Juvenile Crime and Punishment: Revenge Vs. Reality

“What percentage of murders do you think are committed by people under 18?” asked Howard Snyder, an official with the National Center for Juvenile Justice.

I had no idea, but with images of epidemic teen violence in my brain, I estimated 30%.

“Nine percent,” Snyder said. “For all violent crime, it’s somewhere around 12 to 13%.”

That’s hardly cause for rejoicing, but I was glad to be that far off. I had asked Snyder if he thought the public had misconceptions about youth violence, and his response was to test me with his question. He wasn’t surprised I estimated high. “I think people believe that juveniles commit a lot more of the violent crimes than they do,” he said.

What to do with youthful violent offenders is one of society’s thorniest problems. People can subscribe to the lock-em-up-and-throw-away-the-key mentality, but let’s talk reality for a minute. The stakes are too high for us, and for our children, to be glib about it.

Two local cases frame the dilemma perfectly.

In recent weeks, Orange County has watched two sentencing scenarios unfold--each involving a highly publicized murder that sickened everyone and led to the arrest of groups of teen-age assailants. One was the 1992 torture-murder of Stuart Tay; the other, the 1993 killing of Steve Woods, felled when a paint-roller rod pierced his head as his carful of friends tried to escape a beach melee.

Two assailants in the Tay case, ages 18 and 19, were given 25-years-to-life sentences in prison. Two other 18-year-olds were given lighter sentences to the California Youth Authority, where they must be released when they reach 25. The ringleader, 20, was sentenced to a life prison term without parole.

In the Woods case, a 19-year-old has been sentenced to 25 years to life. Two 18-year-olds were given CYA sentences. Three others await trial or sentencing.

Several boys, all about the same age, but some sent to prison and others to the CYA.

Which sentences will better serve society?

The inescapable fact is that all but one will someday be eligible for parole. So, we can’t duck this question: When they’re sent back to society, do we want them as graduates of adult prison or the CYA?

“I can’t believe anybody would say that adult prisons do a better job than juvenile prisons, in terms of rehabilitation,” Snyder said. Although adult prisons can keep people incarcerated longer, the fact is that adult sentences tend to run not much longer than ones a youth could spend in CYA, he said.

“I have two questions I always ask people,” Snyder said. “If you had a kid, your kid, where would you rather have him go--a place where he might get rehabilitated or where he would not? And my second question is, if someone moved into your neighborhood who had murdered someone, would you rather have had them come from a juvenile institution where they may have been rehabilitated or from adult prison?”

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Snyder is detached from the local cases because his agency is based in Pittsburgh. But he’s familiar with the CYA and says California is the only state in the nation that can keep youthful offenders until they’re 25. At least theoretically, Snyder said, that gives the state more time to try to turn the offenders into rehabilitated citizens when released.

“The biggest concern people in the (juvenile justice) system have is that so many people want to do away with it and put these people in adult court,” Snyder said. “That’s sort of like giving up; and nobody thinks they’re going to come out better (from prison). And they are coming out. They’re not going to come out and be a first-grade teacher.”

The likely scenario society will be facing, he said, is that teens who are sent to adult prison will come out in their late 20s or 30s with no income, no skills and no social attachments.

“I see juvenile justice as preventive medicine,” Snyder said. “If we can work better with kids and rehabilitate even a small portion, we can save ourselves a ton of money in adult crime.”

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A footnote: Superior Court Judge Everett Dickey infuriated some people by sentencing two teens in the Woods case to the CYA instead of state prison. There is talk of recalling him.

I wouldn’t sign that petition. Any South County citizen who does should have the clear understanding that any juvenile sent to prison from this case will most likely be freed in his 20s or early 30s. They should form a picture in their minds of what these teens today would be like after eight, 10 or 15 years in the state penitentiary.

People can call Dickey weak-willed for “going light” on the defendants. What they’re overlooking is that he might be showing more courage than they know: the courage to buck their pressure today on the chance he’s protecting them or their children somewhere down the road.

Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers may reach Parsons by writing to him at The Times Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or calling (714) 966-7821.