Characteristics of juveniles prosecuted in adult courts 1993--2003 in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

摘要

This descriptive analysis of Virginia juvenile justice depicts the characteristics of 135 children indicted and prosecuted as adults in large and small cities and counties, from 1/1/1993--12/31/2003. Seventy-one percent of the cohort consists of 96 African American teens including 88 males. Of 37 Caucasians (27.4%), 31 are male, and there are two Hispanic males (1.5%). Demographical and criminological attributes are portrayed through descriptive and social frameworks, with a focus on representation among ethnic groups.; Sample members were identified through articles published in the Richmond Times Dispatch, the Roanoke Times and the Virginian-Pilot newspapers. Thirty-one circuit courts are in the sample, and criminal histories were obtained from the Virginia Courts Case Information and the Inmate Status Information systems.; The mean age is 16 years, 1 month, and the number of defendants increased with age.; Female charges ranged between 0.7% and 2%, with none in 2000 or 1996. At 14% of the total, 1996 was the most accelerated year for males, whose charges fluctuated greatly from 2%--14%.; Sixty-percent of defendants of color used a firearm in the commission of their offenses, compared to 35% of Caucasians.; Findings in this study demonstrate that for every charge analyzed African American teens, 24% of Virginia's youth population, were overrepresented: capital murder at 71%, first-degree murder at 74%, second-degree murder at 53.5%, and assault related charges at 88%. There was also significant ethnic disparity in sentencing. At 65% of the commonwealth's youth population Caucasians were sentenced to 23 fewer years of incarceration, and 3.2 years less probation time.; Seven-percent of the cohort, all Black males, were acquitted or had their cases otherwise resolved. All other defendants were found guilty.; Sixty-eight percent of Caucasian youth were or will be released by 2019, compared to 45% of their peers of color. Whereas 30% of Black and Hispanic teens will be released between 2020 and 2089, only 13% of Caucasians will be held that long, with none scheduled for release after 2049.; Public policy, juvenile justice practice, and community responses have not fully re-evaluated the ethnic disparity indicated in the findings of this study.