GBI Probing Teen’s Death in Georgia Detention Facility
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ATLANTA — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating the apparent Easter Sunday suicide of a 14-year-old boy who was being held at an Atlanta-area youth detention facility.
An 11-year-old denied making a threat and was allowed to return to school. Tennessee police arrested him anyway.
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In late September, Torri was driving down the highway with her 11-year-old son Junior in the back seat when her phone started ringing.
It was the Hamilton County Sheriff’s deputy who worked at Junior’s middle school in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Deputy Arthur Richardson asked Torri where she was. She told him she was on the way to a family birthday dinner at LongHorn Steakhouse.
“He said, ‘Is Junior with you?’” Torri recalled.
Earlier that day, Junior had been accused by other students of making a threat against the school. When Torri had come to pick him up, she’d spoken with Richardson and with administrators, who’d told her he was allowed to return to class the next day. The principal had said she would carry out an investigation then. ProPublica and WPLN are using a nickname for Junior and not including Torri’s last name at the family’s request, to prevent him from being identifiable.
When Richardson called her in the car, Torri immediately felt uneasy. He didn’t say much before hanging up, and she thought about turning around to go home. But she kept driving. When they walked into the restaurant, Torri watched as Junior happily greeted his family.
Soon her phone rang again. It was the deputy. He said he was outside in the strip mall’s parking lot and needed to talk to Junior. Torri called Junior’s stepdad, Kevin Boyer, for extra support, putting him on speaker as she went outside to talk to Richardson. She left Junior with the family, wanting to protect her son for as long as she could ...
A campus shooting spurred her political awakening. Her whole family followed.
TUCSON, Arizona — Adriana Grijalva was getting ready to head to class at the University of Arizona in the fall of 2022 when she got a text message from her cousin telling her to stay put. The cousin, who works in maintenance at the university, had watched law enforcement descend on campus and reached out to make sure she was safe. A former student had just shot a professor 11 times, killing him.
Justice organization announces new youth restorative justice partners
Equal Justice USA (EJUSA) announced October 8 that it will partner with four new communities to build new restorative youth justice diversion programs. Restorative justice includes an accountability process that identifies root causes of youth criminal actions, while providing an opportunity for healing both for the person harmed and the person who has caused harm.
A Louisiana law meant to fight teen violence is sweeping 17-year-olds arrested for lesser crimes into adult court
Louisiana is the only state to pass and then reverse Raise the Age legislation. Louisiana’s criminal justice system now treats all 17-year-olds as adults. Is reversing Raise the Age making a difference in the number of violent crimes by 18-year-olds?
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School violence: Mapping incidents in Georgia
OP-ED: Community Engagement as a Key to Juvenile Justice Reform
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As juvenile justice advocates and reformers push for community-based alternatives to detention for court-involved youth, juvenile justice stakeholders must work to build relationships with community stakeholders. Assessing community capacity and garnering support for such policies requires that community stakeholders share their perspectives and ideas on resources and how to best meet the needs of court-involved youth in light of such assets.
Senate Judiciary Hearing to Focus on Whistleblower Claims, OJJDP Grants
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WASHINGTON — Whistleblowers’ allegations that millions of dollars in federal juvenile justice grants went to states that jailed vulnerable youths with adults in violation of federal law will be scrutinized at a congressional hearing Tuesday.
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s oversight hearing will focus on a monthslong inquiry led by committee chairman Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa.
OP-ED: Bridging Adolescent Brain Research, Reality
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The teenage years are a period between childhood and adulthood when young people test boundaries and often engage in risky and reckless behavior. I know this not because I read the studies but because I was that sort of teen.
South LA High School Takes New Approach to Curbing Suspension Rates
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When high school sophomore Mykia Moore got into an argument with her best friend over a boy last year at Augustus Hawkins High School in South Los Angeles, the dispute quickly escalated into a physical fight.
Report Touts Benefits of NY’s ‘Close to Home’
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For years, many juvenile offenders in New York City had been exiled to upstate facilities — hundreds of miles from families, schools and communities. This continued despite mounting evidence that keeping such youth closer to home improves the odds of reducing recidivism, continuing their progress in school through their local school systems and helping them successfully re-enter the community.
OP-ED: Why Congress Must Act Now to Reauthorize, Fund the JJDPA
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The reality on the ground is that the JJDPA’s funding streams have been systematically starved for more than 10 years. It is that starvation that makes it difficult for states to comply with the act’s requirements.
Al Jazeera Documentary Looks Inside New Mexico Lockup
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“If I go outside doing the same thing, I’m going to end up robbing the wrong person, getting myself killed,” Keith says during a group counseling session. Without a change, “I’ll either be dead within a week or in prison for the rest of my life.”