CRIME PACKAGE TAKES AIM AT VIOLENT JUVENILE OFFENDERS.Byline: David Hess Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire A crackdown on juvenile offenders as young as 13 was approved by the House on Thursday as part of a $1.5 billion package aimed at curbing the rise in violent crimes by the young. The White House is cool toward some of the tougher parts of the Republican-backed bill, which would give prosecutors more discretion to treat young offenders as adults. But negotiations are continuing between the Clinton administration Noun 1. Clinton administration - the executive under President Clinton executive - persons who administer the law and the GOP-controlled Congress to reach a compromise. The debate centered on an issue that has preoccupied Congress for most of the last decade: whether to emphasize punishment of young offenders or strive for more comprehensive early intervention ear·ly intervention n. Abbr. EI A process of assessment and therapy provided to children, especially those younger than age 6, to facilitate normal cognitive and emotional development and to prevent developmental disability or delay. programs to steer kids away from criminal behavior. There was little dispute about the threat posed by violent juveniles. Conservatives and liberals alike agreed that the problem is real and growing, and expressed alarm at the rising incidence of violent offenses by younger and younger adolescents. ``The number of homicides committed by juveniles has increased five times the rate of those committed by adults,'' said Rep. Rod Blagojevich Milorad Blagojevich, commonly known as Rod R. Blagojevich (pronounced IPA: [blə.ˈgɔɪ.ə.ˌvɪtʃ] listen , D-Ill. ``The Justice Department predicts that arrests for juveniles committing violent crimes will more than double during the next 15 years.'' ``This legislation is not about Dennis the Menace Dennis the Menace latter-day Buster Brown, complete with dog. [Comics: Horn, 201] See : Mischievousness ,'' said Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo. ``It's about Billy the Kid.'' But opponents countered that juvenile justice should be keyed to rehabilitation and that treating adolescents as adult criminals virtually ensures that they will behave as sociopathic so·ci·o·path n. One who is affected with a personality disorder marked by antisocial behavior. so adults once released from detention. Rep. Bill McCollum This biography needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. , R-Fla., the chief sponsor, insisted that juveniles have to realize early on that dangerous and destructive acts warrant swift and sure punishment. ``We've got to show these youngsters that there are serious consequences for their offenses, starting with the very first offense,'' McCollum said. ``If we do assure consequences for those early crimes, then we are less likely to get more violent crimes from these juveniles later on.'' Under McCollum's bill, U.S. attorneys would have more power than judges to decide whether to prosecute as adults 14- and 15-year-olds who commit serious federal crimes. Federal prosecutors also could prosecute 13-year-olds under special circumstances special circumstances n. in criminal cases, particularly homicides, actions of the accused or the situation under which the crime was committed for which state statutes allow or require imposition of a more severe punishment. . Serious violent crimes were defined as murder, aggravated sexual assault Aggravated Sexual Assault is when one commits an aggravated assault of a sexual nature and who wounds, maims, disfigures or endangers the life of the complainant.[1][2][3] Citation 1. ^ Section 273(1) of the Canadian Criminal Code 2. and assault with a firearm, as well as serious drug offenses. The bill also would provide $1.5 billion for states that agree to: Provide state and local prosecutors the discretion to treat as adults offenders as young as 15. Impose a stiff sanction for the first delinquent act by a juvenile, then mete out mete out Verb [meting, meted] to impose or deal out something, usually something unpleasant: the sentence meted out to him has proved controversial [Old English metan increasingly harsher sanctions for any subsequent offenses. Keep a public record of serious offenses committed by minors. CAPTION(S): 2 charts Charts: Juvenile crime rises in '90s (1) Violent crime (2) Murder |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion