Connecticut Judiciary Committee Approves Bill Authorizing Reviews of Sentences for Some Juvenile Offenders

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This week, members of Connecticut’s joint judiciary committee approved House Bill 6581, a piece of legislation that would grant automatic reviews for individuals given sentences in excess of 10 years and were under the age of 18 at the time the crimes were committed. The bill is a response to last year’s Miller v. Alabama ruling, and part of a larger package of state reforms recommended by a commission of Connecticut’s prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges. The legislation will now proceed to a vote on the floor of the state’s House of Representatives. Judiciary Committee Co-Chairman Gerry Fox (D-Stamford) toldThe Hartford Courant that while the proposed legislation gives inmates an opportunity for release from prison, the measure by no means would result in the automatic release of the state’s juvenile offenders. “This does not say that these inmates would definitely get out of prison,” Rep. Fox is quoted.

Juvenile Detention Alternatives Gain Ground in States, DC

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ATLANTA-- “There is reason to think that we may, and I emphasize may, have reached a turning point in this era,” said Bart Lubow, director of the juvenile justice strategy group at The Annie E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore. He made the comments Wednesday at an AECF-organized three-day conference of some 800 professionals from juvenile justice and child welfare fields in Atlanta. The U.S. Supreme Court made “an affirmation that youth are fundamentally different from adults,” said Lubow, in their June, 2012 decision in Miller v. Alabama. In that case, the court struck down mandatory sentencing programs that send juveniles convicted of murder to life without a chance of parole as unconstitutional. The majority opinion mentioned psychological differences and youths’ greater capacity to reform as part of their thinking.

VIDEO: Program Gives the Gift of Music to Young People on Probation

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A shy teenager held the microphone tight in his hand, his St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. His voice cracked and he stumbled over his words as he thanked everyone for coming to the show. It was the first time the boy, Mathew (last name withheld at the request of the Department of Probation), 16, had ever performed in front of a formal audience. The drummer kicked the drum pedal and in an instant the auditorium was awash in blue and pink lights.

New report on Video Games and Juvenile Offenders

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A study recently published in the journal Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice argues that there may be a link between violent video games and aggressive juvenile behavior. The study analyzed the video game playing behaviors of more than 200 young men and women involved in Pennsylvania’s juvenile justice system. According to the report, inclinations towards more violent games, as well as frequency of playing video games in general, may be factors in both delinquent and violent behavior among young people. According to the researchers of the report, the study is the first of its kind to measure the relationship between juveniles adjudicated with serious offenses and violent video game exposure. “Violent video game playing is one of dozens or perhaps hundreds of risk factors that kids can have that is associated with delinquency and violence,” Radio Iowa quotes Iowa State University researcher Matt DeLisi.

New Jersey Legislator Wants Violent Video Games Banned in Public Places

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If New Jersey Assemblywomen Linda Stender (D-Union) has her way, it could soon become a finable offense in the state for businesses to have violent video games available for public play. According to The Star Ledger, Stender announced plans to introduce a measure that would prevent public places — such as retail outlets, bowling allies and movie theaters — from having accessible video games that are rated either “mature” or “adults-only” by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB.)

Under the legislation, she said that offenders would face first-time fines up to $10,000, with repeat offenders being tabbed $20,000 for each subsequent violation. Although Stender said that she doesn’t believe that video games are lone factors in contributing to violent youth behavior, she does consider the games to have a profound influence on young people. “Children today are exposed to violent images more than ever,” she is quoted in a recent press release. “Violent video games can desensitize children to violence and give them a warped version of reality where violence and death have no consequences outside their TV screens.”

Under the proposal, the violent video game ban would extend to all “places of public accommodation.” In addition to barring the games from restaurants, bars and amusement parks, the legislation would also restrict video game access in hospitals, public libraries and “any educational institution under the supervision of State Board of Education or the Commissioner of New Jersey,” which encompasses a wide swath ranging from kindergarten classrooms to the state’s colleges and universities.

Georgia Agencies Offering $6 Million for Juvenile Reinvestment Proposals

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On Friday, Georgia’s Governor’s Office for Children and Families (GOCF) and the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) announced a call for proposals, with $6 million in grants being offered to reduce recidivism rates among juvenile offenders. “We aim to incentivize court projects that provide services which hold juveniles accountable for their actions,” stated GOCF Executive Director Katie Jo Ballard. “While also holding our juvenile system accountable to taxpayers.”

The agencies are currently looking for in-state projects, involving evidence-based models that have been proven to reduce juvenile offender recidivism. The state will fund $5 million, with counties prioritized based on recidivism rates, while the GOFC will be providing an additional $1 million in federal funds. Funding applications are due by June 21, with award notifications expected to be announced on July 22.

OP-ED: The Anatomy of Effective Reform

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Reform takes on many faces—sometimes the face of legislation, other times it smiles through a landmark court decision, but often times it's the scowling face of grassroots advocacy tapping on our shoulder reminding us we can do better. The most successful reform typically involves a combination of these faces that come together like a perfect storm. The civil rights movement achieved notoriety when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white person, leading to her arrest. It was 1955 and Dr. Martin Luther King was brand new to the scene in Montgomery. Let's not forget the fortuitous timing of another face of civil rights reform that made it's debut the year before, the notorious Brown v. Topeka Board of Education.