Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (https://jjie.org/category/ideas-and-opinions/page/31/)
Violence perpetrated by youth continues to have far-reaching costs for society: It contributes to injury, community dysfunction, poor physical and mental health, lost economic output and premature death. In the United States, an average of 12 young people die from homicide every day, and homicide remains the third leading cause of death among youth 10 to 24 years old.
Just over two years ago, I was preparing to attend my first FACJJ (Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice) meeting in Washington, D.C., enthusiastic to be working side-by-side with proven professionals in juvenile justice, individuals throughout the country who had voluntarily adjusted their personal and professional lives to better the lives of the youth we serve.
As juvenile justice reforms take hold in California and youth arrests rates plunge, far fewer youth are being placed into the criminal justice system and prosecuted as adults.
We all know that the justice system is broken and that there is so much that we can all do to make it better. For a long time there have been a lot of people trying to reform the justice system because we all know the system is set up to put certain people behind bars.
Very recently, Brenda “Sonny” Baker died of cancer. It was a coup de grace many of us incarcerated women at the State Correctional Institution in Muncy, Pa., did not see coming — in fact, few of us even knew the severity of her illness. Brenda bravely kept the grisly details under wraps so that she could put on a courageous front for the women she was serving time with; sparing herself from what she deemed to be unnecessary pity and attention.
When thinking about the June 20 murder of Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz and its impact on his family and the Bronx community, it is important to acknowledge the tragic loss of life and that there are untold consequences associated with this tragedy. A life was cut short.
Although the stated objective of juvenile justice in Arkansas is rehabilitation, until very recently almost all our juvenile courts followed a cookie-cutter approach in adjudicating cases.
Everyone who has ever watched a movie, read popular crime fiction or who has even a layperson’s knowledge of the criminal justice system has probably heard the phrase “being sent up the river.” Its origin is a reference to Sing Sing Prison, north of New York City on the Hudson River.
The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) approved a resolution in 2016 to limit the use of solitary for young people, urging judges to take leadership positions in the effort. We recently presented to NCJFCJ’s annual conference seeking to highlight the role that judges can and should play in ending solitary. We presented recent reforms in Colorado as proof that success can be achieved.
My friend, Judith Resnik, a distinguished professor of law at Yale, has spent a lifetime studying justice iconography all over the world. It is her hobby.