Legal Outcome of Juveniles Charged With Homicide (From Juvenile Homicide, P 163-182, 1989, Elisa P Benedek and Dewey G Cornell, eds. -- See NCJ-123947)

• NCJ Number: 123954
• Author(s): D G Cornell; L Staresina; E P Benedek
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 20 pages
• Sale Source: American Psychiatric Press, Inc
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Philadelphia and Michigan studies, among others, are examined to determine case outcomes for juveniles charged with homicide.

Abstract

Eigen's study (1981) of all 154 juveniles arrested for homicides in Philadelphia in 1970 provides insight into the relationship between legal outcome and offender/offense characteristics. Seventy-five of the juveniles were transferred to adult court, and 79 were retained under jurisdiction of the juvenile court. Of the latter group, only approximately half of the 61 adjudicated delinquents were committed to juvenile institutions. On the other hand, approximately 90 percent of the juveniles tried in adult court were sentenced to prison. There was some evidence that black youths who killed whites received harsher sentences than black youths who killed other blacks. A determination of the legal outcomes for 72 youths charged with homicide in Michigan focused on dispositions involving competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility, and juvenile court waiver to adult court. Overall, this chapter concludes that the single most important factor in the legal outcome for juveniles charged with homicide is the decision to transfer the juvenile to adult court. Future research should examine factors associated with such transfer decisions. 1 table, 10 references.