As a result of a surge in violent crime during the 1980s and 1990s, many states enacted legislation that permitted juveniles to be tried in adult court if they committed particularly heinous crimes (such as murder). Some states also permit trying juveniles as adults for lesser crimes, (such as attempted homicide or grievous assaults) and they may allow the prosecutor or the court considerable discretion in deciding whether to move cases to adult court or retain them in juvenile court.
When two 11-year-old girls lure a friend into the woods and try to kill her, the community is shocked, but when their motive is exposed, shock turns to disbelief. The accused girls claim they had planned to kill their friend in order to gain favor with a fictional character who is the popular topic of fan fiction on the Internet. State law permits the juveniles to be tried as adults, but because of their age, the prosecutor has asked for both the accused to be evaluated.
You are the social worker who has been charged with compiling the results of the psychiatric and neuropsychological evaluations. You must also make a recommendation to the prosecutor as to whether or not the juvenile court judge should waive prosecution to adult court. You have two options. How do you proceed?
Based solely on the age of the accused girls, you believe that they should be tried as juveniles.
Although the accused girls are only 11, they very nearly killed their victim, so they should be tried as adults.
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