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| Trying youths as adults on the rise in Texas |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 12/08/2003 |
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A slight increase in major crimes and some highly publicized violent crimes involving teen suspects have led to more Texas juvenile offenders being tried as adults in recent years, authorities said. In Tarrant County, the number of juveniles certified as adults increased in 2002 because prosecutors are considering more types of crimes, including sex offenses, said Jay Lapham, chief of the juvenile division of the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office. The number went from six in 2001 to 10 last year. Statewide, the number of juveniles certified to stand trial as adults increased from 141 in 2001 to 214 last year, according to the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission. A juvenile certified and convicted as an adult can face tougher sentences and be sent to prison instead of a Texas Youth Commission facility. In Texas, someone as young as 14 can be tried as an adult in a felony criminal case. Last year, major crimes in the state -- which include murder, robbery, rape, aggravated assault, burglary, theft and auto theft -- increased 3 percent from 2001, according to Texas Department of Public Safety statistics. An increase in gang crimes in Texas pushed the number of teens being tried as adults to 535 in 1995, one of the highest totals in recent years, authorities said. But that number decreased by 76 percent from 1996 to 2001 because of a drop in gang crimes and the use of determinate sentencing, prosecutors said. The number of juveniles being tried as adults was 433 in 1998, 236 in 1999 and 198 in 2000, according to state statistics. With determinate sentencing, which was enhanced in the late 1990s, a teen offender begins a sentence in a youth facility and completes it in an adult prison. The maximum sentence is 40 years. This year, 16-year-old David Hightower was accused of shooting his mother while she slept in their home in Watauga near Fort Worth. He called two friends and told them to listen as he pulled the trigger. A Tarrant County judge denied a petition to certify Hightower as an adult. But Hightower later pleaded guilty to delinquent conduct/murder, and a jury sentenced him to 40 years. |
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