THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 8, 1996 TAG: 9602080010
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
Two issues are addressed by proposed juvenile-justice reform in Virginia: (1) How, where and by whom juveniles who commit serious crimes are tried and (2) what happens to them after they are convicted?
In an earlier editorial, we've expressed some qualms about proposed legislation in the General Assembly giving prosecutors too much power to decide which cases should move from juvenile to circuit court. Requiring that all juveniles who commit certain violent crimes be tried as adults automatically, regardless of circumstances, also seems unnecessarily mechanical.
However, elements of the program that deal with how juvenile offenders are treated after conviction have much to recommend them. Here, some built-in discretion is welcome.
For example, under a so-called second-chance provision, circuit judges would have the option to suspend an adult sentence if an offender successfully completed a term in a juvenile-corrections facility or program.
Both circuit and juvenile judges would acquire new intermediate sentencing options to permit them an alternative somewhere between probation and juvenile prison. Specifically, boot-camp and wilderness-work-camp sentences would be permitted. So far, the evidence that these trendy alternatives to conventional imprisonment reduce recidivism is inconclusive, but having the option may help provide an answer.
Finally, the proposal provides that those juveniles sentenced as adults would be incarcerated not in adult facilities but in a special juvenile-only institution. This partially addresses the concern that juveniles sentenced as adults could be further corrupted rather than rehabilitated by the experience.
These are gloomy topics. A sane society must protect itself from predators in its midst, but a humane society must also do all it can to prevent predators from being created in the first place. The very fact that violent juvenile criminals are an issue suggests a failure - many failures - by families and society. Unfortunately, nothing in the proposed legislation will reverse the trend or save a single child from becoming a dangerous youth. by CNB