A recent criminal court case in Abilene has resulted in an interesting plea agreement for the young man who pled guilty to steal a television from a residence. As part of his probation, John Joseph Dunn is required to graduate from an accredited Abilene college before September 2013.
Joe Burkett, assistant district attorney, said the case drew “far more attention” than he expected. While the specific details of Dunn’s case do not deserve public scrutiny, this form of probation, often called “creative sentencing,” deserves much more attention and use in today’s justice system, especially in case’s involving young adults.
Like Dunn’s, most creative sentencing agreements are part of deferred adjudication probation. Unlike normal forms of probation, this allows a conviction to be avoided if there is no violation.
A felony conviction will follow an individual through employment, loan or university applications and also bars them from voting, running for office and sometimes from traveling to another country. For young adults especially, being a convicted felon means not being able to live a normal life.
The goal of creative sentencing, whether it be education or volunteer hours, is rehabilitation over imprisonment. For a teenager or young adult who has made a mistake, a attempted transformation of lifestyles has a much more possibility for change compared to years in a federal prison.
Even if the crime was their first crime, an impressionable young prisoner is unlikely return to society as a contributing member after spending years in a prison surrounded by drug and gang culture.
Along with avoiding the effects of prison on an individual, a system which focuses on rehabilitation for young offenders has the potential to reduce government expenditures and lower the strain on taxpayers. According the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 2001 the annual operating cost per inmate for state prisons was $22,650 and slightly higher for federal prisons.
These expenses could easily be transitioned to pay for a rehabilitation program or, in Dunn’s case, enrollment at a public university or community college (although, as part of Dunn’s agreement, he will fund his own education).
Creative sentencing is not an answer for every case. Sadly, prison is the only answer for many criminal offenders. However, for young adults whose ability for a normal life can be taken away by a felony conviction, creative sentencing can offer a breath of opportunity.
According to Burkett, evidence showed that Dunn ” had undergone a change of attitude and living circumstances since the incident.” Those, like Dunn, who display true regret, a transformation of attitudes and a strong intention to change should be given a chance to do so.
