Juveniles In The 19th Century

Juvenile Justice Paper 1

10/17/12

Society deems those who commit crimes as undesirable. Whether it’s a white–collar crime such as fraud, or a violent homicide, if convicted, they’ll pay a fine, get treatment, or be removed from the rest of society to pay their debt. Crimes are committed by people of all ages, races, ethnic backgrounds, and religions. Age plays a very crucial role in how the rest of the procedures play out. Sure a middle-aged man convicted of murder will be tried as an adult, but there are those who commit the same crime that are still juveniles. When the criminal justice system was set-up, it only covered adults who committed such crimes, with no mention of juvenile offenders. Maybe those who created it never thought…show more content…
(Field, 2002). At this time, however, the king had full authority and jurisdiction over the youthful offenders. Chancellors were appointed and acted in the best interest of the child, thus making choices that they thought were beneficial to said child. Gradually, the attitude towards youthful offenders changed in England. Two very important cases that helped bring changes about are Ex parte Crouse (1839) and People ex rel. O’Connell v. Turner (1870). Ex parte Crouse was an 1839 decision that gives authorities parental control over children. Ex parte Crouse was a case that dealt with the attempted release of a youth. A father tried to have his daughter released by the Philadelphia House of Refuge. A presiding judge rejected a trial by jury. The father tried to get parental control of the child, but was rejected by a higher court. The father’s claim was that parental control was “exclusive, natural, and proper.” (Patton & Cornell 2003). They upheld that the state has the power to make necessary reforms and restraints in order to protect children from things such as their environment, or even themselves. Note that this was only established in Pennsylvania. However,…show more content…
Immigration was actually a cause for the need of such things. People moved to large cities such as Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York. This caused more children to be on the streets more often. Most of them weren’t supervised as their parents couldn’t afford child care services. Since many of them didn’t have much of a family or supervision, they would often commit theft and other acts of vandalism. Since these religious groups thought that they would continue to commit crimes into their adult life, they intervened. The same attitude was adopted by many philanthropists and reformers. This caused a variety of work programs to be created. It gave them a good living conditions and the most important thing, adult supervision. The child saving movement was in full swing at this point. These “child savers” belonged to the upper and middle class. Many essentials were given to these youth that needed it. Shelter and food were the number one priority for the kids. Many of the large private homes were transformed into youth centers where different forms of learning could occur, such as educational and social learning. Not only did this movement exist in the United States, but it also had a heavy bearing in European countries such as Scotland and England. In 1825, the New York House of Refuge was built by the Society for the Prevention of Pauperism. Here, time was devoted to managing status