Juvenile offenses can carry serious penalties even when they are handled in the juvenile family court system. But while these penalties can be harsh, the juvenile system at least makes an attempt at rehabilitation. The sentences are hopefully intended to return the juvenile to society better prepared, rather than to simply incarcerate and punish as often seems to be the case in the adult criminal justice system.

In one recent case in which a teen driver had allegedly caused a fatal accident, the prosecutor had been ready to seek to have the case moved into an adult court. But a plea agreement was able to keep the case in the juvenile system. The teen admitted to assault by auto and vehicular homicide in front of the judge. The teen stated that he had post-traumatic stress disorder and that he does not remember much about the accident, but would not refute witness testimony. He had allegedly ran a stop sign and been traveling at above the posted speed limit at the time of the crash.

The teenager has been in the county juvenile detention center since October, when charges were filed. As part of the plea agreement, the assistant prosecutor recommended a sentence of three years at a state training school for boys. The state training school is a lock down facility for juveniles. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March. It is likely that if the teen would have been charged as an adult, he could have received up to 12 years in prison for second-degree vehicular homicide and assault by auto.

Source Title: The Daily Record, "Randolph teen pleads guilty in Dover crash that killed newspaper worker,"Peggy Wright, Jan. 27, 2012