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Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Stop prosecuting kids as adults?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sarah Totonchi of the Southern Center for Human Rights argues that it is time to stop charging juveniles as adults in Georgia. “There are reasons why children can’t vote, drink or engage in contracts — they think and act differently, like children,” she writes. ” While the adult system tends to emphasize punishment over rehabilitation, rehabilitation is at the core of the mission of the juvenile justice system. And research shows that children can change. “While the misuse of any form of incarceration for youth is troubling, placing youth in the adult criminal justice system specifically denies them protection from adult prisoners and age-appropriate educational, medical, nutritional and mental health services that would enhance their transition to adulthood and ensure their best chance for rehabilitation. “These laws also ignore their racially disproportionate impact and have allowed unequal justice to persist in the Georgia courts. African-American and Latino youth are 45 percent of Georgia’s youth population but make up 77.2 percent of the youth arrested under laws that allow them to be treated as adults. “
Do you agree?
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