Black juvenile detention Tennessee: Black and white illustration of 3 young children holding hands walking surrounded by text quotes form story and geometric forms

Black children were jailed for a crime that doesn’t exist. Almost nothing happened to the adults in charge.

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Among cases referred to juvenile court, the statewide average in Tennessee for how often children were locked up was 5%. In Rutherford County, it was 48%. Judge Donna Scott Davenport says children need consequences. “Being detained in our facility is not a picnic at all,” she says on the radio. “It’s not supposed to be. It’s a consequence for an action.”