Abstract

A Comparison of Prison and Young Offender Custody Experiences of Adolescents Convicted of Murder and Manslaughter

Mark Totten and Katharine Kelly

This paper is based upon the first Canadian qualitative study of young offenders convicted of murder and manslaughter. In-depth interviews were used to explore offenders’ experiences in early childhood, adolescence and young adulthood, their accounts of the homicides, and their life in custody. The custodial experiences of five participants who served all their time in youth facilities are compared to eleven participants who did time in only the adult or both the adult and youth systems. Is rehabilitation more likely in a young offender or prison environment? Youth facilities are program intensive, with daily counselling, educational, and recreational programs. Although the new Youth Criminal Justice Act emphasizes intensive treatment and supervision, provinces and territories have the option to transfer homicide cases up to adult court. The prison environment is not conducive to therapeutic treatment and reintegration. Evidence-based research suggests that serious youth violence is best addressed through early intervention and prevention. Implications for social welfare and justice policy are discussed.

Bio

Dr. Mark Totten is Director of Research at the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa.

Dr. Katharine Kelly is Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology, Carleton University.

They are co-investigators of Canada’s first qualitative study on youth convicted of murder and manslaughter, and co-authors of the recently released book ‘When Children Kill: A Social-Psychological Study of Youth Homicide.’

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