In most states, the age of criminal adulthood is 18. Five states mandate 17-year-olds be tried as adults, but North Carolina and New York require kids as young as 16 to be automatically tried in adult court.
But that might soon change.
The North Carolina Commission on the Administration of Law and Justice, convened by the state supreme court, released a preliminary report in August recommending the state raise age of criminal responsibility to 18, which the General Assembly may consider in January 2017.
The proposal will not apply to juveniles charged with first-degree murder, or a law that allows 13-year-olds to be transferred to adult courts for especially serious or violent crimes. But most teen crimes are misdemeanors such as drug possession or larceny.
“Juvenile court is much more focused on rehabilitation than punishment,” said Tamar Birckhead, a UNC law professor who advocates for the age change.
Youths in adult prisons are more likely to reoffend compared to juvenile delinquents, who receive drug therapy, tutoring and counseling. Minors in adult prison are 36 times more likely to commit suicide than those in juvenile detention centers, and are much more likely to be sexually assaulted according to the Campaign for Youth Justice.
And unlike a juvenile criminal record, which is largely sealed from the public, an adult conviction or arrest shows up on criminal background checks and can prevent these teens from getting a job, an apartment, college admission or scholarship money.
