NCJ Number
97658
Journal
Angolite Volume: 10 Issue: 1 Dated: (January/February 1985) Pages: 23-29
Editor(s)
W Rideau,
B Sinclair
Date Published
1985
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article describes Bernard Goetz's shooting of four youths who had menaced him on a Manhattan subway, examines the overwhelming public support for his action, and highlights the need for juvenile justice reform.
Abstract
The incident which occurred in December 1984 and later made Goetz a hero is chronicled, as is Goetz's earlier mugging by three youths. Offers to post Goetz's bail are reported, and Mayor Koch's admission that society's rights have been impinged upon is highlighted. Also emphasized is Senator D'Amato's statement that he is afraid to travel in New York's subways, even when accompanied by a bodyguard. The question is raised as to why Koch and D'Amato did not use their influence to obtain better police protection on the subways. Columnists' analyses of the incident are analyzed, and liberal columnists' support for Goetz's action is cited. Studies on chronic juvenile offenders are discussed, and reasons why such offenders are becoming more violent are suggested. Additionally, the failure of New York's Juvenile Offender Law to punish violent offenders is addressed: 6,063 of the 6,951 serious juvenile offenders arrested between 1978 and 1983 did not go to prison. The criminal records of Goetz's attackers are discussed, and the need for juvenile justice reform is emphasized. Finally, the possibility that vigilante heroes may become for America what Hitler's Brown Shirts were for Germany is suggested.