Superpredators
Subtitle: the demonization of our children by the law
By: Peter Elikann.
Publisher: Insight Books; Perseus Books
Published: 1999
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 242
Subjects: Juvenile corrections -- United States; Juvenile delinquency -- United States -- Prevention; Problem youth -- Services for -- United States; Problem families -- Services for -- United States
Description: Almost weekly it seems that we're bombarded with gruesome headlines of horrific criminal acts committed by young people - adolescents shoot their peers in the schoolyard; a teenager gives birth at her prom, kills the baby, and rejoins the dance; two boys allegedly kill a girl for her bicycle. Are children today more violent and remorseless than in the past? Is this the advent of a youth crime wave?

What's the best option to fight juvenile crime - prevention and rehabilitation or life sentences in adult prisons and the death penalty? Superpredators: The Demonization of Our Children by the Law tackles these important questions head-on. Peter Elikann, criminal defense attorney, legal commentator, and author, persuasively argues that children are not born to become "superpredators" who wreak havoc on society.

Superpredators fiercely champions these littlest individuals and, in fact, adopts an optimistic note - that youth crime will continue to drop as long as we invest in our children with proven policies and ethics for living and interacting. We must reevaluate the family unit and bring adults, mentors, and role models into the lives of our children.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction and overview : children as the enemy -- A coming youth crime wave by a nation of sociopaths. Hearts shot full of novocaine? -- Not always fitting the stereotyped profile -- No longer taken lightly -- A war on children -- Disintegrating families, growing poverty and the media -- No communities or role models -- Blaming the children -- The dirty little secret of youth crime -- No youth crime wave of sociopaths -- The everydayness of firearms. Guns as a way of life -- Death as a fun game -- Locking up guns -- Gun suicides -- You shoot who you know -- Gangs and guns -- The effectiveness of gun crime prevention -- Adult trials and prisons for juveniles. Legislation by anecdote -- Transfers to adult courts and prisons -- Minorities lead the way -- Females : more crime, still less jail -- Nonviolent offenders jailed most -- Abandoning the old way -- Juveniles in adult prisons endanger the public -- The myth of deterrence -- Juvenile courts are tougher -- Juvenile competency -- Juvenile records -- Curfews -- Abuse of children in prison -- The death penalty for children -- Fewer adult prisons, fewer crimes -- Shame : the little-known secret of crime -- There are no motiveless crimes -- The significance of being “dissed'' -- Young, urban, violent “suckers'' -- The American tradition of the “honor culture'' -- Mainstream America’s pervasive need for respect -- Shame : the deadliest of all emotions -- Early abuse and the fear of the death of one's soul -- The misguided popularity of shaming sentences -- The positive aspects of pride and conscience -- The solution : intervention, families, role models, the media and rehabilitation -- Resilient kids -- How youth crime dived in one city -- Community policing and faith-based programs -- Other forms of intervention -- Conclusion : a 15-point plan.