Strain Theory Essay

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The juvenile justice system was created in the hopes of rehabilitating and protecting youths from the harsh treatment of the justice system that was forced upon them. However recently the juvenile justice system has focused on passing out more severe punishments, because of an increase in violent crimes by young offenders. According to the article on pbs.org, in Colorado, the General Assembly eliminated the possibility of parole for life sentences and expanded the power of district attorneys to treat juveniles as adults (Bikel 2007). This paper discusses five individuals sentence to life without parole in the documentary when kids get life and theories that best explain their actions.
Jacob Inh (15) sentence to life without parole in 1994 was …show more content…
Strain theory focuses on two major categories: goal blockage and the loss of positive stimuli/presentation of negative stimuli. Individuals experiencing strain may turn to delinquency in an effort to reduce or escape strain, that causes these individuals negative emotions like anger and frustration (Agnew and Timothy 2015: 228). These individuals are beset with a variety of problems or strains and unable to cope through legal channels. In Nathan’s case he was experiencing a loss of positive stimuli/presentation of negative stimuli. Nathan had also began to abuse alcohol and drugs, which he felt was the only way to cope with the abuse from his …show more content…
From the age of 14 Trevor had drifted into drug and alcohol abuse and skipping school. He also had a record for fighting and drunk driving. On November 21 1996, while Mathew was trying to buy a gun off of Trevor and friend in a Denver parking lot, Trevor decided to con Mathew by taking both the gun and money. While in an attempt to tell Mathew not to say anything about what had happen the gun had discharged shooting Mathew in the head. Trevor turned him self in the next

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