Children Sentenced As Adults

More than 200,000 children are prosecuted in adult courts each year. All 50 states can prosecute a child, under the age of 16 years old, as an adult (Young & Gainsborough, 2000). Between 1992 and 1997, forty two states and the District of Columbia enacted legislation to enable juvenile offenders to be transferred to adult prisons (Young & Gainsborough, 2000). Missouri and Indiana lowered the minimum age for transfer to an adult facility from 16 years of age to the incredibly young age of ten (Flesch, 2004). Twenty two states and the District of Columbia no longer require a minimum age for a child to be transferred to an adult prison (Stein, 1997). A high percentage of children in adult criminal facilities are mentally, physically and sexually abused, creating a more violent adult offender; therefore, juveniles should not be imprisoned with adults.

Many of the offenders transferred to adult prison facilities are non-violent offenders who pose minimal risk to society. They are transferred to adult prisons because they are habitual offenders (Smith, 2002). While in the adult facility, juveniles tend to become more serious offenders. This is because non-violent juvenile offenders can be housed with violent adult offenders, leaving the child absolutely defenseless. Juveniles are five times more likely to be victimized in this type of facility. They are twice as likely to be beaten by the prison staff and 50 times more likely to be assault with a weapon in the adult prison system (Elias, 2006). This may explain why juveniles sentenced to adult facilities have a higher risk of having substances abuse, anger management and mental health problems when they are released from prison.

In 1995, at the age of 16, Rodney Hulin Jr. was charged with arson. No one was injured by his actions; although there was quite a bit of property damage. After admitting his involvement in the offense, 16 year old Rodney was sentenced to eight years in an adult prison.

Rodney spent his first year in a prison in Abilene, Texas without any problems. His record was clean, and he was hopeful that he would be paroled in a few years. On November 13, 1995, he was transferred to a facility in Brazoria County called The Clemens Unit. The facility that Rodney had been transferred to was dramatically different from the facility in Abilene, Texas. To his dismay, major problems began to unfold. Within a week of his transfer, Rodney’s father received a long awaited letter from his son. Rodney’s father was not prepared for the words the letter contained. This is an excerpt from that letter:

Dad, I'm really scared, scared that I will die in here. Please pray for me. Pray that I will get my job changed, sent to a hospital, get out of here alive, and that I will get out on parole...I want to live with you when I get out, if I get out alive (Hulin, 1996, pg 1).

The Clemens Unit was a dangerous place for a child. The inmates were tougher than those in the Abilene Unit. With the over crowding of the facility; the guards had less control and even less compassion for Rodney, who was just 17 years old at the time. Two days after sending his letter, Rodney was raped and sodomized by an inmate. The doctor found two tears in his rectum and ordered a Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) test, since up to a third of the 2,200 inmates there had tested HIV positive. Rodney feared for his safety and requested to be placed in protective custody. His request fell on deaf ears and was denied because, in the warden’s opinion, the abuse Rodney suffered did not meet the qualifications to warrant the criteria for emergency protection. The following several months became unbearable for the boy. Rodney was beaten, forced to perform oral sex, raped, and robbed. Even though Rodney continually requested protection, his requests were denied by the warden.

On the night of January 26, 1996; 75 days after Rodney entered Clemens; he attempted suicide by hanging himself in his cell. He could no longer stand to live in continual terror. It was too much for him to handle. He laid in a coma for the next four months until he died.

The night of the suicide, Rodney had written about being tired of prison life, and tired of living. That letter had been passed onto a prison guard by Rodney’s friend who told the guard that Rodney needed immediate attention. The guard showed little concern and walked in the opposite direction. Sometime during the 15 minutes it took the guard to tend to his duties, and make his rounds to Rodney’s cell, Rodney decided he had enough and acted on his depression.

Finding the right balance between a sentence that fits the crime, the age of the offender and the best interests of society is not an easy task by any means. Sending young children to adult prisons will not make our streets any safer. Sending children to be beaten, raped, and robbed does not deter crime. Children who commit crimes need to be rehabilitated, shown consideration and care. If there is any lesson to be learned by the death of Rodney Hulin, Jr. it is that juvenile offenders should not be imprisoned in adult detention facilities.

The adult prison system compromises our young offenders with minimal education. The only education a juvenile offender must receive is a General Education Diploma (GED) (Poythress, 2006). They are not supplied with job skills or the fundamental knowledge necessary to become a contributing member of society. The young offender becomes a more aggressive, angrier adult with little compassion for others.