Why would our government try to hurt kids? Well, kids are being hurt right now.

You see, in America punishment, rather than rehabilitation is being emphasized for

juveniles who commit crimes. This way of thinking must stop with the addition of

rehabilitation and prevention programs for juvenile offenders.

States vary in their legal definition of a juvenile. In Illinois, for example, a

juvenile is defined as any person below the age of 17. Using each states legal definition,

the FBI reported that 62% of juveniles arrested in 1992 were referred to juvenile courts,

5% to a criminal or adult court, 2% to a welfare agency, and 1% to another police

agency. The kids sent to adult prisons were eight times as likely to commit suicide. It has

also been evident that those kids incarcera

I take an opposing point of view with that of congress. If a 13 year old is

imprisoned, how can he become a functional member of society upon his release? How

More important than efforts to rehabilitate the offender would be programs to prevent the

It is imperative that our federal government set a tone and send the message that

crimes, and allow juveniles to have incidental contact and in some cases be housed with

Appropriate educational skills need to be taught. Children need to be put in touch with

Some common words found in the essay are:
Ryan King, White Tumblers, York Jets, , Keyshawn Johnson, juveniles arrested 1992, life life, adult court, juvenile offenders, prevention programs, juveniles arrested, legal definition, arrested 1992,
Approximate Word count = 609
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)