Juvenile Justice

New Orleans’s Youth Jail Faces Overcrowding Crisis as D.A. Targets Kids

The Orleans district attorney has said that violent youth are the city’s biggest crime problem.

Kira Lerner Apr 26, 2019

Chicago is Tracking Kids With GPS Monitors That Can Call and Record Them Without Consent

Cook County has a new contract for juvenile ankle monitors that critics say are an invasion of privacy.

Kira Lerner Apr 08, 2019

When Running Away From Home Means Getting Locked Up

Washington detains more children for status offenses such as truancy and running away than any other state in the country. State lawmakers want to change that.

Charlotte West Mar 19, 2019

Sentenced To Life At 16 In Slaying Of Man Who She Said Pulled A Gun On Her

In 1996, Michele Benjamin was sentenced to life without parole for killing a man who she said solicited her for sex and menaced her with a weapon in New Orleans. A Supreme Court decision led her to be re-sentenced to life with a chance at parole in 2016. Today, a parole hearing brings the possibility of freedom.

Josie Duffy Rice Feb 11, 2019

Memphis’s Juvenile Court Plagued By ‘Culture of Intimidation’ And ‘Blatantly Unfair’ Practices

The Department of Justice is leaving Shelby County, but discrimination against Black children in court continues, a federal monitor says.

Raven Rakia Feb 01, 2019

Justice in America Episode 13: Juvenile Justice

Josie and Clint interview Abd’Allah Lateef, Pennsylvania Coordinator for the Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network.

Josie Duffy Rice, Clint Smith Jan 30, 2019

Caging Kids Is An American Tradition

Trump didn’t start it, but we can end it.

Ethan Brown Jan 03, 2019

New York Just Changed the Way it Prosecutes Kids, But Some Got Left Behind

Under Raise the Age, ‘there are kids similarly situated who are being treated totally differently.’

Cassi Feldman Dec 04, 2018

In a Pennsylvania County, Black Children Are Disproportionately Charged in Adult Court

In 2016 and 2017, more than 80 percent of children charged as adults by the Allegheny County district attorney were Black.

Joshua Vaughn Nov 27, 2018

When Stealing Legos Adds To A Lifetime of Consequences

A petition argues that people seeking to escape the sex offender registry, including those put on it as children, deserve more than a single shot.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 19, 2018

Pennsylvania Case Challenges ‘Death by Incarceration’ for 18-year-olds

Recent Supreme Court rulings have led to a review of life-without-parole sentences for crimes committed at age 17 and younger, but attorneys for Avis Lee say there’s no reason to stop there.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Nov 12, 2018

Moving Teens Off Rikers Island Was a Good First Step. Now Comes the Hard Part.

The rocky implementation of New York’s Raise the Age law shows that young people in detention need love, not force.

Rubén Austria Nov 01, 2018

An Alabama Prosecutor Locked Up 4 Black Teens For A Murder They Didn’t Commit. Now He’s Trying 2 More.

Two teenagers are facing life without parole sentences for capital murder, though it’s not clear they pulled the trigger.

George Joseph Oct 04, 2018

Curtis Brooks Didn’t Kill Anyone. So Why Is He Labeled A Murderer For Life?

A man sentenced to die in prison is inciting debate over ‘felony murder’ rules in Colorado.

Katie Rose Quandt Sep 18, 2018

Ohio State Rep: If Police Tase or Shoot a Child, She Probably Acted ‘Stupid’ or Was ‘a Punk’

Rep. John Becker doubles down on his recent comments about the tasing of an 11-year-old for allegedly shoplifting.

Melissa Gira Grant Sep 14, 2018

Case Of Intellectually Disabled Teen Falsely Accused of Sex Offense Reveals Registry Flaws

Before Edgar Coker was exonerated in a rape case, he underwent therapy meant to prevent sexual reoffenses. Thousands of kids involved in sexual offenses are forced into therapies like “relapse prevention” that experts say are ineffective.

Joseph Darius Jaafari Aug 27, 2018