Should we be concerned — has America given up on our youth when it comes to the criminal justice system?
As the pendulum swings back to the “tough on crime” ideology and attitudes, youth offenders have suffered recent court rulings against them, especially those serving sentences of life without the possibility of parole, thus disregarding the decades of science on Adverse Childhood Experiences and trauma and dismantling the progress based on that science.
California has passed laws and raised sentence enhancements for smash-andgrab robberies, shoplifting, and car thefts. No doubt, these are crimes of youth, mostly ages 15-25. This reminds me of the ’80s when former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called us “super predators.” This set the stage for mass incarceration of minorities and the poor.
Also in the ’80s, former Governor/President Ronald Reagan cut social programs such as after-school, free lunch, and summer programs, which left most of us kids in the streets during the summer without proper mentorship. Meanwhile, we were influenced by other misled teenagers, which led to a rise in gang violence. We had to endure a crack cocaine drug epidemic, poverty, police brutality, and harassment. So as a kid, how were we expected to process these traumas?
Currently, some of America’s youth are suffering from food insecurities, homelessness, gun violence, sex trafficking, bullying, depression, and school closures. In addition, a massive social-media campaign is aimed at controlling their thought processes, where most of these youth’s self-esteem and lives are centered around “likes.”
Young people who have a history of childhood adversity or instability are more susceptible to the influence of those around them and are more vulnerable to making poor decisions, reported The Philadelphia Inquirer article partially titled “Kids, Brain Science and the Criminal Justice System.” Childhood adversity and instability can exacerbate risk-taking, and for these reasons criminal offenses increase during adolescence but peak around age 18 or 19, then decline during the early 20s, noted the article.
Meanwhile, the leading cause of death for Black people ages 1-44 is homicide by firearms, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Let me repeat that: the leading cause of death for one-year-olds (!) is firearms. Children who are raised in communities in which violence occurs frequently have increased anxiety, difficulty in concentrating, and social withdrawal, found a 2003 Hampton University study.
Does this ring a bell — most people in prison are diagnosed as “anti-social.” The Hampton study stated that social class and low socio-economic status is one of the many environmental factors that can contribute to the use of violence to resolve conflicts.
Most of us youth offenders were not taught conflict resolution and often turn nonviolent situations into violence. According to a 2024 report by The Quinnipiac Chronicle titled “Voices unheard: Victim offenders are being failed and forgotten, ” the criminal justice system is punitive and tends to view offenders as a threat to society. Also, the system does not consider offenders who are victims themselves, said the report.
Most of these youths who will be targeted by these new California tough-on-crime policies are not “monsters” or born bad kids. They are trying to navigate poverty and a society that promotes materialism as a definition of life success.
Today’s youth are dealing with a lot of uncertainties. They are asked to act as adults in a society that is currently undergoing a political divide, inequality, and a possible de-funding of any resources that would help them advance in life.
Because the criminal justice legal system is an institution that primarily reacts to — rather than prevents — crime, it is ill-equipped to address many of the underlying causes of crime, reported The Sentencing Project’s 2024 study “One in Five: How Mass Incarceration Deepens and Harms Public Safety.”
I came in as a youth offender and am now considered elderly, and throughout my 28 years of incarceration, I learned to be accountable, have empathy, and know what it means to be human. I am proud to say I support victim advocacy. I don’t believe anybody should be harmed or put in a financial hardship because of my selfishness. I’m also an advocate for victim offenders, because I am one myself.
I have sat in on many selfhelp groups, listening to many childhood traumas such as being molested, suffering physical abuse, or being sold for drugs by a parent. There is no justification for crime. However, why does it have to take a lifetime in prison to finally receive help?
The country and our society have allowed major corporations to influence our political parties and have allowed real estate moguls to control our property values, which has caused a homelessness crisis and now our youth will be used for profit in this tough-on-crime restructured prison industrial complex.
So as we stand up and wave our MAGA flags in a renewed patriotic salute to “Make America Great Again,” let us recognize that when the “Fatherland” and the “Motherland” abuse, neglect, and abandon their children [the citizenry], the children will eventually disregard your “parenting” and rebellion will follow.
Oh! I almost forgot: have a Happy New Year?
