THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 30, 1995 TAG: 9501300048
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
Not long ago, the idea of prosecuting a juvenile as an adult caused a stir among court officials. Now, authorities increasingly are sending more juveniles to Superior Court, where they face the same prison sentences as adults on murder, rape and other serious charges.
The trend has sparked heated debate between court officials and child advocates. The latter argue that the zeal to punish ignores the virtues of juvenile court, which emphasizes rehabilitation and treating teens with leniency because of their age.
``Regardless of how heinous the crime, we're still dealing with children, and to treat them in this manner is an indication that society is giving up,'' said Oliver Johnson, vice president of the North Carolina Child Advocacy Institute in Raleigh.
Those youths will be hurt in the long run, advocates say, because they won't have the benefit of education and counseling programs provided in juvenile court. Such treatment programs aren't as plentiful in Superior Court, they argue.
``They won't see the light of day until they're adults, and the only education and values they are going to get are those from other criminals,'' Johnson said.
The debate over how to treat violent youths has been fueled across North Carolina by a growing number of juveniles charged with murder and rape - many of whom are being prosecuted as adults and could face decades behind bars before they have any hope of parole, The News & Observer of Raleigh reported.
Last week, Andre Green became the first 13-year-old to be tried as an adult since the General Assembly lowered to 13 the minimum age for such a trial. Found guilty in Wake Superior Court, he will be 40 before he is eligible for parole.
North Carolina law defines a juvenile as a person under age 16. Before asking a judge to send a juvenile to adult court, prosecutors consider the seriousness of the crime, the juvenile's criminal record and whether the accused has exhausted the available community-based rehabilitative programs.
In the past four years, the number of juveniles sent to Superior Court statewide has more than doubled. Of those cases, the number of youths bound over on murder charges has quadrupled.
The crackdown has serious ramifications for youngsters, who likely will face much stiffer punishments under the state's new sentencing guidelines, which went into effect in October.
Prosecutors and judges defend their decisions to treat some teens as harshly as adults and dismiss criticism that they are setting juveniles up to fail once they are released as adults.
After all, they argue, those juveniles are committing adult crimes and deserve to be treated like grown-ups. They also say the public must be protected from teens who have graduated from stealing bicycles to shooting people over drugs.
In Durham, where judges sent a record nine youths to Superior Court last year, Juvenile Court prosecutor Marcia Morey has no qualms about getting tough with violent teens.
``For heinous crimes where it's premeditated, it's probably appropriate for some older juveniles to be bound up,'' Morey said. ``Yes, it's taking the key to their life and throwing it away for their most productive years. But the community must be protected.''
The juvenile justice system, whose heavy emphasis on rehabilitation distinguishes it from the adult system, can help most young offenders, Morey said.
But there's not much it can do for youths who continue to commit murder, rape or robbery and ignore the treatment offered in community-based programs.
``That's not to say it's not a tragedy and that we don't wrestle with it,'' Morey said.
KEYWORDS: JUVENILE CRIME by CNB