Adults and Juveniles Should Not Mix In Prison

In the mid-1990s, the term superpredator was coined to refer to juveniles that were so dangerous and incapable of reform that they had to be thrown in jail and locked away from the rest of society. The nation was hurled into a state of fear as images of young superpredators flooding the streets filled mainstream media. In response to this perceived threat, lawmakers pushed tough on crime initiatives that included sending these young “superpredators” to jail. Today, the superpredator myth has been debunked, but our punishments of juveniles are still draconian.