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11-year old arrested for making threat in Tennessee: view of young black child form behind in horizontal striped shirt at dusk

An 11-year-old denied making a threat and was allowed to return to school. Tennessee police arrested him anyway.

By Aliyya Swaby, ProPublica and Paige Pfleger, WPLN/Nashville Public Radio | November 1, 2024

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.

Latino gun reform Arizona: Thre Latino women with long, dark hair stand together facing camera with green tree foliage in the background

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

Restorative justice partnerships: Group of around 20 smiling people all wearing lime green t-shirts stand and sit in 3-4 rows on an artificial green turf field surrounded by tall city buildings

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

Teens Adult prisons: Thre teen males in a dimly lit jail cell, stand in a row facing jail cell bars with uniformed guard standing behind them

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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OP-ED: Texas Struggles to Enter the 20th Century

By John Lash | July 12, 2013

Texas legislators are once again taking up the debate on what to do with 17-year-olds convicted of murder. The issue was set to be debated a few weeks ago, right after the Senate addressed limiting abortion rights, but Wendy Davis’ 13-hour filibuster of the anti-abortion bill ran out the clock on the regular session. Gov. Rick Perry quickly scheduled a special session, however, and on Thursday the fate of these kids will be back in the hands of the Republicans. The outcome will not be good. Kids who are 17 have fallen into a strange gap in Texas law.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Ruling Keeps Kids Out of Adult Prisons

By James Swift | July 11, 2013

Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court ruled last month that young people may no longer be held in adult prisons while awaiting juvenile court hearings. The high court ruling redefines “detention facilities” to expressly exclude state- or county-level jails or prisons, while similarly altering the state’s definition of “juvenile” to include youths who have been placed in detention for probation violations. Under Pennsylvania law, all minors ages 10 to 17 must have their cases heard in juvenile court. In some instances, youth as old as 21 may remain under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. “Every once in a while a judge would find someone who is under juvenile court jurisdiction, but over age 18, and want to teach them a lesson and put them in county jail,” Robert Schwartz of Philadelphia’s Juvenile Law Center told The Scranton Times-Tribune.

[Youth Report] N.Y.C. Through 17-year-old Merelyn’s Lens

By Katy McCarthy | July 10, 2013

Merelyn Bucio is a young photographer working with NYC Salt, a non-profit photography program for inner-city teenagers in New York City. NYC Salt's mission is to engage, inspire, and empower NYC teens by providing them with professional-grade visual communication skills. Today Merelyn's photographs, which uniquely capture the city she calls home, are featured on Bokeh.

Summer Jobs May Reduce Teen Violence, Study Says

By James Swift | July 9, 2013

A recent study found that low-income Boston teens with summer jobs were less likely to engage in violence than teens without jobs.

Kansas Merges Juvenile System and Adult Correctional System

By James Swift | July 9, 2013

The consolidation, which is strictly administrative, is the result of an executive order proposed by Gov. Sam Brownback.

Indiana High Court Increases Difficulty of Placing Minors on Sex Offender Registries

By James Swift | July 9, 2013

Juvenile offenders cannot be placed on state registries unless a trial court finds, “by clear and convincing evidence,” that a minor is likely to reoffend.

[Photos] Changing Confinement Culture in Olathe, Kansas

By Katy McCarthy | July 8, 2013

Last month, Richard Ross, the creator of Juvenile In Justice, visited and photographed two juvenile detention facilities in Olathe, Kan., a suburb of Kansas City. This week the photos are featured on Bokeh, JJIE's multimedia site. Through the lens of architecture, the photographs investigate changes and reforms in the state's detention practices. The two facilities, one old and one new, are situated across from one another. The new facility, the Johnson County Youth and Family Services Center, is an airy LEED-certified building. Ross describes the older facility, Johnson County Juvenile Detention Center, as having architecture reminiscent of TV movies dealing with punishment.

Iowa Awarded Federal Grant to Improve Juvenile Justice Programming

By James Swift | July 8, 2013

The funding is intended to provide three of the state’s judicial districts with resources to evaluate and improve youth services and juvenile programs.