Weekly News Roundup August 26, 2016 A sampling of recent news stories related to the prosecution of youth as adults.
CFYJ in the News
N.C. Commission proposes 16-year-olds be tried as juveniles – The Daily Tar Heel
Ninety-six percent of the crimes 16- and 17-year-olds commit in North Carolina are non-violent. Eighty percent of those crimes are misdemeanors. Yet 100 percent of these teenagers are tried as adults. In most states, the age of criminal adulthood is 18. Five states mandate 17-year-olds be tried as adults, but North Carolina and New York require kids as young as 16 to be automatically tried in adult court. More here.
National News
Nearly Half Of Juvenile Centers Use Isolation As A Form Of Control – Think Progress
A West Virginia mother whose 16-year-old son was struggling with ADHD wanted to get him services but wasn’t sure what to do. The assistant principal at her son’s school suggested she file an incorrigibility petition — a status offense — against her son, whom we’ll call John, so he would be eligible for those services. More here.
ANGIE’S STORY – PARENTS LIKE US CLUB – The mind Storm
Just over two years ago I was gloriously naive. Before the police knocked on my door the morning of May 31st, 2014, there was a lot I didn’t know. I didn’t know my daughter had a serious mental illness. Morgan had always been a quirky child. Extremely intelligent and intensely creative, people often said that she “marched to the beat of her own drum.” Although (in retrospect) there were a few red flags over the years, we were continuously reassured by her doctors and educators that Morgan was well “within the range of normal.” More here.
State-by-State News
Illinois
President Preckwinkle applauds signing of Juvenile Justice Bill – Windy City Media Group
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle today hailed action by the governor in signing into law juvenile justice reform legislation she championed this year. HB 6291 sponsored by state Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook, which will take effect January 1, 2017, will reduce or eliminate mandatory five-year probation sentences for juveniles and reduce commitments to juvenile prison for drug crimes. Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, was Senate sponsor of the bill. More here.
North Carolina
NC remains one of two states to charge 16- and 17-year-olds as adults – Citizen Times
People from across the state gathered in Western North Carolina last week to say it's time to throw out a 97-year-old law requiring that 16- and 17-year-olds accused of a crime be charged as adults. North Carolina remains one of two states unwilling to raise the age for juvenile offenders, an issue of great concern for the North Carolina Commission on the Administration of Law and Justice. More here.
Wisconsin
Casey Hoff: Treating kids as adults unwise – Sheboygan Press
The United States Supreme Court emphasized in a 2011 opinion that “children cannot be viewed simply as miniature adults.” Unfortunately, many of our policies and laws tragically still treat our children as adults in the criminal justice system, with devastating consequences. More here.
Campaign For Youth Justice
http://cfyj.nationbuilder.com/
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