was a child in the eyes of the law," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in his majority opinion. "This the Eighth Amendment does not permit."
In a second case, the court voted 7-2 to uphold a federal law that allows for the indefinite imprisonment of inmates considered mentally ill and "sexually dangerous," no matter that their sentences have been served.
Solicitor General Elena Kagan successfully argued the government's case in front of the Supreme Court in January. Kagan has now been nominated to replace the retiring Justice John Paul Stevens.
Kagan compared the government's power to commit sexual predators to its power to quarantine a federal inmate whose sentence has expired but who has a highly contagious and deadly disease.
The decision is in keeping with previous high court cases that have upheld state civil commitment laws for sexual predators. States hold the vast majority of sex offenders who are in prison.
In both cases, the court's liberal justices held sway and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas were in dissent.
Life sentences with no chance of parole are rare for juveniles tried as adults and convicted of crimes less serious than killing, although roughly three dozen states allow for the possibility of such prison terms. Kennedy said 129 inmates in the United States are serving such terms.
Those inmates are in Florida, the federal system and ten other states — California, Delaware, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Virginia — according to a Florida State University study that the court supplemented with independent research. More than 2,000 other juveniles are serving life without parole for killing someone. Their sentences are not affected by Monday's decision.
Justice Thomas criticized the majority for imposing "its own sense of morality and retributive justice" on state lawmakers and voters who chose to give state judges the option of life-without-parole sentences. Justice Samuel Alito also dissented, and Chief Justice John Roberts, while siding with Graham in the Florida case, opposed applying the court's ruling to all young offenders who are locked up for crimes other than murder.
Said Thomas: "I am unwilling to assume that we, as members of this court, are any more capable of making such moral judgments than our fellow citizens."
Kennedy said the high court ruling does not ensure anyone's release. "What the state must do, however, is give defendants like Graham some meaningful opportunity to obtain release based on demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation," Kennedy said.
Kennedy wrote the Supreme Court opinion in 2005 that ruled out the death penalty for people under 18, judging them less responsible than adults.
ReplyDeleteMonday's decision is an extension of the rationale he used then.
An expert in sentencing law suggested the outcome could produce difficulties for judges and lawyers in cases of young offenders.
For example, are extremely long sentences of 35 years to 40 years that offer no chance at parole before release constitutional?
The court's "ruling likely will produce challenges for lawyers and lower courts to determine just whether and when other extreme prison terms are constitutionally problematic," said Ohio State University law professor Douglas Berman.
In November, the justices heard argument in two juvenile-sentencing cases. The other involved Joe Sullivan, also of Florida, who was sent away for life for raping an elderly woman when he was 13. The court did not issue an opinion in Sullivan's case, but he will benefit from the Graham ruling.
In Monday's sex offender case, the court said the federal civil commitment law is appropriate for maintaining "the security of those who are not imprisoned but who may be affected by the federal imprisonment of others."
Lower federal courts held that Congress overstepped its authority when it enacted a law allowing the government to hold indefinitely people who are considered "sexually dangerous."
But "we conclude that the Constitution grants Congress legislative power sufficient to enact" this law, Justice Stephen Breyer said in his majority opinion.
The law has been invoked for roughly 100 federal prisoners. Authorities must persuade a federal judge that continued imprisonment is necessary and also must try to transfer prisoners to state control.
The challenged provision was part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act that President George W. Bush signed in 2006.
The act, named after the son of "America's Most Wanted" television host John Walsh, was challenged by four men who served prison terms ranging from three to eight years for possession of child pornography or sexual abuse of a minor. Their confinement was supposed to end more than two years ago, but prison officials said there would be a risk of sexually violent conduct or child molestation if they were released.
A fifth man who also was part of the legal challenge was charged with child sex abuse but declared incompetent to stand trial.
In four opinions overall, the justices appeared more concerned about what the case says about federal versus state power than the imprisonment of sex offenders. That could be a harbinger of the arguments over health care reform and other aspects of President Barack Obama's agenda that could come before the court in the next few years.
*Yujung Kim
ReplyDelete*Juvenile crimes shock the nation
*The article concerns about rising juvenile crimes rates and severity and it is enumerating some extreme cases of juvenile crimes like homicide and rape.
Like mentioned in the book law makers and experts are mostly focusing on strengthening ciriminal justice system about this tendency.
Their analysis of this trend is that teens are not afraid of the law and police, and it is written that 'experts claim that police remain too lenient with youngsters who are involved in serious crime, leading more students to violate the law.' This is ridiculous because it indicates that every teenager would commit a crime if there aren't much punishment or suppression from above and view them as impulsive, aggressive beings.
They'll have to consider teens as victims and their greater possibility to be corrected that adult criminals, and should check the current rehabilitation programs if they're working well
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A series of juvenile crimes have shocked the nation recently,
.......
citizens criticized the Education Ministry and the school for failing to come up with effective punishments to prevent the second crime.
According to the National Police Agency, the age of criminals is going down while offenses are becoming more serious with 33 percent of juvenile delinquents committing second crimes between 2002 and 2006.
Vowing to deal more effectively with the juvenile delinquents, the police have been seeking to expand the use of criminal psychologists to differentiate young criminals.
But experts claim that police remain too lenient with youngsters who are involved in serious crime, leading more students to violate the law. "Students don`t seem to fear the police or the law as Korea has traditionally been more patient with juvenile criminals, believing they are not mature enough to cope with heavy punishment,"
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*http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20070405000016
-Suh Young Yun
ReplyDelete-Stricter punishment for juvenile delinquency
-This article talks about how the National Assembly passed a bill to make the law against juvenile crimes stricter. The new juvenile crime law will apply to those aged between 10 and 19, whereas before the revision, the age limit was between 12 and 20. This means more teenagers will be punished under the new law. The new law also allows judges to send juvenile delinquents to jails for a month and receive an education program, whereas the current law only requires an education program.
It seems questionable whether this new law will be so effective in deterring and diminishing juvenile crime and their crime rate. In Illinois, the general assembly passed laws to deal more harshly with juvenile criminals including a measure to allow children as young as 10 to be sent to a youth prison. This was a reaction to the murder by an 11 year old. But it turned out that there were never more than a handful of very young children charged with serious crimes. (p.232) As such, Korea’s new law may also be a quick reaction to the recent polls showing an increase in juvenile crime rate as the previous article states. Just because the age in which the law is applied is lower, doesn’t mean crime will be monitored well. In fact sending youths to prison for a month may only increase the possibility of these youths receiving negative influences from the prison. They may carry the stigma of felony conviction after their release.
If the criminal justice system is to give them sentences, it should be more effective. One month may be worse than giving them none. The proposal of such law is like burying their heads in the sand.
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The government announced that it has decided to submit a revision bill dealing with juvenile delinquency to the National Assembly Oct. 23. If the bill passes, the law will apply to only those aged 19 and under, not 20 and under as the current law states. The law`s coverage will also be widened for those who commit a crime but are legally untouchable because of their young age. Currently, the law applies to boys or girls aged 12 or over. But it will apply to all those aged 10 or over. This change means all youngsters aged 10 or over will be punished for committing crimes. Until now, children under 12 are not legally penalized. The modified laws will give judges the option of *sentencing youngsters to prison for up to one month and requiring their legal guardians to attend an education program. The current law only requires the youngsters who had committed crimes to attend an education program. The new law also *stipulates that there must be a collaboration between prosecutors and the officers in charge of the cases prior to the sentencing. This is meant to help prosecutors decide the most suitable punishments for the youngsters.
By Kim Soo-han (soohan@heraldm.com) 2010-04-06 00:45
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http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20071102000006
*Jun So-min
ReplyDelete*Juvenile Crime Increasing
*This article deals with the increase in juvenile crime, while the average age of teenage criminals is decreasing. This could be linked to the myth of "Juvenile Crime Wave".
The article emphasizes a dramatic rise in the number of young people held in custody. (25,946 in 2006 to 41,754 in 2008) The number of crime committed by teenagers has almost doubled in two years and this supports the idea that juvenile crimes are increasing rapidly. Also, the increase in juvenile crime supports the fact that teenage criminals are increasing and that teenagers are a big problem, making it hard for the society to reduce crime.
Also, the comment by the politician, Joo, indicates that juvenile crime is so rapidly increasing that there are not enough juvenile court judges. This means that more reformation in the juvenile justice system and more judges are needed.
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Crimes committed by minors from 12- to 19-years-old jumped from 25,946 in 2006 to 41,754 last year, according to Rep. Joo Kwang-deok of the governing Grand National Party.
According to research, the main reason crimes were committed was to make money to spend on entertainment. Crimes committed by accident and out of curiosity followed.
By charges, larceny was the highest with 10,920 cases while violence and committing traffic violations as members of motorcycle gangs followed. The number of juveniles committing felonies, such as robbery and assault, also went up from last year.
In 2001, 20 percent of juvenile offenders were 17-year-olds followed by 16- and 18-year-olds. Last year, 23 percent were 16 and 18 percent were 15.
Joo said each judge of the Busan Family Court handled 4,913 juvenile cases last year. ``It is impossible for (the judges) to be in charge of every case and we need to establish a court for juvenile offences or assign more judges,'' he said.
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URL:http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/05/113_53357.html
Young Ju Lim
ReplyDeleteMiddle School Student's Violence Under Probe
This article is about middle student’s crime which couldn’t be solved completely. The victim was cruelly attacked by classmates. Attacker’s friend took video, and posted on online portals. People were shocked at this video, but victim didn’t want to prosecute attackers and delinquents didn’t feel sorry about that. Because their age was under 14 years, delinquents received any substantial punishment.
This is usual crime – solve pattern in Korea. When delinquents make problem, they just get few days of suspension or clean the school. If problem is serious, they must be moved to another school. Actually, delinquents don’t increase dramatically. They were just there. But I think there are 2 different things compared with the past. First thing is the way to deal with delinquent problem. In the past, the punishment was so hard (especially in physical) such as infinite suspension, expulsion, and beating by teacher. But in these days, juveniles just clean the school for few days, or moves to another school. Second thing is crime number’s increasing of girls. In this article’s attackers were girl, and I saw American violent video of teenage girls.
With juvenile crime, the society was really shocked. But we can’t find solution. Rehabilitation of delinquent is long-term project, but people prefer hard punishment, and just look away. They need attention either in positive and negative ways. (I disappointed at textbook, because it didn’t give specific answer.) Labeling them as bad kids can create more serious violent problem, especially organized violence. We should try to understand them.
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Police started an investigation Thursday into the online circulation of a video file showing a female middle school student at a school in Incheon, ruthlessly beating another student.
However, after being accused of her misdemeanor the same day, she implored people to stop digging into the case because she won't be prosecuted anyway as she's ``only 13 years old.''
''''''''
The case shocked Internet users. However, the offender responded with hostility.
On her Web site, she said, ``You don't know me at all, who do you think I am? Why do you bring up things that happened in February?'' She added, ``There's nothing you can do anyway. I'm only 13 years old and they can't send me to juvenile reformatory.''
Police said the reformatory is for people over 14 years old, but should the crime be grave, they can ask for a custodial term for underage children.
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http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/03/117_40768.html
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteEunBin Suk
ReplyDelete"[To the editor] A Ruling that Deeply Moved the Heart"
The month of May is family’s month in Korea, having Parents’ Day and Children’s Day altogether. On May 17, one judge ruled a juvenile accused of stealing a motorcycle by asking her to say aloud some statements. The judge wanted to raise her self-esteem because she was before a victim of group violence that led her astray into becoming a criminal herself. This ruling leads us to think about the role of parents and how society should act in order to reduce juvenile crime.
According to Korean National Statistics, juveniles aged 12 to 19 committed 32.8% more crimes in 2008 than in 2000. This increase in crime rate shows that children are not mentally and spiritually healthy. To reduce crime and prevent crime, the role of the parents in the family is especially important. Korean parents putting high pressure on children gives them a great weight on their lives and instead of helping them solve their problems, makes their lives more complicated. The writer of the article comments that the solution to reducing juvenile crime is changing the way parents act and the family environment itself. I also agree to his view. The best education can be done in the home and if parents show forth love to their children, the children will also become responsible adults in society. The family and parents’ role is very important in order to change society for the better.
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Last month, Seoul Family Court ruled in a juvenile court that deeply moved the hearts of many. To a girl already accused of theft and assault 14 times, the appointed judge asked her to say “I can do anything. This world is no danger. I am not alone” and instead of giving her strict sentencing, he put out a warm hand. This court ruling gave me many thoughts as a parent and as someone in educational field.
Korea’s juvenile crime is not decreasing after taking many strict measures. Rather, among the main crimes such as theft, murder, and burglary, juvenile crime is on the rise. According to National Statistics, juveniles aged 12 to 19 committed 32.8% more crimes in 2008 than in 2000. Korea made a rapid economic development and has seen material prosperity but at the same time, the length of the shadow of psychological poverty is long. Since juvenile crime rate indicates a society’s well-being, Korea is in desperate need of taking measure to reduce it. Education centered on grades, materialistic society, not-so-human IT culture – are all of these making our children’s hearts colder? Let’s ask ourselves if you spend time asking them what they really wanted to do, what their worries are instead of driving them to hakwons.
The parent has to change so that children and education can change. The baby-boom generation parents of current age always thought of achieving fame and prestige as the highest virtue. However, the world is changing. One has to quickly wake up from the underdeveloped country’s educational value of the so-called aiming at success. At this climate, there can never be the 2nd or 3rd Kim Yuna or Lee Chung-Yong. Now at the modern society, one who understands others, who can sympathize with others, and who keeps his personality will be successful. The parents of this age should throw away excess greed and raise our children in a way that they can have a warm heart and also demonstrate their talents to the fullest extent.
The existence of healthy youths shows our country’s competitiveness after 10 to 20 years.
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http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/05/19/2010051902644.html
(article continued)
ReplyDeleteTo bring up this precious asset, instead of punishment, we should boldly change the education system centered on acceptance to college with social efforts to give opportunities through care and love. The month of the Family, May, is now nearing end. Before this month goes away, what if we act like nice adults like the chief prosecuting attorney, who cheered youths with courage and hope by the ruling of love instead of punishment.