Thirty Year Follow-Up of Juvenile Homicide Offenders

Killings by juvenile offenders have been a matter of concern in the United States since the 1980s. Although the rate of juvenile-perpetrated murders has been declining since the 1990s, it remains problematic, in that juvenile offenders account for approximately 10% of all homicide arrests. Research on recidivism of juvenile homicide offenders (JHOs) is important, due to relatively short follow-up periods in prior studies and a recent Supreme Court ruling that struck down mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole for juveniles convicted of murder. The present study was designed to explore long-term patterns of recidivism, and particularly violent recidivism, in a sample of 59 male JHOs from a Southeastern state who were prosecuted as adults for murder or attempted murder in the early 1980s, convicted, and sentenced to adult prison. Furthermore, the predictive utility of a juvenile homicide typology was analyzed, and the offenders who committed sexually-oriented murders were examined in-depth. The results indicated that close to 90% of released offenders have been rearrested during the 30-year follow-up period, and more than 60% have been rearrested for violent offenses. Five offenders completed (4 offenders) or attempted (1 offender) a new homicide. Out of 7 variables tested, race emerged as the only significant correlate of post-release violence. Release from prison, post-release arrests, and post-release violent offenses were not significantly related to the circumstances of the index homicide (crime-oriented v. conflict-oriented). The subsample of juvenile sexual homicide offenders (JSHOs) consisted of 8 offenders; 6 of them were released from prison, 4 were rearrested, and 3 were rearrested for violent offenses. None of the released JSHOs were arrested for a homicide or any sexually-related crimes. The implications of the findings for management of JHOs, the comparability of this study to prior studies, and directions for future research are discussed