Illustration black ink on bright yellow background or two adults on their knees at head and feet of small child pinning him face-down to the ground

Advocates fear Minnesota students will again be subject to restraint used on George Floyd

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When they voted earlier this year to let police officers use a dangerous form of restraint on students in schools, Minnesota Democratic lawmakers said they did so because they had brokered a compromise. A task force made up of law enforcement agencies, disability advocates and others would create a model policy aimed at minimizing the use of prone restraint — the face-down hold Minneapolis police officers used to immobilize George Floyd as he suffocated.

Juveniles in Angola Prison: Close-up of peaked, beige-siding roof over a drive-through entrance, with black lettering, "Louisiana State Penitentiary"

Judge rules Louisiana must remove youth from Angola

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A federal judge Friday ordered Louisiana prison officials to stop housing youth offenders in the former death row of Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola and to relocate them within one week, after finding that conditions at Angola constitute cruel and unusual punishment and violate the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.

Juvenile solitary confinement: Lathe one-story red brick building entrance with pillars, white trim and triple glass doors.

Children face solitary confinement in cells at Illinois juvenile detention facility, ACLU says

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CHICAGO (AP) — Children as young as 11 are confined alone to cells the size of parking spaces up to 23 hours a day at a juvenile detention center in Southern Illinois, according to a lawsuit filed by ACLU of Illinois. Young people at the Franklin County Juvenile Detention Center in Benton must ask staff permission to flush the toilet, and they can go days or weeks without access to schoolwork. Black mold grows on the walls, according to the lawsuit filed Friday, and there are no mental health professionals employed at the facility.

Ticketing students: Three teen boys fighting in school corridor

Ticketing misbehaving students is counter-productive, critics of that practice argue

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Students can be ticketed by school resource officers or by local police departments to whom school staff members refer students viewed as disruptive. From misdemeanor offenses to such potential felony offenses as gun possession or assault, students can be cited under local ordinances. There is no centralized database of how many school districts employ that kind of discipline.

The word "criminal" is engraved on a building.

Court watchers urge change in Florida, which is No. 1 in prosecuting youth as adults

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Since 2007, 18 states have raised to 18 the age at which a person can be criminally charged as an adult, according to a 2021 report from The Sentencing Project. In a previous report, that organization concluded that 250,000 youth nationwide were being charged as adults annually in 2000. By 2019, that number was 53,000, an 80% drop.

New Mexico jail: Michael Brown portrait with short light brown hair and beard smiles into camera sitting in turquoise plastic chair in prisoner visiting room wearing navy blue prison uniform with heavily black tatooed arms on lap and fingers interlaced.

Behind bars since age 16, juvenile lifer watches New Mexico struggle over sentencing reform

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Michael is one of dozens of people in New Mexico who received what juvenile justice reformists call “de-facto life sentences” — sentences so long they will likely never be released — for crimes committed as minors. He is a vocal supporter of youth sentencing reforms that died in the state legislature earlier this year, part of a national movement to rehabilitate juvenile offenders and make them eligible for parole earlier.  

Wisconsin to Close 2 Juvenile Detention Centers Dogged by Abuse Charges

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Reform advocates declared victory today after Wisconsin agreed to shutter two troubled detention centers and take steps advocates hope will drag its juvenile justice system into the 21st century.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker announced today that his administration will close the Lincoln Hills School for Boys and the Copper Lake School for Girls and build at least five new detention centers that will “align with nationally recognized best practices.”