Article: Tough juvenile justice getting a review: ; Laws that lowered crime too harsh, some assert

Juvenile crime is down, in contrast to the turbulent 1990s when politicians vied to pass laws to get violent kids off the streets. Now, in calmer times, some champion community programs for young offenders to replace punitive measures they say went too far.

A generation after America decided to get tough on kids who commit crimes - sometimes locking them up for life - the tide might be turning.

Some states are rethinking and, in some cases, retooling juvenile sentencing laws. They're responding to new research on the adolescent brain, and studies that indicate teens sent to adult court end up worse off than those who are not: They get in trouble more often, they do it faster and the ...

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