Megan Kurlychek
Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, State University of New York
Key Findings
- Juveniles transferred through the theoretical model rather than directly into adult court faced harsher punishments than other young adults who entered adult court differently.
- The theoretical model did not discriminate on race or gender.
- The theoretical model did find discriminate based on the types of crime juveniles were being transferred for namely drug crimes.
- Juveniles transferred into adult court for drug crimes received sentences six times as severe as other young adults in adult court.
Description
In the article, “Juvenility and Punishment: Sentencing Juveniles in Adult Criminal Court,” Kurlychek and her coauthors examined how juveniles in the juvenile justice system were transferred into adult court. The researchers’ found some limiting factors to this type of juvenile transferring as the juveniles transferred through this system faced harsher punishments than other young adults who entered adult court differently. Kurleychek and her coauthors found the theoretical model did not discriminate on race or gender but did find differences in the types of crime juveniles were being transferred. Juveniles transferred into adult court for drug crimes received more severe sentences than other young adults in criminal court.