Officials dealing with juveniles who have committed violent crimes perpetually face a decision: Should the young people receive rehabilitation before being sent back into society or placed into the prison system as an adult?

At some level, that decision has already been decided by the state.

“The juvenile system, by statute, is designed for rehabilitation. That’s very clear,” McCann said. “Whereas the adult system is a more punitive-based system, with rehabilitation also as a goal, but not the primary goal.”

The juvenile system, which focuses on rehabilitation after a conviction, has a maximum sentence of five years, while the adult system does not have similar sentencing limitations.

The Youthful Offender System, which was established in Pueblo in 1994, serves as a middle ground between juvenile and adult. Young adults who commit violent felonies can spend their sentences there, instead of in the adult system, and receive rehabilitation services.

There is a maximum sentence of seven years in the Youthful Offender System, and if offenders age out of the program during their sentence, they are moved up to the adult system.

McCann called the process frustrating, noting the difficulties in deciding whether a child should be tried as an adult with ongoing limitations held over each separate system.

“I think that there needs to be other options provided in the juvenile system because we are now seeing these 16-and-17-year-olds committing murder, and that’s not really appropriate for the juvenile system. But they may not yet be appropriate for the regular adult correctional system,” she said.

McCann added that the decision process comes down to looking at things like age, criminal history, rehabilitation in the past, family background and stable home lives.

“We know from research that young people’s brains are not fully developed until, really, 25 or 26. That judgement piece is one of the last to develop,” she said. “We know they are very susceptible to peer influence and influence by family members. There’s really just a lot of things that go into making that decision.”

For example, McCann’s office recently filed a motion to try 14-year-old Steven Joseph Marquez as and adult for the alleged murder of Todd Kidd.

In a statement, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said that the teen should be prosecuted as a “serious safety risk.”

Experts said the decision is difficult.

“It’s like we want to have it both ways, and it’s not really appropriate,” said David Pyrooz, a criminologist and associate professor of sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder. “People see juvenile courts as far too lenient for the 14-year-old that kills a mother in broad daylight. On one hand, it is. On the other hand, locking them up for life and putting them with adults at age 18, that doesn’t feel right for a 14-year-old, either.”

Dr. Joseph Silva, vice president of equity initiatives at the Generation Schools Network and founder of the Silva Family Foundation nonprofit, said juvenile crimes should often lead to reconciliation in the juvenile system — unless it’s murder.

“Committing murder is the one penalty that you cannot come back from,” he said. “We need to implore to our young people that that’s a final decision.”

And that’s why preventing these situations is crucial, he said, noting those efforts begin with community outreach and mentorship.

A plethora of community outreach groups and programs within the state are working on youth violence.

McCann’s office, for example, launched the Handgun Intervention Program in 2021.

The program provides a six-week educational program and six months of probation for juveniles convicted of first-time, non-violent firearm offenses, teaching youth the dangers of firearms and ways to solve conflicts.

Silva believes the actions done by local government and nonprofits is not enough.

“I’m tired of hearing that we need to lean into these kids,” Silva said. “We need to lean around our kids. We need to lean around our communities. Allow yourself to get messy in the muck.”

Silva emphasized the need to focus on mentoring, community support, caregiver support, after school programs and take a bigger look at more mental health services for children.

He pointed toward programs established in the 1980s and 1990s, such as Save Our Youth and Just Say No — interventions and services that helped him after he witnessed his best friend’s murder.

“There were all of these organizations that came into our lives and said, ‘You matter.’ I was given leadership opportunities at 14 years old to have a voice. I saw myself as more than just a circumstance,” he said.

Pyrooz pointed to a pyramid approach. At the bottom, he said, are broad prevention efforts, such as healthy families and good schools.

The next level is targeting kids with risk factors, such as problematic lives at home and poor school performance, and then applying mentorship. The third level serves as a stage of intervention, providing family support services to children and their guardians.

If the interventions fail, get law enforcement is involved, helping mitigate potential crimes through programs. And, if that doesn’t work, then there’s arrest and the juvenile system, he said.

“Keeping kids occupied. You’ve got to get them through those teenage years where they’re very susceptible to influence,” Pyrooz said. “They’re very susceptible to acting out for status attainment. To get them through that period of time when they’re really uncertain about life and their futures, to really support them and put them in structured activities that meet their interests and needs.”

Dwayne Meeks, manager of the Colorado Fatherhood Initiative, agreed.

“If we can do a better job at supporting young people, helping that unpack that trauma and that sense of purpose and giving them that purpose, maybe they will take more responsibility and accountability for their own lives,” he said.

“It’s time for solutions, and solutions cost money. It’s time for us to say, ‘How valuable are our children?’” Silva said.