There are numerous critics of the juvenile justice system, and while most of their complaints remain the same as the justice system in general, a large portion of their criticisms revolve around the claim that incarcerating young people not only does not serve to discourage or rehabilitate them, but makes them worse and leads to adult misconduct. One report found that youth sent to juvenile detention were 37 times more likely to be arrested as adults (Szalavitz, 2009). Another major problem that some cite with the juvenile justice system is that most offenders have some form of mental illness and that, although studies have shown that mental health treatment would be a better alternative, they are simply ignored or incarcerated (Ramirez, 2008), completely contradictory to the core values ​​of the juvenile justice system which emphasizes rehabilitation and restitution above all else. However, it is obvious that there are flaws in the system, and how obvious they may be depends on one's perception. A number of different cases show that the state of juvenile justice does not match current times and circumstances which differ from when the system was established. Young people are now involved in serious violent crime, gang activity and a multitude of other crimes that depict a change in the country's social and cultural environment. Having said that, it seems clear that the system needs to adapt to these current changes, but before that happens (if it ever happens) there are many young offenders who have been let down by the system in place. One of these people is Quantel Lotts. Like most children growing up in rough-and-tumble urban areas in the United States, Quantel Lotts grew up in an environment… middle of paper… and justice. , OJ (2007). Cruel and unusual: sentencing 13- and 14-year-olds to death in prison. Montgomery: Equal Justice Initiative. Liptak, A., & Petak, L. F. (April 20, 2011). Child killers in prison for life seek respite. The New York Times .Lotts, Q. (2012, March 19). tried as an adult and locked up for life at the age of 14. (E. Pilkington, interviewer) National Institute of Mental Health. (2011). The adolescent brain: still under construction. Besthesda: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Ramirez, F. (2008, April/May). Juvenile delinquency: current problems, best practices and promising approaches. GPSOLO.Steinberg, L.D. (1987). Family processes in adolescence: A developmental perspective. Family Therapy, 77-86. Szalavitz, M. (2009, August 07). Why juvenile detention makes adolescents worse. Time magazine.