Rehabilitation is Not the Goal: Black Kid Charged as Adult in Death of White Woman

From [HERE] Philip Chism, 14, a freshman at Danvers High School, is being held without bail, charged with murdering beloved high school math teacher Colleen Ritzer, 24, of Andover. Both Philip Chism and Ritzer had been reported missing Tuesday. "He wasn't violent at all. He was really the opposite of aggressive," student Kyle Cahill told Fox 25. Even though he has no history of prior juvenile adjudications, White prosecutors decided to charge him as an adult. Chism's defense attorney argued for the proceedings to be closed and her client to be allowed to stay hidden because of his age. The white judge denied the request. Guilty until proven guilty, now the media has the 14 yr. old on blast! What's the difference between being charged as an adult or juvenile?  

• One of the primary goals of the juvenile justice system remains largely rehabilitative in focus, whereas the purpose of the criminal justice system is nearly exclusively punitive. The criminal justice system has largely abandoned the responsibility of rehabilitation of offenders.

Would prosecutor Jon Blodgett charge a 14 yr old white kid as an adult if a black woman was killed? Race has everything to do with; whether police will stop or arrest, whether prosecutors will charge, what prosecutors will charge, the quality of the plea offered, the penalties prosecutors will seek, pre-trial detention or release and what sentence will be imposed. 

• Juvenile delinquency proceedings are not considered to be criminal in nature in most states. Juvenile court is often organizationally distinct from criminal court and may fall under a civil court division or a family court division.
• Juvenile justice dispositions include a range of options unavailable in criminal sentencing. Juvenile dispositions are expected to meet the treatment needs of individual children in the least restrictive environment possible or, at least, to balance treatment considerations with community safety concerns. Therefore, dispositions can include a wide range of supervision, treatment, and alternative programs instead of incarceration. Additionally, juvenile court commitment or probation periods usually end by the youth's 21st birthday, when most juvenile courts cease to have jurisdiction over dispositions in delinquency matters. [MORE] and [MORE]