James Sterling

Juveniles in Adult Jails

A fifteen year old kills the clerks and of a local movie theatre, who refused to let

her into an R rated movie. It seems cut and dry, a life sentence or almost as much for

the murder charge, and because it is such a violent crime, adult prison to make sure the

offender cannot harm anyone else, and can be house securely. What you dont know, is

that she showed signs of mental instability stemming from one or more mental illnesses,

as well as trauma caused by abuse from those around her. While some courts take this

information into account, others dont, especially when the crime is so severe. Had she

ended up in a juvenile prison, she would have received help to improve her quality of life

and chances of rehabilitation. Instead, she ends up in a walled, massive complex filled

with armed guards, some of whom are corrupt, and inmates who are multiple times her

age, many of whom are violent. There is little to no system in place to help her improve

her mental health, and just as little is done to insure her physical and mental safety from

other prisoners and the jail itself. As such, a large issue in our juvenile justice system is

the effect of adult jails on juvenile minds, live, and chances at reformation, and it could

be resolved by working to improve mental health care, and general safety and

reformation improvements in adult prisons.

[1]Anderson, Scott. "Greg Ousley Is Sorry for Killing His Parents. Is That Enough?" The
New York Times. The New York Times, 21 July 2012. Web. 08 Feb. 2017.[1]
[2]"Behavioral Therapy for children with Emotional Disorders." Behavioral Therapy for
children with Emotional Disorders. N.p., 2009. Web. 08 Feb. 2017.[2]
 James Sterling

Mental health in jails is an interesting issue, and the apparent solution seems to

be a simple one. Most juveniles who end up in jail are suffering from some sort of

mental deficiency or illness. One in five people suffer from intrusive thoughts, and in

children who are inexperienced in dealing with them, or whose brains and bodies are

experiencing rapid growth, act on those thoughts far more often than adults, often

because they simply do not realise that the thoughts are bad. Additionally, a

combination of OCD, one of the more common disorders in our modern day and age,

and intrusive thoughts can be overwhelming, especially for youths, leading them to act

out their thoughts in an attempt to make them go away. The majority of the others are

troubled kids, who could probably get back on the path to success with help from

professionals. ...criminologist believe that an abused juvenile who killed a parent is

likely to be at a low risk of future criminality if he gets treatment and has a strong social

support system..[1] Behavioral therapy, as well as sessions with other mental health

professionals, and proper medication or preparation is proven to improve mental

stability in youths who are not incarcerated through, Cognitive therapy involves

minimizing anxiety, learning alternative ideas and learning that feelings and moods alter

behavior. It helps the child to identify their inner thoughts and replace bad thoughts with

positive productive thoughts. Applied behavior analysis analyzes behavior and teaches

the child different ways to respond to situations in a positive way. It also rewards

positive behavior and punishes negative behavior[2] so it is probable that it would do

the same for those who are incarcerated, as well as the older prisoners.

[1]Anderson, Scott. "Greg Ousley Is Sorry for Killing His Parents. Is That Enough?" The
New York Times. The New York Times, 21 July 2012. Web. 08 Feb. 2017.[1]
[2]"Behavioral Therapy for children with Emotional Disorders." Behavioral Therapy for
children with Emotional Disorders. N.p., 2009. Web. 08 Feb. 2017.[2]
 James Sterling

Once inside jails, the situation falls further when young adult offenders are

pushed into prisons designed to hold often violent or abusive, both mentally and

physically, adults, many times older than the young offenders. The prisons themselves

are generally hardened places, with armed guards, huge walls, confined cells with lack

of ability to feel the outside or have hope of freedom, and solitary is a horrible process

weighing on the shoulders of all inmates, but youths especially. Prisoners, aged from

the low twenties and all the way into their seventies, are also a possible bane or boon to

young inmates. Prisoners who have accepted what they did and are working on

reforming can serve as almost role models or adult figures for young offenders, while

violent prisoners may assault, humiliate, induct, or otherwise harm young offenders who

end up spending prison time with them.

Mental health is a huge issue in prisons, as well as offenders both young and old.

One of the crueler paradoxes of his situation is that if he had been remanded into

Indianas Juvenile justice system, Greg would have received help an emphasis on

youthful offenders undergoing intensive behavioral and psychological therapy as a way

for them to understand their actions, and, its hoped, correct their course in their

future[1] This quote is about a young man who killed his parents, and was sent to an

adult facility. A majority of this issue could easily be resolved with an emphasis on

mental health care in adult facilities to aid in the reformation of all prisoners, not just

[1]Anderson, Scott. "Greg Ousley Is Sorry for Killing His Parents. Is That Enough?" The
New York Times. The New York Times, 21 July 2012. Web. 08 Feb. 2017.[1]
[2]"Behavioral Therapy for children with Emotional Disorders." Behavioral Therapy for
children with Emotional Disorders. N.p., 2009. Web. 08 Feb. 2017.[2]
 James Sterling

youth offenders. Weekly or even more often visits with mental health professionals as

well as other behavioral therapists are proven to improve prisoner behavior, as well as

heighten the chance of prisoners reforming, and possibly being released into the world

to improve their lives.

Safety for youth prisoners is another major concern in the juvenile detention

system. Putting youths into facilities that also house adults is bound to lead to

concerning and possibly violent altercations between adults and the juveniles, but there

are some times when it can be helpful, take the scared straight programs for instance. A

good, and reasonable way to fix this problem would be to have separate wings for

juvenile offenders, as well as cells that are shared only with similar aged offenders who

committed offences in similar categories. There should be either a separate yard for the

youths, or a separate yard time. Another useful procedure would be to have scheduled

and observed periods of interaction with older prisoners who have proven to be

reformed, to almost act as Big Brothers for prison, rather than school. Establishing a

system in which the young offenders, and even some of their more well behaved, and

perhaps less educated elders, could attempt to get high school and trade school

degrees in the jail system would also likely improve the quality of life for both juvenile

and adult prisoners, as well as increasing the chances of reform and early release for

those prisoners.

[1]Anderson, Scott. "Greg Ousley Is Sorry for Killing His Parents. Is That Enough?" The
New York Times. The New York Times, 21 July 2012. Web. 08 Feb. 2017.[1]
[2]"Behavioral Therapy for children with Emotional Disorders." Behavioral Therapy for
children with Emotional Disorders. N.p., 2009. Web. 08 Feb. 2017.[2]
 James Sterling

Mental health, and behavioral therapy, as well as an increase in prison safety

and programs, would improve the life of all inmates in adult prisons, not just youths, and

yet that group would be the most positively affected, which is important, because these

young prisoners have the most time, and the largest chance of getting released and

reforming their lives, in order to become better members of society. The current goal of

our justice system is to punish those who do wrong, ..County deputy prosecutor argued

for a severe penalty. Greg, he stated, will eventually set and example for other

juveniles[1] but should it not be to reform those offenders, and, through proper care

and assistance, convert them into functioning, non criminal members of society?

The goal of these proposed changes is to improve the lives and futures of all

prisoners, but specifically to improve the chances of changes happening in the lives of

young offenders living in prisons, and give them a better shot at growing as people, and

making up for the crimes they have committed. Mental health reforms, as well as safety

changes and chances of growth, are truly a necessity for making our prisons a better

place for juvenile offenders. These offenders who would come out early when they

proved that they were changed people, would likely come out with enough time left to

make a proper, civilised life in the outside world, and have the chance to show the next

generation how to be better. That is the one idea of the meaning of life, and are youths

who make mistakes unworthy of it?

[1]Anderson, Scott. "Greg Ousley Is Sorry for Killing His Parents. Is That Enough?" The
New York Times. The New York Times, 21 July 2012. Web. 08 Feb. 2017.[1]
[2]"Behavioral Therapy for children with Emotional Disorders." Behavioral Therapy for
children with Emotional Disorders. N.p., 2009. Web. 08 Feb. 2017.[2]
 James Sterling

Works Cited

Anderson, Scott. "Greg Ousley Is Sorry for Killing His Parents. Is That Enough?"

The New York Times. The New York Times, 21 July 2012. Web. 08 Feb. 2017.[1]

"Behavioral Therapy for children with Emotional Disorders." Behavioral Therapy for

children with Emotional Disorders. N.p., 2009. Web. 08 Feb. 2017.[2]

[1]Anderson, Scott. "Greg Ousley Is Sorry for Killing His Parents. Is That Enough?" The
New York Times. The New York Times, 21 July 2012. Web. 08 Feb. 2017.[1]
[2]"Behavioral Therapy for children with Emotional Disorders." Behavioral Therapy for
children with Emotional Disorders. N.p., 2009. Web. 08 Feb. 2017.[2]