|
Senator Crist:
Please give Senator Campbell's bill a chance to pass. The bill
does not promote unconditional release of juveniles into society. The bill
gives provisions to safeguard these juveniles do not commit further acts of
violence, including thorough and continual monitoring. If they break even one
stipulation, they go back into adult prison.
All or nothing
sentences for juveniles who commit serious crimes are not necessary, for we
haven't tried anything else. We jumped from overly lenient to overly strict.
Granted, some of these juveniles may be deranged enough to warrant Life
sentences for the protection of society.
But, what about the
others who may be fully capable of rehabilitation. Why can't we offer them a
program which provides for accountability through growth and change. The
primary focus of this program would be character development, with objectives
and goals the juvenile must meet.
Each juvenile would
essentially have to work very hard and earn his or her own release. In many
ways this would be harder than adult prison time, which a juvenile will
eventually adjust to, most likely without any sense of accountability. A
program which focuses primarily on the development of accountability and
integrity would be more productive in the long run.
We are not here to
play God or extract vengeance, and we cannot clearly see into the mind of a 14
or 15-year-old to see what governs him and where his vulnerabilities lie. We do
not have to rely solely on lengthy adult prison sentences, for justice can come
in many forms. Offering these juveniles a program which necessitates the active
development of self-accountability may be the first step towards sensible
justice.
Karen Kaneer
5416 Stratton Place
Pensacola, FL 32526
(850) 944-4394
kgkaneer@aol.com
|
