Juvenile Justice http://video.pbs.org/video/1500636711

Is it right for us, as a society, to try juveniles as adults and sentence them accordingly?

Should it depend on the maturity level of the criminal or the nature of their crime?

Are there other unfair practices and biases at work in our justice system?

Justice for Joe “Life? My mama gave me life...why'd they want to

take that from me?” - Joe Sullivan Joe was sentenced to life in prison for

burglary/assault - has served 21 years at the time of interview. Slight mental disability, suffers from MS, and is confined to a wheelchair.

Court heard his case (though many inconsistencies and unlawful practices plagued his trial) at age 13, and sentenced him to life without parole.

Voice recognition was used to identify Joe, after prosecutor's coached the witness on correctly identifying him.

Victim never saw her attacker, though another witness described seeing “a colored boy, a dark-colored boy” at the home. http://www.eji.org/childrenprison/deathinprison/sullivan.graham

Interview - Joe Sullivan

What do you notice about Joe's maturity level? What does he say he wants to do when/if he gets out?

Do you think that if Joe were to be released, he would participate in another burglary/assault?

Is it possible that race might have factored into Joe's trial and incarceration?

Alyssa Bustamante• Admitted to viciously killing her 9yo

neighbor, Elizabeth.

• Dug the grave, stabbed/strangled her victim, and hid the body; later bragged about doing so in her diary.

• Noted that “killing people” was a hobby on her youtube profile.

• After committing homicide at age 15, Alyssa was sentenced to life in prison with the chance of parole.

Interview - Dr. Lawrence Steinberg“Compared to adults, adolescents still have a relatively

immature system to control their impulses and to think ahead. It's premature to make a conclusion about someone based on what he did when he was thirteen years old; I doubt if there are very many people around who, as adults, would want to be judged on the basis of things they did when they were thirteen.”

- Professor Lawrence Steinberg, developmental psychologist, expert on adolescent behavior and

brain biology.

What would the doctor say…

What, in your opinion, would Dr. Steinberg say about Alyssa Bustamante’s crime? Do you feel that Alyssa was aware of what she was

doing/consequences that could result?

Do you feel that society should give Alyssa another chance?

Do you feel that society should give Joe another chance? Does it seem odd that Joe didn’t kill anyone, but was

sentenced to life in prison, while Alyssa did and may one day get out?