Noah Schultz’s life was spinning out of control. At 17, he was already immersed in drugs and gangs in his Portland, Oregon, neighborhood. When someone cheated him on a drug deal, Schultz decided to get revenge, tracking the man down and beating him with a pistol, causing severe bruising to his face.
That night in 2009 would be Schultz’s last day of freedom for more than seven years. Within 24 hours he was arrested, charged with assault as an adult, and held on $500,000 bail. He was transferred between multiple adult jails, where he endured extensive time in solitary confinement—for his own protection, he was told.
“I couldn’t believe what happened so quickly,” Schultz says. “I’m sitting in this jail with a bunch of grown men thinking: How did I get here? How did this happen?”
Schultz’s case is far from uncommon. He was housed in adult jails after his arrest because Oregon is one of 27 states where prosecutors can charge 16- and 17-year-old offenders as adults if they choose. (Six states* automatically charge 16-year olds and/or 17-year-olds as adults.)
But recently, some states have begun making it harder to charge juveniles as adults and started to focus more on rehabilitation. New scientific research and several Supreme Court rulings involving juveniles and crime have prompted the states to act, reversing a “tough on crime” philosophy that led to harsher penalties for young people who commit serious crimes.
“Legislators have finally started to realize that treating juveniles just like adults does more harm than good,” says David DeMatteo, a professor of law at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
However, some victims’ rights groups and lawmakers are pushing back against the trend, arguing that the worst criminals deserve harsh punishments no matter how old they are.
“Prison penalties fairly and systematically applied means less crime,” says U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a former Republican senator from Alabama and an outspoken critic of changing the juvenile and adult justice systems.
Noah Schultz’s life was spinning out of control. At 17, he was already tied up with drugs and gangs in his Portland, Oregon, neighborhood. When someone cheated him on a drug deal, Schultz decided to get revenge. He tracked the man down and beat him with a pistol, causing severe bruising to his face.
That night in 2009 would be Schultz’s last day of freedom for more than seven years. Within 24 hours he was arrested, charged with assault as an adult, and held on $500,000 bail. He was transferred between multiple adult jails. During that period, he endured extensive time in solitary confinement. It was for his own protection, he was told.
“I couldn’t believe what happened so quickly,” Schultz says. “I’m sitting in this jail with a bunch of grown men thinking: How did I get here? How did this happen?”
Schultz’s case is far from uncommon. He was housed in adult jails after his arrest because he was in Oregon. It's one of 27 states where prosecutors can charge 16- and 17-year-old offenders as adults if they choose. Six states automatically charge 16-year olds and/or 17-year-olds as adults.
But recently, some states have begun making it harder to charge juveniles as adults. These states have started to focus more on rehabilitation. New scientific research and several Supreme Court rulings involving juveniles and crime have convinced the states to act. Now, they are working to reverse a “tough on crime” philosophy. This thinking is what has led to harsher penalties for young people who commit serious crimes.
“Legislators have finally started to realize that treating juveniles just like adults does more harm than good,” says David DeMatteo, a professor of law at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
But some victims’ rights groups and lawmakers are pushing back against the trend. They argue that the worst criminals deserve harsh punishments no matter how old they are.
“Prison penalties fairly and systematically applied means less crime,” says U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a former Republican senator from Alabama and an outspoken critic of changing the juvenile and adult justice systems.