Georgia House votes to prosecute 17 year olds as adults: white woman with short brown hair speaking into mic at podium

Georgia House votes to prosecute 17 year olds as juveniles

Lawmakers in the Georgia House voted Monday to raise the age limit to 17 for prosecuting young defendants in juvenile court. House Bill 462 was approved on a vote of 145-22, sending it to the state Senate for further debate.

Connecticut turnaround of juvenile system sets standard: common area of juvenile facility with bright colors and motivational banner

Connecticut’s turnaround of troubled juvenile system sets a standard, says justice-equity organization

Connecticut has turned its troubled juvenile facilities into what federal officials have cited as exemplary national models. Staffing is up dramatically, in part because directors talked to employees about their worries and took steps to solve them. The strategy helped reduce confrontations and brought the Hartford center national recognition this year from Performance-based Standards, which works to improve juvenile justice outcomes and equity.

prevention: angry teen with light brown hair over face, mustard yellow shirt

Prevention, Intervention Better Than Incarceration, Book Says

“Terrence was 16 when he and three other teens attempted to rob a barbeque restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida. Though they left with no money and no one was injured, Terrence was sentenced to die in prison for his involvement in that crime.” —Cara H. Drinan, “The War on Kids”

Solitary confinement: silhouette of single man behind bars holding onto them.

Solitary Confinement, Beloved by Lazy Staff, Simply Doesn’t Work

In 2012, the U.S. Attorney General appointed a national task force on children exposed to violence that concluded, “Nowhere is the impact of incarceration on vulnerable children more obvious than when it involves solitary confinement.” This statement still holds true and solitary confinement bears an even heavier impact on incarcerated youth today.

4 seated, unhappy-looking young people look at woman in jacket and glasses holding a clipboard who faces them. Man on far left in dark hoodie, jeans gestures to her.

Police in Illinois Are Helping Substance Abusers Get Into Rehab Instead of Arresting Them

Ronald Reagan didn’t start the war on drugs but he did his best to finish it. Law enforcement budgets soared, the jails were packed and the war was carried as far afield as Latin America and Afghanistan.

So it might count as one of history’s minor ironies that here in Dixon, just a few blocks from Reagan’s boyhood home, the local police have called a ceasefire in the war on drugs.