Children in Adult Prisons

Children In Adult Prisons Carol Carlisle History 303 The American Constitution Instructor David Ellett March 14, 2011 Children In Adult Prisons In the United States, children are sentenced to adult prisons and given adult prison terms. Many of these children are sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Some of the children were 13 and 14 years old. The children are sentenced to die in prison with no regard to age life history, or familial circumstances. Some states sentence children to life without parole for non homicidal offenses.

While children must learn to be accountable for their actions, sentencing children to adult prison terms are cruel and insensitive. This is supported by the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. Giving children adult sentences in adult institutions denies a child the chance for rehabilitation. Also, the majority of children sentenced to life in prison without parole are black, poor, and poorly educated. (Equal Justice Initiative, 2009). The Eighth Amendment protects citizens against cruel and unusual punishment.

The Fourteenth Amendment protects citizens from being deprived the rights of life, liberty, and property by the states. These Amendments were not considered when sentencing children in several states. In several cases that did not involve homicide, very young children were given life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole. In the case of Sullivan versus Florida, Joe Sullivan was 13 years old when convicted of sexual battery. The state of Florida sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In 1989, Joe Sullivan, an African American, was 13 years old when he was tried as an adult and sent to an adult prison in Florida. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. His background was not taken into account. Joe is developmentally handicapped and was a victim of child abuse. He was both sexually and physical abused at home (Equal Justice Initiative, 2009). Sullivan and two older boys broke into an elderly woman’s home. The home was robbed of jewelry and personal possessions. Sullivan went home after the robbery. One of the boys went back to the home and sexually assaulted the woman.

Biological evidence was lost or destroyed and therefore never entered at the trail. The woman only knew that it was a Black male that attacked her. The woman never saw the person that attacked her (Equal Justice Initiative, 2009). The two older boys blamed Sullivan for sexually assaulting an elderly woman and served time as juveniles in a juvenile facility. Sullivan was the only one tried as an adult. He was poorly represented in court. His lawyer allowed testimony that should have never been entered. Biological evidence was destroyed before the trial.

As a result of poor representation in this case, Sullivan’s lawyer was later disbarred. Lawyers from the Equal Justice Initiative came to Sullivan’s rescue. They challenged his case in state court. The petition was denied so they took it to the Supreme Court. The U. S. Supreme Court overturned the conviction in the case of Sullivan vs. Florida, because they realized that it was cruel and unusual punishment to sentence him to life in prison for a non homicidal offense. By giving him life in prison and not allowing him a chance for rehabilitation, he was denied his Eighth Amendment rights. Florida vs.

Sullivan is an additional example that two thirds of all children in prison are black, poor and abused (Equal Justice Initiative 2009). The case of Graham vs. Florida was ruled in the favor of the child. Terrence Graham was 16 years old when he was convicted of armed burglary and armed attempted robbery. He was on Probation at the time. He and another boy robbed a store. The other boy struck the store manager with a pipe. Graham was offered 3 years probation for a plea of guilty. This was his first offense. While on probation he was accused of a home invasion robbery with an older man. He denied being involved.

But, he admitted violating his probation. The judge, without any concrete evidence that he had committed another crime, sentenced him to life in prison for the first offense. The judge’s decision was based on circumstantial evidence. Like Sullivan, this also was a non homicidal offense. He was also Black and poor. The conviction was overturned in the United States Supreme Court. The sentence was ruled a violation of his Eighth Amendment rights. Currently, in the State of Mississippi, another case involving a 14 year old boy is being challenged. Dante Evans another African American boy, 14 years old, was charged with murder of his father.

Dante and his mother were abused by his father. His father threatened to kill him and his mother. Dante was hospitalized and diagnosed with depression and chronic trauma disorder. After his parents separated, Dante was sent to live with his father. His father continued to beat him. Dante reported the abuse to the school, and asked the school for help. The school saw bruises on Dante and made his father aware that school officials saw the bruises. Although his bruises were visible, Dante was then sent home with his father, who subsequently beat him again.

The school was negligent and did not report the incident to Children Services. Eventually, Dante could no longer take the abuse. He shot and killed his father. The state of Mississippi charged him with murder and tried him as an adult. The jury was not allowed to hear about the child’s abusive back ground. Dante believed he acted in self defense. Dante was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The justice system failed, once again, to help Dante before the murder of his father. In fact, had the justice system actually worked, the murder could have been prevented.

If Dante could have gotten some help and removed from his home maybe things would have been different for him. His case is currently being challenged by the Equal Justice Initiative Organization. Dante’s case is not the only case of this kind in Mississippi. Demarious Banyard , a 13 year old African American child is also serving life in prison without the possibility of parole. He was convicted of robbing and killing a pizza delivery man. Demarious lived in a housing project with his mother and sister. He was forced, at gun point by a 19 year old boy, to rob the pizza delivery man.

When the man refused to give Demarious the money, Demarious turned to give the gun back to the 19 year old when the gun went off, killing the delivery man. This also was a mandatory sentence with no regards to age. Demarious had never been in trouble before. He was playing basket ball when the 19 year old put the gun to his head and walked him over to the pizza delivery man’s car. In November 2008, the Equal Justice Initiative won the release for Phillip Shaw, another 14 year old African American child who was sentenced to life in prison by the state of Missouri. He was charged with a robbery and shooting.

Shaw was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. This was also a non homicidal offense. Shaw is now 28 years old. He has spent half of his life in an adult prison. Shaw stated “now that he is older he makes smarter decisions than he did at 14. ” In April 2009, the Equal Justice Initiative won a ruling for the California Court of Appeal’s to end sentences of life without parole for 14 year olds. The California Court ruled that a sentence of life in prison without parole for a 14 year olds, is so arbitrary that it constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.

Boys are not alone; adolescent girls have been tried and convicted as adults, as well. In Iowa, 14 year old Ruthann Veal was charged with first degree murder. Veal is another child from a dysfunctional family convicted as an adult. Veal ran away from a juvenile detention facility at the time of the crime. Prosecutors said she followed 66 year old Catharine Haynes, a librarian, home. Prosecutors said she stabbed Haynes 23 times in the chest, head, and neck. She then robbed her taking her credit cards and car then went on a shopping spree. She allegedly called her friends from Haynes telephone.

Her lawyers believed that sentencing her to life in prison without the possibility of parole is cruel and unusual punishment. Veal, also, was poorly represented. Veal is now 31years old. When she filed for a post conviction release, the state said she had missed the deadline in filing the papers. However, the state Supreme Court ruled that there is no time statute in a post conviction case. The state court has to review the case. Girl in adult prison have it just as hard a boys. Girls are also sexually violated by inmates and prison guards. They are beaten up and abused by other inmates just as boys.

They also need better educational programs and counseling. So that they can have the coping skills needed to reenter society. Discrimination continues to play a factor when it comes to selecting a jury. Research has shown that African Americans are excluded from jury selection. (Equal Justice Initiative, 2009). Especially, in capital cases and high profile cases. Many are called but prosecutors around the country find reason to exclude them, Defense attorneys fail to recognize racial discrimination tactics used by prosecutors. (Equal Justice Initiative, 2009). Many defense lawyers are unprepared, unwilling, or not trained to assert claims of racial bias. ” (Equal Justice Initiative, 2009). In some communities African Americans exclusion from jury duty is extreme. (Equal Justice Initiative, 2009). In Alabama 8 out of 10 African Americans chosen for jury duty in capital cased are eliminated by the prosecutor. In Louisiana there are no African Americans selected in 80 percent of criminal trials. (Equal Justice Initiative, 2009). Congress passed the Civil Rights Act in 1875 and Blacks still continue to be discriminated against in the court room.

How can we hold the children responsible for their actions when adults are full of fear and racial bias? Guns should be kept away from children, but adults continue to allow children to get their hands on them. Children sent to adult prisons are often physically and sexually abused. Some states hold children in juvenile facilities until they are 18 years old. Some states send children to adult prisons. Children have reported abuse from prison guards and inmates, as well. Amnesty International reported that several children sent to adult prisons were so small that the prison uniforms were too big.

Many of the children come from dysfunctional families and are victims of abuse themselves. The adult prison system rarely offers any form of rehabilitation for the children. The children are put into prison with the most violent inmates. Society is lead to believe that only the most violent children are put into adult prisons. However, 39 percent of children sent to adult prisons have committed non violent offenses. Many adolescents suffer horrific abuse when sent to adult prisons (http://www. truth- out. org/091509D).

When sent to adult prisons, children are five times more likely to be sexually assaulted in adult prison than in juvenile facilities. In 22 states, children, as young as 7 years old, can be tried as adults. These are just some of the cases where children were sentenced to adult prison terms. Sentencing a 13 or 14 year old to adult prison terms even in homicidal cases is cruel. Society should not send children to prison without any chance of rehabilitation. Many of these children lack the basic necessities of life. Prison cannot substitute family, education, love, and, spiritual guidance.

Most of the children are victims of abuse, poverty, and neglect. How can the courts not consider looking at the backgrounds of the children involved in these cases? Most children sent to prison are denied education and counseling. The United States Supreme Court ruled that sentencing 13 and 14 year olds to life in prison without the possibility of parole for non homicidal offenses is a violation of their constitutional rights. The Equal Justice Organization and Amnesty International have been successful in helping to overturn many cases involving children.

The United States is currently the only country that sentences children to die in prison. While children must learn to be accountable for their actions, sentencing children to adult prison terms are cruel and insensitive. It denies a child the chance for rehabilitation. Also, the majority of children sentenced to life in prison without parole are black, poor, and poorly educated (Equal Justice Initiative, 2009). Bibliography Equal Justice Initiative. (2009). Children in Adult Prison. Retrieved from http://eji. org/eji/childrenprison FindLaw. (2009).