Juvenile Justice Process and Corrections: The Case of Colleen M.

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Table of Contents

Introduction
After the Arrest
Correction Plan
Conclusion
References

Introduction

The Case in Point

Drug abuse was proven considerably long ago as nothing to sneeze at; an obvious problem within modern society, it has led to a number of tragic consequences. One of the most recent tragedies, the case of Coleen M., should be considered as one of the most graphic examples of the way in which criminal law is executed in Oklahoma.

After the Arrest

The Process Details

To address all the stages of the process which Coleen will undergo after being apprehended it is required to comment on the specifics of each element separately.

Intake

According to the established standards of Oklahoma state criminal procedures, the first and the foremost measure will be the intake of the criminal. According to the Oklahoma state law for juvenile criminals, the intake procedure must consider the next course of actions, As Adams (n. d.) puts it, “a prosecutor or a juvenile court “intake” officer (often a probation officer) must then decide whether to:

dismiss the matter
handle the matter informally, or
“petition” the matter by filing formal charges” (Adams, n. d.). In the given case, the prosecutor will definitely choose the latter, given the number of crimes that Coleen has committed.

Court

In the course of the court session, the jury is going to consider the charges which are currently pressed against Coleen and decide what the defendant will be accused of. In the course of the court session, Coleen will be most likely accused of the following crimes: a misdemeanor for injury by a dangerous dog; the verbal threat of bodily harm, involuntary manslaughter, an accidental homicide, theft, and a desecration of a corpse, since the theft of the shoes from the corpse can be considered the act of desecration of a corpse. The latter is questionable, though, since the law of Oklahoma might not necessarily consider the desecration of a corpse a punishable offense (Williams, 2008, February 14). Standing before court, Coleen will have to prove not only that she is remorseful for what has happened, but also that she deserves a second chance.

Sentencing

The process of sentencing will be quite long since there are several crimes which Coleen is accused of. Split into several stages, the process of sentencing will presuppose stating whether Coleen is guilty of a specific crime. Finally, the verdict is going to be passed.

Punishment/rehabilitation

Though with the help of a personal lawyer, Coleen can prove that she deserves better than being sentenced to several years in a juvenile hall, some of the crimes which Coleen has committed will be still a solid reason to consider her guilty for some of the crimes mentioned above. According to Oklahoma Law, Coleen will most likely spend the next 20 days in jail (Oklahoma state legislator to author tougher dog laws, 2008). The verbal assault will cost Coleen several days more in prison, while with the manslaughter and the desecration of the corpse, it will be more complicated to pass an adequate sentence. Most likely, the punishment will make “up to seven years and a fine not exceeding $8,000” (Williams, 2008, February 14). Finally, the penalty for the murder and accidental manslaughter will most likely result in sentencing Coleen to several years of imprisonment, a life sentence at worst (Moncrief, 2011, 15).

Correction Plan

A Recommendation Memo

Since the key objective of the court is to restore justice and make sure that Coleen will mend her ways, it will be necessary to consider how to help Coleen become a decent member of society as soon as possible. Hence, a specific plan must be developed.

The first week

During the first week, it will be necessary for Coleen to establish relationships with her aunt. Once the girl has someone to consider a model, she will be able to improve her ways.

Ten days later

Later on, Coleen will have to somehow compensate for the harm that she has done to her victims, i.e., the issues with the dog bite and the verbal assault.

A month later

After a month, Coleen will have to understand the necessity to stop using drugs.

One year after the accident

When it is a year after Coleen’s crime, it will be necessary that the girl was willing to become a better person and a decent member of society.

Conclusion

The Field of Poppies

In a retrospective of the case in point, one must mention that the case of drug abuse seems to have become the plague of the XXI century. Leading not only to the timeless death of the drug addict, but it also puts the people around in constant peril. Despite the fact that the measures described above must and will be undertaken to restore justice, it goes without saying that drug abuse is a topical problem that needs an immediate solution as well.

References

Adams, P. J. (n. d.). Juvenile crime. Web.

Moncrief, M. (2011). Death penalty. Saskatchewan, CA: Saskatchewan Elocution and Debate Association.

Oklahoma state legislator to author tougher dog laws (2008). Web.

Williams, J. A. (2008). Lawmaker proposes corpse desecration law. NewsOK. Web.

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