Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (https://jjie.org/series/from-the-bureaus/page/35/)
When Marelyn Garcia met the man who would become her boyfriend, little did she know he would become the trigger to her heroin addiction, and eventually her pimp, after he coerced her into working the streets to fund their addiction. Human trafficking incidents in the U.S. have been increasingly steadily, with a cumulative total of 2,515 known incidents by mid-2010.
The Staten Island Youth Court is made up of teens and provides an alternative to family or criminal court for kids age 14 to 18.
CHICAGO — The Illinois Supreme Court this week heard oral arguments in the case of Adolfo Davis, a prisoner sentenced to life without parole as a juvenile, who is now seeking re-sentencing. Davis had just turned 14 when he accompanied two other members of Chicago’s Gangsters Disciples to settle the score with a rival gang in a shooting that left two dead. Though Davis never fired his gun, he was charged as an accomplice and sentenced to Illinois’ mandatory minimum sentence — life without parole. That was 1990. After more than two decades in prison, Davis, now 37, is hoping for a second chance.
CHICAGO — Mariame Kaba is the founding director of Project NIA, a Chicago-based nonprofit that supports youth involved in the criminal justice system with a mission to eradicate the incarceration of minors. The organization teaches local schools how to implement peace circles and other dispute mediation measures. The Chicago Bureau spoke to Kaba about what the U.S. Education Department’s newly released guidelines for school discipline, which call for an end to punitive punishment, means for Chicago Public Schools. The Chicago Bureau: Project NIA has always worked in restorative justice in Chicago. Can you tell me more about what you have done in terms of reforming school discipline?
When he was a teenager growing up on the mean streets of South Central Los Angeles, Prophet Walker hardly seemed destined for success.
His mother was a heroin addict, and his neighborhood was filled with racial strife between blacks and Hispanics. But this is a story of hope and redemption, not despair, one that links the disparate worlds of Los Angeles’ ghetto neighborhoods with the glamour of Hollywood. It is the story of how Walker, with the help of movie producer Scott Budnick (“The Hangover”) and his own fierce determination, overcame his difficult circumstances and transformed his life into a success story.
Although Daryl was only 15 years old at the time of his arrest, he was charged and tried as an adult.
The White House sent a message to schools across the country Wednesday to abandon severe discipline policies shown to criminalize students for infringements that could be handled without law enforcement.
A foundation has released an app aimed at encouraging more juveniles to seek assistance expunging their arrest and court records.
As a Public defender with the Legal Aid Society’s Adolescent Intervention and Diversion Project, Donna Henken works with 13- to 15-year-olds charged with felony crimes. These adolescents are known as juvenile offenders and they are tried in adult criminal court rather than family court. Henken’s clients struggle with the same issues as juveniles in the family court system. According to the Legal Aid Society, about 20 percent of these youth have experience with the foster care system. Almost two-thirds have special-education needs and about 25 percent of them have significant mental health issues that require ongoing care.
Reynolds Wintersmith was one of eight federal prisoners, all having been convicted in federal court on non-violent drug charges, to have their sentences shortened by President Barack Obama.