Everyone will at least have a chance at a future.Īfter leaving juvenile prison, Miguel earned three associate degrees with honors from community college, while working at least two jobs. If California approves law SB 1391, it will both protect public safety and promote the potential of young people like Daniel and Miguel. Black kids are 11 times as likely and Latinx kids nearly five times as likely to be sent to adult court as white kids. The current law’s harsh impact falls disproportionately on children of color, All youth subject to transfer hearings come into the courtroom with the same types of offenses, but, children of color see very different results. And, at the same time the juvenile system gave me opportunities that were integral to growth.” “I learned – really learned – what I did wrong and why.
The juvenile system held me accountable for my actions.” “I know all young people have the potential to change,” said Daniel who will graduate from the University of California at Davis this year. In the youth justice system, young people are required to receive the same education as all children in California, and are required to participate in individualized services to address behavioral, health, disabilities, trauma, and other needs. Trying them as adults does nothing to reduce future crime. Odds of children being transferred from the juvenile system to adult court (2007-2016)ĭecades of data show children who stay in the juvenile system are less likely to re-offend. “I was required to be in school and found I loved it.” I began to understand how my actions impacted others,” he told us. “I received counseling, and I unpacked my own pain, anger, and sadness. He believes that it was only because his mom cashed in her retirement fund and hired him a good lawyer that Miguel stayed in the juvenile system. Realizing he might end up in prison with grown men, Miguel started working out, bulking up, preparing to defend himself. “I felt sick to my stomach,” he told Human Rights Watch over the phone. Just minutes after he was told the District Attorney wanted him tried as an adult, he found himself standing in court. The person survived, and Miguel was charged with attempted murder. Miguel was involved in a street brawl and stabbed someone when he was 15. A bill is pending that could correct this ill-conceived law and give 14- and 15-year-olds access to the youth justice services they need. But trying children in the adult system has proven to do more harm than good and increases rates of violence among youth moved into that system.
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