ABSTRACT
When we think about punishment we tend to think about how it affects adults and not juveniles.1 Questions about what a thief might deserve or the most appropriate punishment for murderers tend to assume the thief and murderer are adults. Many believe that an offender’s age may justify different punishments for the same crimes. But why should youth matter and what difference should it make? Do juvenile offenders deserve different punishments? This chapter examines the punishment of juvenile offenders. I will explain
why justice requires different consideration given to youths and what this might look like. I will also challenge traditional conceptions about youth justice and how we should conceive punishment for non-adults. The idea of having a stake in society takes on central importance. Juveniles are in a transition to becoming full members of political society. One concern is how best to ensure that they see themselves as coming to have a stake in society as a means to tackle juvenile offending. This is best addressed by the unified theory of punishment which is based upon the idea of stakeholding. Furthermore, the unified theory best addresses relevant multiple penal goals within a coherent framework. We are able to make better sense of juvenile offending and its punishment. The unified theory offers us a compelling view about how this is best achieved.
