Juvenile Justice System

Disparities in Decision Making

You are a newly minted prosecutor in Anytown, USA, and have been assigned the following two cases for trial:

Case A: 14-year-old male C.J. raped his 16-year-old next-door neighbor M.K. During the rape, C.J. bruised one of M.K.'s arms. The police arrest C.J. the next morning at his residence where he lives with his mother and two younger brothers. His mother is devastated by his arrest. C.J. has a history of minor thefts.

Case B: 16-year-old female K.O. raped 13-year-old R.L. and demanded that R.L. keep quiet about the rape. The police arrest K.O. R.L. does not want K.O. prosecuted for the rape.

On the date of sentencing, the court sentences C.J. to 10 years' confinement with two years of probation, but sentences K.O. to two years' confinement with five years of probation.

1. Should the female juvenile rapist have been treated differently than the male juvenile rapist?
2. If you were the judge, how would you justify your sentencing decisions?