In the first given case study of Colleen M. who is fifteen year old girl and determined juvenile by the court. When a teen is considered as juvenile or delinquent, his/ her future is put on stake and society also does not accept them. Colleen M. is not any criminal or gang member neither she has crime history prior but her minor quarrel with her neighbor took an ugly turn. In an argument with her neighbor, she threw a bucket of pesticide on her which caused major injuries to her and she immediately died on the spot.
Though the accident took place in the negligence of Colleen yet it is sufficient to devastating her future. On the contrary, in the case of Xander who is a seventeen year old African American male is a documented gang member. He was convicted as juvenile when he was thirteen for drug possession, purse snatching and breaking and entering. Till date he has faced three police custodies one of which is for possession of a concealed weapon, to which he has pled guilty. When both the case studies are compared, the first difference which is noticed is that Xander had a criminal background but Colleen hadn’t had such background. . On the contrary, Xander is in contact with his mother and had cordial relations with her, though he does not have any contact with his father.
In spite of having love and support of his mother, Xander is a documented member of a gang and have been involved in criminal offences since the age of 13 whereas there are no criminal charges against Colleen before this particular case. Along with this, comparison of these two individuals also indicates that both of them are not good at academics. In fact, Xander is a high school dropout whereas no information provided about Colleen. Therefore, there is room for information about Colleen’s academics background however her actions imply that she is not a regular student in school.
Furthermore, their present case status demonstrate that they are involved in great risk as precious years of their young life are stuck into the police case which hinders their personality to grow. It is the time for them when they can polish their skills and become a responsible citizen as well as a family member but their unwarranted actions are slowly spoiling their life. The level of risk in their life is on high level. In the teen age they are accused of crimes like involuntary manslaughter and possession of weapons which is a clear indication of their troubled mental state.
Colleen used to live with her aunt but many times she ran away from her home. Again, it shows that she is not happy with her and something immensely disturbing her. Court also doubts that she is a drug addict and but she refused this by saying that while traveling with three homeless men, they unknowingly stumbled upon a field of poppies and that before they knew it; the intoxicating aroma caused her
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