New Report By The Campaign for Youth Justice Highlights Significant Progress in Keeping Youth Out of the Adult Criminal Justice System
Between 2015 and 2017, nine states and the District of Columbia have passed laws to limit or remove youth from adult facilities
WASHINGTON, Oct. 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new report, "Raising the Bar: State Trends in Keeping Youth Out of Adult Courts (2015-2017)," since 2005, 36 states have passed 70 positive pieces of legislation to keep youth from the adult system. The number of youth under 18 automatically excluded from juvenile court has been nearly cut in half from 175,000 youth in 2007 to 90,900 youth in 2014. The number is expected to drop again in 2020 when Louisiana, South Carolina, North Carolina, and New York fully implement their laws passed in 2016 and 2017. The report release comes during Youth Justice Action Month.
"These legislative victories are not just good for youth, but they set historic precedent in our country," says Marcy Mistrett, CEO of the Campaign for Youth Justice. "Once New York and North Carolina fully implement their laws it will be the first time since the creation of the juvenile court in the United States that 16-year olds are not automatically treated as adults simply because of their age."
In addition to keeping youth out of adult court, there has been positive momentum toward moving youth out of adult jails and prisons. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the December 31 one-day count of youth in adult prisons has dropped nearly 65% from 2,779 youth in 2009 to 993 youth in 2015.
There has also been significant efforts to limit which youth are eligible to be placed in the adult system and to give juvenile court judges more discretion to determine whether a youth should be transferred to adult court. In 28 states, there are laws that automatically exclude youth from the juvenile system if they have been charged with a certain offense. Some of these states have no lower age of exclusion from the juvenile court, so 8, 10, and 12-year-old children can be prosecuted as adults.
The Campaign for Youth Justice, based in Washington, DC, is dedicated to ending the practice of trying, sentencing, and incarcerating youth under 18 in the adult criminal justice system. For more information visit: www.campaignforyouthjustice.org
CONTACT:
Aprill O. Turner
Communications and Media Relations Director
Campaign for Youth Justice
[email protected]
(202) 558-3580
SOURCE The Campaign for Youth Justice
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