Saturday, December 22, 2007

Taking a Chance on a Second Chance

Only the future can know if our judgments were the best decisions when made. Even then, certainty is constantly challenged by the unfolding of ever more future events. This is especially true when judges must mete out punishments, particularly in the cases of juvenile offenders. Can a particular juvenile offender be reformed? Will rehabilitation chart a new course for a troubled teen? Or is the child sentenced to a juvenile facility merely waiting to cross the threshold into adulthood (and beyond the reach of the juvenile detention system) to blossom in an adult offender? Is it naive hope to think we can mold damaged children into productive adults who will leave there troubled pasts behind? These questions do not have easy answers. But there is proof that we cannot and should not give up on ever troubled child, even those who commit the most heinous crimes as children. Read this and then consider these questions.




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