Response to Calls to Try More Children As Adults

[James Dold]

Good afternoon all,

As many of you are aware, earlier this month an attack on a high profile victim in Washington, D.C. led to calls by elected and appointed officials to prosecute more children as adults and to expand the ability of the U.S. Attorney's Office to handle these cases directly. For those who haven't seen it, you can watch a clip of the U.S. Attorneys press conference from earlier this week here: https://www.foxnews.com/video/6376794809112. 

The response has been swift, with Rep. Byron Donalds already having introduced the "Make Everyone Safe Act," which among other things, eliminates the ability of courts to deviate from mandatory minimums when children are convicted in adult court. Senator Cotton has also indicated that he intends to introduce a bill in direct response to this incident, which we surmise will focus on: 1. amending the transfer statutes to make it easier to try kids as young as 14 in adult court; and 2. moves jurisdiction from the D.C. Attorney General to the U.S. Attorney's Office. 

As part of our collective response, we wanted to share some talking points that folks can use when speaking to staffers, members, the public, or media about these issues. Please see attached. We also wanted to share the findings of our recent two-year Adverse Childhood Experiences study among children who were tried as adults in the United States. In every national campaign HRFK has ever led, and any successful youth justice campaign I've been a part of (ending JLWOP, etc.), the key has been to change the terms of engagement. That is, to get people thinking differently about how and why kids commit crime in the first place. 

For the first time, we have solid data that provides needed context to how and why kids come into the system. Over the past 2 years we've sent out close to 20,000 Adverse Childhood Experiences Surveys to people incarcerated in adult prisons for crimes they committed as children. More than 2,200 people responded from which we learned the following: 

72% of kids tried as adults were emotionally abused

70% of kids tried as adults were physically abused

45% of kids tried as adults were sexually abused

37% of kids tried as adults were trafficked 

83% of kids tried as adults came from homes where one or both parents were absent (42% of all youth had a parent who was incarcerated, 55% witnessed domestic violence, 54% witnessed mental illness in the home, and 75% witnessed substance abuse)

The average age for abuse was 6 years old. The average ACE score was 6.23 out of 10. 

One of the children who has been charged in this case is a 15 year old girl. We know from the data that girls tried as adults have even more trauma with 92% experiencing emotional abuse and 84% experiencing both physical and sexual abuse. The average ACE score for girls is 7.7 out of 10. 

What we can glean from this is that almost every child who is tried as an adult fits within the circles described below: 

So it's important that when we talk about this issue publicly we provide context for who these kids are and what has happened to them. Their behavior is a response to the abuse, neglect, and trauma that they have experienced throughout their lives. This trauma leads to early onset PTSD which has been linked to adverse brain development in the prefrontal cortex. 

It's important that we don't convey this information in a way that seems indifferent to the victims of youth crime or that seeks to use it as an excuse; but rather as an explanation for why youth crime is happening in the first place. It is a social failure to have protected these children from harm in the first place. When victims go unidentified and the abuse continues, these kids eventually turn to the streets, gangs, or a peer group experiencing the exact same abuse for comfort, protection, love, and belonging. 

This absolutely must inform how we hold youth accountable and why it is essential that courts consider the impact of trauma on a child's behavior and have discretion to sentence them differently than they sentence adults. It's also why these youth should remain in juvenile court in the first place. 

For more detail on the findings from our study, I'd direct you to our infographic below which you are free to share with your networks, staffers, or legislators: 

https://humanrightsforkids.org/wp-content/uploads/National-ACEs-Infographic.pdf 

Originally, we were going to wait to share this data until our final report comes out in November. But given the gravity of the current situation, we thought it best to share this information now so that folks can incorporate it into their talking points and share it with their contacts on the Hill. 

An additional point to make is that Gov. Sanders in Arkansas recently signed into law new requirements that courts consider ACEs, trauma history, and status as a victim of abuse or human trafficking. She also signed a law protecting children coerced into criminal offenses by gangs or older adults. These issues are bipartisan and its important that they remain as such. 

Lastly, I wrote extensively about my own experiences with delinquency after having been sexually abused and trafficked when I was a young teen earlier this year: 

https://lasvegassun.com/news/2025/jan/30/imperfect-victims-child-trafficking-survivors-dese/

I use quite a few examples of other trafficked youth and how that often leads to their involvement in the justice system. There are a lot of stories like this - kids who were trafficked or abused. And now, more than ever, it's vital that we shift the narrative on what's happened to these kids and how their behavior is a response to unaddressed trauma. 

This will help us humanize these children and insulate our allies from unfair or unwarranted attacks. Hopefully it leads those on the other side to change their perspective as well. I've seen that quite a bit as well. 

James

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James L. Dold, J.D.

CEO & Founder 

Human Rights for Kids

1250 Connecticut Ave, NW, Suite 700 (PMB 5126)

Washington, DC 20036

Email: jd...@humanrightsforkids.org

Phone: ‪(202) 573-7758

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