John Lash

OP-ED: In Denver, Exploring Lessons in Conflict Management

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DENVER -- The first class of our day was in the morning at George Washington High School, a massive building here with nearly 1,500 students. My colleagues and I, still adjusting from Georgia time and weather, arrived a little late, hurried to the security desk for our visitor passes, and followed our host on a winding route through the halls and down several flights of stairs to a basement classroom. She was one of two instructors, and explained that the school saw near daily fights. She hoped to change that. The other instructor was talking to a group of kids as we entered the room, asking questions about a video the class had just seen.

John Lash

OP-ED: New Massachusetts Law A Reminder That Change is Possible

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The governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, signed a new law on Wednesday mandating that 17-year-olds be tried and sentenced as juveniles. This is a victory for social activists and those interested in the welfare of kids, since evidence has been pointing at the many problems of trying and sentencing kids as adults for some time. With this win, only 10 states remain that treat 17 as the age of criminal responsibility. Like a lot of states in the ‘90s, Wisconsin responded to the hyped up fears of a coming juvenile crime wave by making it easier to transfer kids to adult court and lowering the age at which such transfers became automatic. The period was epitomized by the “superpredator theory” postulated by Princeton criminologist John D. DiIulio.

John Lash

OP-ED: Embracing the Feedback of Conflicts

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Have you ever begun to talk into a microphone only to have the speakers emit a terrible high pitched shriek? If not, you’ve probably seen someone else do this. The sound system is experiencing a feedback loop, causing it to malfunction. It’s usually not too difficult to fix, moving the mic or the amp a little, or making an adjustment to how the electronics are set up. There are other kinds of systems all around us, and they too give us feedback, some of it unpleasant.

John Lash

OP-ED: Juvenile Life Without Parole: The Confusion Remains

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Last June, on the day the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Miller v. Alabama, I spoke to a long-time advocate for the elimination of juvenile life without parole. Like a lot of people, I was pleased with the ruling, and saw it as a victory not only for activists but for science-based research into the juvenile brain. I jokingly asked him, “What are you going to do now that you’ve accomplished your task?” He laughed, but then he said, “It’s not really over.”
The ruling was far less clear than Roper v. Simmons, which eliminated juvenile death sentences in 2005, and  2010’s Graham v. Florida, which found juvenile life without parole for non-homicide offenses was unconstitutional. In both of these cases the court determined that a body of growing evidence demonstrated the fundamental differences in juvenile brains when compared to those of adults, with the result that juveniles are both less culpable for crimes and more capable of being rehabilitated. Miller has offered no such clarity, and the consequences of such a soft decision continue to be played out across the country.

John Lash

OP-ED: Real Juvenile Justice Reform Needs More Than Just Good Ideas

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Real change takes more than just ideas, it requires sustained and supported implementation of those ideas, and a willingness to make course corrections based on new data. It also requires that the ideas dreamed up by policy wonks get translated into useful action on the ground. Too often there is a disconnect between good ideas and actual practice. In the realm of juvenile justice we are seeing the fruition of just this kind of ongoing effort. Across the country laws are changing, policies are being rewritten and the realization that “kids are different” is being absorbed from top to bottom.

John Lash

OP-ED: The Power of Community Conferencing

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Sitting in a circle has an equalizing effect, allowing everyone to see each other clearly, inviting connection. It has a different feeling than sitting in rows to hear a presentation, or sitting in a courtroom facing a judge. There isn’t anywhere to hide in a circle. It is my experience that circles invite us to share vulnerability and honesty. I was reminded of this when I watched an hour-long documentary, Fixing Juvie Justice, on PBS.