Robert J. Powell, the former co-owner of two juvenile detention centers who testified he paid kickbacks to two Luzerne County judges, is to be sentenced in federal court Nov. 4, according to a court order issued Thursday.
Powell, who was an attorney, testified in February that he paid $770,000 to former judges Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. and Michael T. Conahan for their influence over the placement of juveniles in his centers in Pittston Township and Butler County.
Powell also played a role in the payment of $2.1 million to the two judges by Wilkes-Barre developer Robert K. Mericle, who built the two centers and has pleaded guilty to failing to report a felony.
Powell, 52, likely faces 21 to 27 months in prison for failing to report a felony and abetting tax evasion under his plea agreement with federal prosecutors.
Ciavarella is serving 28 years in prison. Conahan is serving 17 1/2 years.
Powell sold his interest in the detention centers to a partner when the federal kids-for-cash probe became public in 2008. He forfeited his law license after he was charged in 2009. Powell is free pending sentencing.
Our mission is to place a national spotlight upon the nations approach to juvenile justice, and to place faces and stories to the children that were waived, and thereby, held to an adult standard in the courtroom and then sent to adult prisons. Our mission is to end the practice of sentencing children to life without the possibility of parole, and to reduce the harm caused to children in adult prisons by supporting legislation that will make those who were sentenced as children eligible to have their sentences reviewed at some point during their incarceration. Advocates for Abandoned Adolescent's mission is to introduce concerned citizens to effective ways in which they can contribute to enhancing the quality of juvenile justice, to create chapters of A.A.A. in every state coast to coast. To organize and coordinate a national synchronized protest on all fifty state capitals on the same day, at the same moment and unified under the A.A.A. banner. Advocates for Abandoned Adolescents - Our Mission is to do better!
New sentencing laws bring challenges to counties By JANE BEATHARD
Ohio Community Media
Pending changes to Ohio’s criminal sentencing laws have members of law enforcement and judicial community scratching their collective heads over how to prosecute and punish low-level felons and juvenile delinquents.
It’s not just an issue of law and order, but also one that involves money as the state seeks ways to tighten its belt by cutting the cost of operating prisons and youth detention facilities.
House Bill 86, supported by the administration of Gov. John Kasich, goes into effect today. As a result, people convicted of fraud, receiving stolen property, drug trafficking, passing bad checks, misuse of a credit card, forgery, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and a host of similar non-violent felonies are likely to be walking the streets instead of a prison yard, according to Madison County Prosecutor Steve Pronai.
The legislation raises Ohio’s threshold for felony theft from $500 to $1,000 and relaxes penalties for the fourth and fifth-degree felonies mentioned above. For most of these non-violent crimes, the new law mandates a year of community control (probation) instead of prison time. Previously, community control was a matter of choice for judges.
As it lessens the number of people eligible for incarceration, the new law increases the number eligible for local mental health and substance abuse evaluation and treatment.
In effect, it shifts responsibility for rehabilitation and confinement away from the state and on to Ohio’s 88 counties, many of which — like Madison County — are already strapped for cash.
People with violent histories and those who use weapons to commit crimes are exceptions to the new law. Pronai said those individuals will still see prison. But the vast majority of felons that pass through the Madison County Common Pleas Court are not violent and do not employ deadly force in their crimes, he added. Drug-related crimes dominate the local dockets. Pronai fears those will proliferate under HB-86.
Madison County Common Pleas Judge Robert D. Nichols called HB-86 a “dramatic shift” in the way Ohio handles crime and punishment. A quick review of recent cases provided a glimpse into the looming changes.
In July, Jacob A. Hix, 31, of London was sentenced to nine months in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of selling less than a gram of heroin in November and December 2010. Since his criminal history was minor and no weapon was involved, Hix would not go to prison under the new law. Instead, he would likely receive at least a year of community control for the conviction.
Likewise, Dwain M. Garrett, 23, of London was sentenced in July to six months of prison time after pleading guilty receiving stolen property and selling less than 5 grams of cocaine in August 2010. Police arrested Garrett after visitors to nearby Cowling Park complained of ongoing drug activity in the neighborhood. Under HB-86, Garrett would likely continue living at the Park Avenue address while he served a period of community control.
HB-86 also limits penalties for delinquents convicted of violent felonies and requires competency evaluations for youths accused of inflicting serious harm, according to Judge Glenn Hamilton of Madison County’s juvenile court.
Ohio’s 14- and 15-year-olds — even accused murderers — can no longer be tried as adults. That alternative is open only to prosecution of 16- and 17-year-olds.
The law also allows youths convicted as adults of certain crimes be returned to juvenile court for sentencing. It eases the early release process for juveniles confined to state facilities.
Most directly, HB-86 creates a complex process to determine if a youth accused of a serious crime is “competent” to stand trial. Previously, Ohio had no formal mechanism for juvenile competency hearings, leaving the matter up to individual judges. The law also requires each juvenile court to establish procedures for a competency ruling and sets strict deadlines for that ruling.
Court-appointed attorneys will undoubtedly expend more hours and rack up additional fees in the process. In addition, the court will now regularly require services of a clinical psychologist to assess competency, Hamilton added.
A commission created by the legislation will study ways to handle delinquents who have mental and behavioral disorders. But the commission must keep in mind “the needs of Ohio’s economy” in making a final decision.
The legislature promised HB-86 would provide ”more tools in the tool box,” but then handcuffed judges in using the most effective tool — prison, according to Nichols.
“This (law) is restricting our ability to imprison people,” he said.
Community control or probation, as well as confinement in Tri-County Regional Jail and at West Central Community Corrections Facility in Marysville remain punishment options. But, Nichols questioned their effectiveness.
“The number of people on probation will explode,” he said.
He recently hired two part-time probation officers to keep tabs on increasing numbers of probationers and defendants undergoing local mental health and substance abuse treatment.
Madison County’s experience with in-house treatment at West Central has not been good.
“People didn’t complete the program,” Nichols said.
In addition, admission to treatment at Madison County Hospital’s mental health and substance abuse program is currently on a seven- to eight-week delay. That delay means defendants eligible for drug treatment in lieu of conviction are caught in a sentencing limbo while they wait their turn in line.
Space limitations at Tri-County Regional Jail, where the county’s allocation is 50 beds, is an ongoing problem that’s bound to get worse after Friday. Both Pronai and Nichols said the jail is already full “99 percent of the time.”
Nichols believes two factors led to passage of HB-86:
• Overall cost of maintaining a state prison population of about 50,000 inmates; and
• “Good faith” belief by administrators at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) that channeling non-violent felons away from prison will reduce their inclination to commit future crimes.
Nichols understands the state’s financial pinch and resulting pressure from the Ohio General Assembly to cut prison budgets. But, he’s troubled by the “sociological” approach to rehabilitation, apparently fostered by research at the University of Cincinnati.
“The university is now an adjunct to the ODRC,” Nichols said. “That relationship…is influencing the disposition of criminal cases.”
With the help of ODRC, university researchers created an “assessment tool” to calculate whether or not a felon is likely to commit future crimes. The tool — a kind of chart — takes a variety of factors into consideration, including drug use, criminal history and employment. The ODRC will require courts to use the tool in order to obtain grants to defray anticipated cost increases.
Nichols decided to forgo grant money in order maintain as much independence as possible when levying sentences.
“We won’t use the assessment tool,” he said. “We’re the only county I know of that won’t be using it.”
In general, Nichols believes steering felons away from prison is a mistake.
“During the last 15 years there has been a measurable decline in crime, while prison populations have significantly increased. I believe there is a direct relationship — increased imprisonment has resulted in decreased crime,” he said.
On the other hand, he fears decreased imprisonment will probably result in an increase in crime across the state.
Changes coming with HB-86:
• Raises the threshold for felony theft from $500 to $1,000, with corresponding increases for higher-level theft charges.
• Mandates community control (probation) for most non-violent fourth and fifth-degree felonies.
• Erases differences between powdered and “crack” cocaine in criminal sentencing.
• Reduces penalties for selling marijuana and hashish near a school or juvenile.
• Increases maximum prison time for first-degree felony convictions from 10 to 11 years.
• Expands the eligibility of early prison release for certain adult and juvenile inmates.
• Expands inmate ability to earn “good time,” thereby reducing prison time.
• Requires courts to assist those convicted of felony non-support in finding employment.
• Establishes a statewide database of felons on probation.
• Allows merchants, libraries and museums to independently detain people suspected of criminal mischief (and shoplifting) and give them a chance to make restitution.
• Authorizes county commissioners to create a “community alternative sentencing center” to house those convicted of certain misdemeanors, including drunk driving.
• Establishes maximum 30-day jail sentences for inmates of the “community alternative sentencing center.” Inmates convicted of drunk driving may serve longer sentences in the center.
• Makes it easier for former prison inmates to obtain identification cards, work permits and licenses.
• Requires a statewide study of assaults by inmates on prison staff.
• Prohibits 14- and 15-year-old offenders from being tried as adults, regardless of the seriousness of their charges.
• Requires 16- and 17-year-olds convicted as adults of “lesser, inclusive offenses” be returned to juvenile court for sentencing.
• Establishes procedures and rules for determining a juvenile defendant’s “competency” to stand trial.
• Creates a statewide task force to study treatment methods for juvenile delinquents with mental illness and behavior disorders.
The felony caseload in Madison County Prosecutor Steve Pronai’s office is increasing — just as Ohio relaxes penalties for those crimes, according to statistics he recently filed with the county commissioners.
Between Sept. 1, 2010, and Aug. 31, 2011, Pronai’s office presented 283 felony cases to the county grand jury. The number was 129 during the same time period in 2009 and 2010 and 151 in 2008 and 2009.
Most are drug and alcohol-related crimes, involving illegal prescription opiates such as Oxycontin and Percocet, as well as heroin smuggled from Mexico.
In turn, addicts seeking quick cash for drugs account for a growing number of burglaries and thefts in the county.
“There’s a trickle-down effect,” Pronai said.
The prosecutor is lukewarm to sentences of community control and substance abuse treatment for people convicted of drug-related crimes.
“If you got better results with treatment programs, there would be more cooperation,” Pronai said.By JANE BEATHARD
Ohio Community Media
Pending changes to Ohio’s criminal sentencing laws have members of law enforcement and judicial community scratching their collective heads over how to prosecute and punish low-level felons and juvenile delinquents.
It’s not just an issue of law and order, but also one that involves money as the state seeks ways to tighten its belt by cutting the cost of operating prisons and youth detention facilities.
House Bill 86, supported by the administration of Gov. John Kasich, goes into effect today. As a result, people convicted of fraud, receiving stolen property, drug trafficking, passing bad checks, misuse of a credit card, forgery, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and a host of similar non-violent felonies are likely to be walking the streets instead of a prison yard, according to Madison County Prosecutor Steve Pronai.
The legislation raises Ohio’s threshold for felony theft from $500 to $1,000 and relaxes penalties for the fourth and fifth-degree felonies mentioned above. For most of these non-violent crimes, the new law mandates a year of community control (probation) instead of prison time. Previously, community control was a matter of choice for judges.
As it lessens the number of people eligible for incarceration, the new law increases the number eligible for local mental health and substance abuse evaluation and treatment.
In effect, it shifts responsibility for rehabilitation and confinement away from the state and on to Ohio’s 88 counties, many of which — like Madison County — are already strapped for cash.
People with violent histories and those who use weapons to commit crimes are exceptions to the new law. Pronai said those individuals will still see prison. But the vast majority of felons that pass through the Madison County Common Pleas Court are not violent and do not employ deadly force in their crimes, he added. Drug-related crimes dominate the local dockets. Pronai fears those will proliferate under HB-86.
Madison County Common Pleas Judge Robert D. Nichols called HB-86 a “dramatic shift” in the way Ohio handles crime and punishment. A quick review of recent cases provided a glimpse into the looming changes.
In July, Jacob A. Hix, 31, of London was sentenced to nine months in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of selling less than a gram of heroin in November and December 2010. Since his criminal history was minor and no weapon was involved, Hix would not go to prison under the new law. Instead, he would likely receive at least a year of community control for the conviction.
Likewise, Dwain M. Garrett, 23, of London was sentenced in July to six months of prison time after pleading guilty receiving stolen property and selling less than 5 grams of cocaine in August 2010. Police arrested Garrett after visitors to nearby Cowling Park complained of ongoing drug activity in the neighborhood. Under HB-86, Garrett would likely continue living at the Park Avenue address while he served a period of community control.
HB-86 also limits penalties for delinquents convicted of violent felonies and requires competency evaluations for youths accused of inflicting serious harm, according to Judge Glenn Hamilton of Madison County’s juvenile court.
Ohio’s 14- and 15-year-olds — even accused murderers — can no longer be tried as adults. That alternative is open only to prosecution of 16- and 17-year-olds.
The law also allows youths convicted as adults of certain crimes be returned to juvenile court for sentencing. It eases the early release process for juveniles confined to state facilities.
Most directly, HB-86 creates a complex process to determine if a youth accused of a serious crime is “competent” to stand trial. Previously, Ohio had no formal mechanism for juvenile competency hearings, leaving the matter up to individual judges. The law also requires each juvenile court to establish procedures for a competency ruling and sets strict deadlines for that ruling.
Court-appointed attorneys will undoubtedly expend more hours and rack up additional fees in the process. In addition, the court will now regularly require services of a clinical psychologist to assess competency, Hamilton added.
A commission created by the legislation will study ways to handle delinquents who have mental and behavioral disorders. But the commission must keep in mind “the needs of Ohio’s economy” in making a final decision.
The legislature promised HB-86 would provide ”more tools in the tool box,” but then handcuffed judges in using the most effective tool — prison, according to Nichols.
“This (law) is restricting our ability to imprison people,” he said.
Community control or probation, as well as confinement in Tri-County Regional Jail and at West Central Community Corrections Facility in Marysville remain punishment options. But, Nichols questioned their effectiveness.
“The number of people on probation will explode,” he said.
He recently hired two part-time probation officers to keep tabs on increasing numbers of probationers and defendants undergoing local mental health and substance abuse treatment.
Madison County’s experience with in-house treatment at West Central has not been good.
“People didn’t complete the program,” Nichols said.
In addition, admission to treatment at Madison County Hospital’s mental health and substance abuse program is currently on a seven- to eight-week delay. That delay means defendants eligible for drug treatment in lieu of conviction are caught in a sentencing limbo while they wait their turn in line.
Space limitations at Tri-County Regional Jail, where the county’s allocation is 50 beds, is an ongoing problem that’s bound to get worse after Friday. Both Pronai and Nichols said the jail is already full “99 percent of the time.”
Nichols believes two factors led to passage of HB-86:
• Overall cost of maintaining a state prison population of about 50,000 inmates; and
• “Good faith” belief by administrators at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) that channeling non-violent felons away from prison will reduce their inclination to commit future crimes.
Nichols understands the state’s financial pinch and resulting pressure from the Ohio General Assembly to cut prison budgets. But, he’s troubled by the “sociological” approach to rehabilitation, apparently fostered by research at the University of Cincinnati.
“The university is now an adjunct to the ODRC,” Nichols said. “That relationship…is influencing the disposition of criminal cases.”
With the help of ODRC, university researchers created an “assessment tool” to calculate whether or not a felon is likely to commit future crimes. The tool — a kind of chart — takes a variety of factors into consideration, including drug use, criminal history and employment. The ODRC will require courts to use the tool in order to obtain grants to defray anticipated cost increases.
Nichols decided to forgo grant money in order maintain as much independence as possible when levying sentences.
“We won’t use the assessment tool,” he said. “We’re the only county I know of that won’t be using it.”
In general, Nichols believes steering felons away from prison is a mistake.
“During the last 15 years there has been a measurable decline in crime, while prison populations have significantly increased. I believe there is a direct relationship — increased imprisonment has resulted in decreased crime,” he said.
On the other hand, he fears decreased imprisonment will probably result in an increase in crime across the state.
Changes coming with HB-86:
• Raises the threshold for felony theft from $500 to $1,000, with corresponding increases for higher-level theft charges.
• Mandates community control (probation) for most non-violent fourth and fifth-degree felonies.
• Erases differences between powdered and “crack” cocaine in criminal sentencing.
• Reduces penalties for selling marijuana and hashish near a school or juvenile.
• Increases maximum prison time for first-degree felony convictions from 10 to 11 years.
• Expands the eligibility of early prison release for certain adult and juvenile inmates.
• Expands inmate ability to earn “good time,” thereby reducing prison time.
• Requires courts to assist those convicted of felony non-support in finding employment.
• Establishes a statewide database of felons on probation.
• Allows merchants, libraries and museums to independently detain people suspected of criminal mischief (and shoplifting) and give them a chance to make restitution.
• Authorizes county commissioners to create a “community alternative sentencing center” to house those convicted of certain misdemeanors, including drunk driving.
• Establishes maximum 30-day jail sentences for inmates of the “community alternative sentencing center.” Inmates convicted of drunk driving may serve longer sentences in the center.
• Makes it easier for former prison inmates to obtain identification cards, work permits and licenses.
• Requires a statewide study of assaults by inmates on prison staff.
• Prohibits 14- and 15-year-old offenders from being tried as adults, regardless of the seriousness of their charges.
• Requires 16- and 17-year-olds convicted as adults of “lesser, inclusive offenses” be returned to juvenile court for sentencing.
• Establishes procedures and rules for determining a juvenile defendant’s “competency” to stand trial.
• Creates a statewide task force to study treatment methods for juvenile delinquents with mental illness and behavior disorders.
The felony caseload in Madison County Prosecutor Steve Pronai’s office is increasing — just as Ohio relaxes penalties for those crimes, according to statistics he recently filed with the county commissioners.
Between Sept. 1, 2010, and Aug. 31, 2011, Pronai’s office presented 283 felony cases to the county grand jury. The number was 129 during the same time period in 2009 and 2010 and 151 in 2008 and 2009.
Most are drug and alcohol-related crimes, involving illegal prescription opiates such as Oxycontin and Percocet, as well as heroin smuggled from Mexico.
In turn, addicts seeking quick cash for drugs account for a growing number of burglaries and thefts in the county.
“There’s a trickle-down effect,” Pronai said.
The prosecutor is lukewarm to sentences of community control and substance abuse treatment for people convicted of drug-related crimes.
“If you got better results with treatment programs, there would be more cooperation,” Pronai said.
Our mission is to place a national spotlight upon the nations approach to juvenile justice, and to place faces and stories to the children that were waived, and thereby, held to an adult standard in the courtroom and then sent to adult prisons. Our mission is to end the practice of sentencing children to life without the possibility of parole, and to reduce the harm caused to children in adult prisons by supporting legislation that will make those who were sentenced as children eligible to have their sentences reviewed at some point during their incarceration. Advocates for Abandoned Adolescent's mission is to introduce concerned citizens to effective ways in which they can contribute to enhancing the quality of juvenile justice, to create chapters of A.A.A. in every state coast to coast. To organize and coordinate a national synchronized protest on all fifty state capitals on the same day, at the same moment and unified under the A.A.A. banner. Advocates for Abandoned Adolescents - Our Mission is to do better!
Ohio's new sentencing reform law, which is designed to help reduce the state's prison population, will take effect Friday.
Governor John Kasich signed the bill in June that will put fewer non-violent offenders behind bars.
Currently, Ohio prisons hold 50,000 inmates, which is about 30 percent over what they are designed to hold.
"It also treats fourth- and fifth-degree felonies in a way where it will allow more community control sanctions, and will lessen, in theory and probably practice, the number of individuals that are non-violent that are sent to prison," said Prosecutor Dennis Watkins.
State officials said the new bill is designed to save taxpayers millions and will allow inmates to serve more time in community based centers instead of more expensive state prisons.
"You don't know, you have to go day by day and see what that impact is going to be," Trumbull County Sheriff Tom Altiere said.
The sentencing reform law also makes changes in the juvenile justice system, which many officials said are positive ones that have already been in place locally.
"The provisions House Bill 86 provide is that each case will be individually reviewed and looked at and determined to be what fits not only the crime, but the student, and the best way of rehabilitation and most appropriate use of public funidng," said Mahoning County Juvenile Judge Theresa Dellick.
It also creates an mental health juvenile justice task force.
Ohio's new sentencing reform law, which is designed to help reduce the state's prison population, will take effect Friday.
Governor John Kasich signed the bill in June that will put fewer non-violent offenders behind bars.
Currently, Ohio prisons hold 50,000 inmates, which is about 30 percent over what they are designed to hold.
"It also treats fourth- and fifth-degree felonies in a way where it will allow more community control sanctions, and will lessen, in theory and probably practice, the number of individuals that are non-violent that are sent to prison," said Prosecutor Dennis Watkins.
State officials said the new bill is designed to save taxpayers millions and will allow inmates to serve more time in community based centers instead of more expensive state prisons.
"You don't know, you have to go day by day and see what that impact is going to be," Trumbull County Sheriff Tom Altiere said.
The sentencing reform law also makes changes in the juvenile justice system, which many officials said are positive ones that have already been in place locally.
"The provisions House Bill 86 provide is that each case will be individually reviewed and looked at and determined to be what fits not only the crime, but the student, and the best way of rehabilitation and most appropriate use of public funidng," said Mahoning County Juvenile Judge Theresa Dellick.
It also creates an mental health juvenile justice task force.
YAKIMA, Wash. — The Washington state Court of Appeals ordered a new trial Thursday for a boy who was tried as an adult and convicted of murder in the death of a 13-year-old playmate in 2003.
Evan Savoie, of Ephrata, was sentenced to 26 years in prison for the death of Craig Sorger, a developmentally disabled boy who was last seen playing with him in a recreational vehicle park. Sorger's body was found with dozens of stab wounds.
Savoie and a third playmate who was also charged, Jake Eakin, proclaimed their innocence for two years, but Eakin ultimately testified against Savoie in a plea deal.
Both were 12 at the time of the death.
Attorneys for Savoie, now 20, appealed his conviction on grounds that the Grant County Superior Court violated his right to a public trial and erred in appointing counsel for Sorger's parents.
Early in the case, defense attorneys theorized someone else had killed Sorger, including possibly a family member, and requested mental health and other records related to the family. The court approved the release of some records, but the Grant County prosecutor's office inadvertently released all of them.
The prosecutor's office then proposed — and the court appointed — an attorney to represent the family's interests but who would not be heard in the criminal matter.
But that attorney appeared in the criminal case multiple times attempting to stop further distribution of the family records and seeking return of the records, the ruling said. At one hearing, the attorney successfully moved to have the court closed to the public to argue why the court should order the immediate return of the records.
Savoie's attorneys argued on appeal that his right to a public trial was violated. The state conceded the error but argued a new trial was not necessary.
"The closure was intended to protect the Sorgers' interest, not Mr. Savoie's interests, and he strenuously objected," the court ruled. "Accordingly, the closure violated Mr. Savoie's right to a public trial."
Grant County Prosecutor D. Angus Lee said his office would consider its options, which include petitioning the state Supreme Court for discretionary review or retrying the case, and consider the wishes of the Sorger family.
The Sorger family declined comment to The Associated Press.
Lee did not handle the case. He was appointed in 2009 to complete the remainder of the term for former Prosecutor John Knodell, who was elected judge. Lee was elected to a full term as prosecutor the following year.
Lee also said he expects the case, if tried again, would have the exact same result.
"This ruling by the Court of Appeals has nothing whatsoever to do with the facts of the case, the evidence of the case," Lee said. "It's unfortunate that it was tried very, very well and may have to be tried again many years later because of an error by the court."
Attorneys for Savoie did not return a telephone message seeking comment.
The case garnered national attention, in part because of the age of the defendants, but also due to the viciousness of the killing.
Lisa Sorger, the victim's mother, called police after Craig did not come home from playing at the park. An officer found his body among leaves and brush. Blood was found on the clothing of both playmates, who repeatedly changed their stories.
Both boys kept silent for two years. Eakin eventually led officers to the pond where he claimed Savoie had disposed of the murder weapon — a knife — and he then pleaded guilty to the lesser charge. The weapon matched a knife tip that had been left in the victim's skull.
Our mission is to place a national spotlight upon the nations approach to juvenile justice, and to place faces and stories to the children that were waived, and thereby, held to an adult standard in the courtroom and then sent to adult prisons. Our mission is to end the practice of sentencing children to life without the possibility of parole, and to reduce the harm caused to children in adult prisons by supporting legislation that will make those who were sentenced as children eligible to have their sentences reviewed at some point during their incarceration. Advocates for Abandoned Adolescent's mission is to introduce concerned citizens to effective ways in which they can contribute to enhancing the quality of juvenile justice, to create chapters of A.A.A. in every state coast to coast. To organize and coordinate a national synchronized protest on all fifty state capitals on the same day, at the same moment and unified under the A.A.A. banner. Advocates for Abandoned Adolescents - Our Mission is to do better!
Our mission is to place a national spotlight upon the nations approach to juvenile justice, and to place faces and stories to the children that were waived, and thereby, held to an adult standard in the courtroom and then sent to adult prisons. Our mission is to end the practice of sentencing children to life without the possibility of parole, and to reduce the harm caused to children in adult prisons by supporting legislation that will make those who were sentenced as children eligible to have their sentences reviewed at some point during their incarceration. Advocates for Abandoned Adolescent's mission is to introduce concerned citizens to effective ways in which they can contribute to enhancing the quality of juvenile justice, to create chapters of A.A.A. in every state coast to coast. To organize and coordinate a national synchronized protest on all fifty state capitals on the same day, at the same moment and unified under the A.A.A. banner. Advocates for Abandoned Adolescents - Our Mission is to do better!
AREAS OF INTEREST: Juvenile Delinquency: a. Causes b. Prevention c. Law
THE JUVENILE DELINQUENCY :
THE JUVENILE DELINQUENCY What is Juvenile Delinquency? This is the lawbreaking by non-adult persons. It includes such crimes found in the penal code of the land, as well as some offenses not in the list of the law such as truancy, or sexual acts, that are illegal only when committed by juveniles.
Slide 4:
This definition varies from the interpretation of the laws enacted by legislative and interpreted by judiciary, but generally the term commonly refers to someone under eighteen years of age who committed crimes. Illegal acts committed by juvenile delinquent are considered CRIME if committed by an adult.
An act committed by minor that violates the penal code of the government with authority over the area in which the act occurred is juvenile delinquency. :
An act committed by minor that violates the penal code of the government with authority over the area in which the act occurred is juvenile delinquency.
FOLLOWING ARE THE VARIOUS DEFINITIONS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY: :
FOLLOWING ARE THE VARIOUS DEFINITIONS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY: A VIOLATIONS OF LAW AND ORDINANCES A VIOLATIONS OF JUVENILE COURT ORDER AN ASSOCIATION WITH CRIMINAL OR IMMORAL PERSONS ENGAGING IN ANY CALLING, OCCUPATION, OR EXHIBITION PUNISHABLE BY THE LAW.
EXAMPLE OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY :
EXAMPLE OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
Slide 8:
5. FREQUENT IN ANY TAVERNS OR USES ALCOHOL 6. WANDERING IN THE STREETS ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT TIME 7. GROWS UP IN IDLENESS OR IN CRIMES 8. ENTERING OR VISITING HOUSE OF ILL REFUTE 9. HABITUALLY TRUANTS 10. DISOBEDIENT OR REFUSES TO OBEY REASONABLE AND PROPER ORDERS OF PARENTS, GUARDIANS AND CUSTODIANS 11. ENGAGES IN INCORRIGIBILITY OR UNGOVERNABILITY 12. ABSENTING ONESELF FROM HOME WITHOUT PERMISSION 13. PERSISTS IN VIOLATING RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE SCHOOL
Slide 9:
14. ENDANGERS WELFARE, MORALS AND/OR HEALTH OF SELF OR OTHERS 15. USES VIE, OBSCENE OR VULGAR LANGUAGES IN THE HOUSE AND IN THE PUBLIC PLACES 16. SMOKE CIGARETTES 17. ENGAGING IN DISSOLUTES OR IMMORAL LIFE OR CONDUCT 18. WANDERING ELSEWHERE AND EVERYWHERE 19. JUMPS IN A TRAIN, TRUCKS AND TRAILER WITHOUT PERMISSION 20. LOITERING AND SLEEPING IN THE SIDEWALKS AND ALLEYS 21. BEGGING AND RECEIVING ALMS IN THE STREET
CATEGORIES OF JUVENILE DELINQUENTS :
CATEGORIES OF JUVENILE DELINQUENTS 1. Environmental Delinquents: These delinquents are considered occasional law breakers. Delinquents under this category are considered new in their activity that had just tasted the pleasure fruit of being delinquent. This delinquent can be easily led and corrected.
2. Emotionally Maladjusted Delinquents :
2. Emotionally Maladjusted Delinquents These delinquents are chronic lawbreakers who violate the laws, a habit which this type cannot be avoided or escaped. They are regarded also as habitual delinquents that correcting them is a pressing one.
3. Psychiatric Delinquents :
3. Psychiatric Delinquents These are delinquents suffering from emotional disturbances brought about by his or her environment. It may result to mental illness if not given care and attention.
CHARACTERISTICS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN A DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS: :
CHARACTERISTICS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN A DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS: PARENTAL VIEW Parents may define disruptive and delinquent behavior as disobedience, fighting with siblings, destroying or damaging property, stealing money from family members or threatening parents with violence.
Slide 14:
EDUCATIONAL VIEW School staff members often regard delinquent behavior as that which interrupts or disturbs classroom learning, violates the school code of conduct and sometimes threaten the safety of faculty and students. MENTAL HEALTH VIEW Mental health professionals consider delinquency to include a wide range of disruptive behaviors that may involve toward others or animals, destruction to property, deceitfulness, theft and violations of curfew and school attendance.
4. The Legal System View :
4. The Legal System View Almost all states in the world consider persons under the age of 18 to be juveniles. However when children under this age commit serious crimes, they may be prosecuted as adults. Legally, there are two (2) categories of offenses that may be committed by Juvenile Delinquents, they are: STATUS OFFENSES DELINQUENCY OFFENSES
EXPLAINING THE CAUSE OF DELINQUENCY :
EXPLAINING THE CAUSE OF DELINQUENCY THE CAUSES: Juvenile Delinquency may be rooted out in many ways according to the different perspective. This perspective may varies, depending on the way experts understand problem relative to juvenile delinquency. WHO CAN EXPLAIN JUVENILE DELINQUENCY? A. SCIENTIST like: (to institute treatment) 1. Medical Doctor 2. Psychologist and Psychiatrist 3. Sociologist B. JURIST AND LEGALIST such as: (to institute measures for prevention) 1. Lawmaker (senator/congressman) 2. Lawyers and judges 3. Policemen and law enforcer
CAUSES OF JUVENILE DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR :
CAUSES OF JUVENILE DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR Explaining crime and delinquency is a COMPLEX TASK. There are MULTITUDE OF FACTORS that contribute to the understanding of what leads someone to engage in delinquent behavior. While biological and psychological factors hold their own merit when explaining crime and delinquency, perhaps social factors can best explain juvenile delinquency. JUVENILE DELINQUENCY is a massive and growing problem OF ALL COUNTRY in the world.
Influential factors to delinquency :
Influential factors to delinquency THE FAMILY Family factors which may affect the development of juvenile delinquency include intense and relentless family conflict. Such conflict could be characterized by domestic violence, dysfunctional family cohesiveness, child abuse and parental neglect and inability to express appropriate affection toward a child and lack of adequate supervision of a child and rigid non-democratic child rearing practices.
Family like this will avoid delinquency :
Family like this will avoid delinquency
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2. THE PEERS Adolescence is a stage of development in which acceptance by one’s peers becomes extremely important to the juvenile’s sense and self-worth. Associating with a circle of friends who exhibit delinquent behaviors and perform delinquent acts increases the risk of non-conformity to social norms as well as deviant and delinquent behaviors.
“Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are” :
“Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are”
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3. THE SCHOOL Poor academic performance and classroom conduct problems may be predictors to later delinquency. Lack of academic competency creates feelings of alienation, worthlessness and low self-esteem. Truancy is often a child’s way of dealing with school related failures.
“SCHOOL: the molder and foundation of knowledge” :
“SCHOOL: the molder and foundation of knowledge”
DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR: SIGNS & SYMPTOMS :
DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR: SIGNS & SYMPTOMS The emergence of behavior problems can be detected as early as age two. Opposition to parents and aggressive behavior with other children are natural development pathways for toddlers. Those oppositional behaviors typically decline between the ages of 3 and 6 as children acquire the ability to use appropriate speech; this ability facilitates the expression of needs and feelings as well as the resolution of conflict.
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However, failure to develop complimentary behaviors such as honesty, non aggression, and respect for authority figures may lead to problematic behaviors such as:
AUTHORITY CONFLICT :
AUTHORITY CONFLICT Stubborn and defiant behavior, disobedience to parents and other authority figures, skipping classes or not attending school at all and running away from home as a means of avoiding rules and regulations.
COVERT ACTS :
COVERT ACTS Lying, shoplifting, property damage (including vandalism and fire-setting) or more serious forms of property damage ranging from petty thievery to robbery.
OTHER COVERT ACTS :
OTHER COVERT ACTS
OVERT ACTS :
OVERT ACTS Annoying and bullying others, physical fighting, gang fighting and other violent behaviors such as attacking others with a weapon and sexual assault. If you fear that your child may be heading down a path towards delinquency or is at a high risk for developing these behaviors then keep in mind that PREVENTION IS HE BEST SOLUTION
PREVENTING JUVENILE DELINQUENCY :
PREVENTING JUVENILE DELINQUENCY The prevention of delinquency requires identifying at-risk individuals and their environments before delinquent activity and behavior occur and then removing such risk factor or strengthening resistance to the risk factors already present. The most logical starting place for prevention efforts is the FAMILY. The following slides will be a very good guide in preventing delinquent behavior:
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Build family cohesiveness and parent-child relationship by taking time each week to have fun as a family spending 10-15 minutes alone with the child at least once a week and listening attentively to them. Monitor the child’s activity. Always ask where they are going, with whom, and when will be back
Slide 32:
Set logical rules for behavior according to the child’s age and then apply age appropriate consequences fairly and consistently when rules are broken. Get to know the child’s friends and their families.
Slide 33:
Adopt a democratic parenting styles by allowing the child’s voice to be heard; listen carefully when they are talking and make good eye contact at all times. Offer to help academic problems and show concern about their studies and behavior at school. At the end of each day ask what went in school and what problems occurred.
Slide 34:
Talk to them about peer pressure, and the physical and emotional changes expected during teen years. Calmly explain what you expect from them in the way of appropriate behavior. Assist the child in making good decisions by being a good role model; make good decisions and show to them how to solve problems.
Slide 35:
Use natural or logical consequences in applying discipline. For example if a child write on the wall a logical consequence would be for him to scrub the wall, clean and paint it. Enroll them in youth recreational activities such as boys and girls club to avoid them idle. IF ALL THIS THINGS ARE DONE AND STILL THE CHILD IS A PROBLEM, THIS TIME PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE LIKE PSYCHOLOGIST, SOCIOLOGIST AND THE LIKE MUST BE EMPLOYED.
Three Categories of Juvenile Delinquents :
Three Categories of Juvenile Delinquents 1. Children aging below 7 – this delinquents are always considered exempted from criminal liability
2. Children aging from 7 to 12 – these are delinquents who are not capable of estimating what is right and wrong and guilt may not be established in himself. :
2. Children aging from 7 to 12 – these are delinquents who are not capable of estimating what is right and wrong and guilt may not be established in himself.
3. Children aging above 12 but below 16 years of age. :
3. Children aging above 12 but below 16 years of age.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTION? :
ARE THERE ANY QUESTION? will now commence!
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THE JUVENILE JUSTICE CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES REPUBLIC ACT 9344
What is juvenile justice system? :
What is juvenile justice system? It is a system involving police or law enforcement agencies, courts & juvenile correctional agencies.
The similarities Between adult and juvenile system? :
The similarities Between adult and juvenile system? Police officers, judges, and correctional personal use of discretion in the decision making in both the adult and the juvenile system; The right to receive Miranda warnings applies to juveniles, as well as to adults; Juveniles and adults are protected from prejudicial line-ups or other identification procedures;
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Similar procedural safeguards protect juveniles and adults when they make an admission of guilt; Prosecutors and defense counsels play equally critical rules in "juvenile and adult advocacy; Juveniles and adult are have the right to counsel at most key stages of the court process. SIMILARITIES…
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7. Pretrial motions are available in juvenile and criminal court proceedings; 8. Negotiations and the plea-bargaining exists for children and adult offenders; 9. Children and adults have a right to a hearing and an appeal; 10. The standards of evidence in juvenile delinquency adjudication, as in adult, criminal trials, is proof beyond reasonable doubt; SIMILARITIES…
Slide 45:
11. Juveniles and adults can be placed on probation by the court; 12. Both juveniles and adults can placed in pre-trial detention facilities; 13. After trial, both can be placed in community treatment program; 14. Nature between juvenile and adult justice system. SIMILARITIES…
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ADULT AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM :
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ADULT AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM The primary purpose of juvenile procedures is the protection and treatment, with adults, the aim is to punish the guilty; Juveniles can be detained for acts that would not be criminal if they were committed by an adult (status offenses) Juvenile proceedings are not considered criminal;
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Juvenile court procedures are generally informal and private; those adult court are formal & open to the public; Courts cannot release identifying information about juvenile to the press, but they must release information about adult; The standard of arrest is more stringent for adult than juveniles DIFFERENCES…
Slide 48:
Parents are highly involve in the juvenile process but not in the adult process; Juveniles are released into parental custody. Adults are generally given the opportunity for bail; Juveniles can be searched in school without probable cause or warrants. DIFFERENCES…
Slide 49:
A juvenile's record is sealed when the age of majority is reached. The record of an adult is permanent; The court cannot sentence juveniles to city/municipality jails or state prisons; while these can be applicable for adults. DIFFERENCES…
THE LAW GOVERNING JUVELINE DELINQUENCY :
THE LAW GOVERNING JUVELINE DELINQUENCY Presidential Decree 603 “THE CHILD AND YOUTH WELFARE CODE” The child is one of the most important assets of the nation. Every effort should be exerted to promote his welfare and enhance his opportunities for a useful and happy life Declaration of Policy (Art. 1 PD 603)
Such declaration of Policy was explicitly explained as: :
Such declaration of Policy was explicitly explained as: The child is not a mere creature of' the state. Hence, his individual traits and aptitudes should be cultivated to the utmost insofar as they do not conflict with the general welfare. The molding of character of me child start at home. Consequently every member of family should strive to make the home a wholesome and harmonious place as its atmosphere and conditions will greatly influence the child's development. Attachment to the home and strong family ties should be encouraged but not to the extent of making the home isolated and exclusive and unconcerned with the interest of the community and the country.
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The natural right and duty of parents in the rearing of the child for civic efficiency should receive the aid and support of the government; Other institutions, like school, the church, the guild and me community in general, should assist the home and the state in the endeavor to prepare the child for the responsibilities of adulthood (Art 1, PD 603)
HOME & INSTITUTION FOR JD’s :
HOME & INSTITUTION FOR JD’s What is Detention Home? It is a (24) hour child caring institution providing short term resident care for youthful offenders who are awaiting court disposition of their cases or transfer to other agencies of jurisdiction. What is Shelter Care Institution? It is one that provides temporary protection and care to children requiring emergency reception as a result of fortuitous event, abandonment by parents, dangerous conditions of neglect or cruelty in the home, being without adult care because of crisis in the family, or a court order holding them as material witnesses.
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What is a Child Caring Institution? It is one that provides twenty-four (24) hour resident group care service for the physical, mental social and spiritual well-being of nine or more mentally gifted, dependent, abandoned, neglected, abused, handicapped, disturbed or youthful offenders. HOME…
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The 7 Special Categories of Children? (A) Dependent Child – one who is without parent, guardian or custodian or one whose parents, guardian or other custodian for good cause desires to be relieved of his care and custody, and is dependent upon the public support. (B) Abandoned Child – one who has no proper parental love or guardianship or whose parents or guardian have deserted him for a period of at least six continuous month. (C) Neglected Child – one whose basic needs have been deliberately unattended or inadequately unattended. Neglect may occur in two-ways, they are:
Slide 57:
THE TWO CLASSIFICATION OF NEGLECTED CHILD Physical Neglect - when a child is malnourished, ill-clad without proper shelter; a child is unattended when left by himself without provision of his needs and/or without proper supervision. Emotional Neglect - when children are maltreated, raped or seduced; when children are exploited, overworked or made to work under conditions not conducive to good health; or are made to beg in the streets or public places, or when children are in moral danger; or exposed to gambling, prostitution and other vices.
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D. Mentally Retarded Children - mentally retarded children are: Socially incompetent, that is socially inadequate and occupationally incompetent and unable to manage their own affairs. Mentally subnormal Retarded intellectually from birth or early stage; Retarded at maturity Mentally deficient as a result of constitutional origin; through hereditary or disease; & Essentially incurable.
Classification of Mental Retardation :
Classification of Mental Retardation Custodial Group – The members of the classification are severely or profoundly retarded, hence, the least capable. These include those with IQ's to 25. Trainable Group – members of this group consist of those IQ's from 25–about 50; this group shows a mental level rate of development which is 1/4 to ½ that of average child, is unable to acquire higher academic skills, but can usually acquire the basic skills for living to a reasonable degree. Educable Group – This group IQ ranges from 50–75 and the intellectual development is approximately ^ to % of that expected of a normal child of the chronological age. The degree of success or accomplishment mat they will reach in ' life depends very much on the quality and type of education receive, as well as on the treatment at home and the community.
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Borderline or Low Normal Group - This is the highest group of mentally retarded, with IQs from about 75 to 89. The members of this classification are only slightly retarded and they can usually get by in regular classes if they receive some extra help, guidance, and consideration.
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(E) Physically Handicapped Children - physically handicapped children are those who are crippled, deaf mute, blind or otherwise defective which restricts their means of action on communication with others (Art. 170, PD 603) (F) Emotionally Disturbed Children - emotionally disturbed children are those who although not afflicted with insanity or mental defects are unable to maintain normal social relations with others & the community in general due emotional problems or complexes (Art. 171, PD 603).
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(G) Mentally III Children - mentally ill children are those with any behavioral disorder, whether functional or organic, which is of such degree of severity as to require professional help or hospitalization.
REPUBLIC ACT 9344 :
REPUBLIC ACT 9344 An Act Establishing a Comprehensive Juvenile Justice and Welfare System Date Signed by the President: May 4, 2006
FEATURES: :
FEATURES: Cases against children 18 years old and below at the time the crime was committed shall immediately be dismissed. These children shall then be referred to the appropriate local social welfare and development officer, who will determine whether to release them to the custody of their parents or have them go through rehabilitation program. Those with suspended sentences and undergoing rehabilitation shall also be released, unless it is contrary to the best interest of the child.
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Should the child be detained pending trial, RA 9344, stated that “a family court shall also determine whether or not continued detention is necessary, and if not, determine appropriate alternatives for detention. If detention is necessary and he or she is detained with adults, the court shall immediately order the transfer of the child to a youth detention home. Features….
Slide 66:
Children who have been convicted and are serving out their sentence shall also benefit from the retroactive application of the law and be entitled to appropriate treatment provided under the law. It exempts children 18 years old and below from criminal liability. They will only be subjected to an intervention program- a series of activities designed to address issues that caused the child to commit an offense.
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Intervention may take the form of an individualized treatment program that could include counseling, skills training, education and other activities that will enhance the child’s well-being. Children above 15 or below 18 may have to face appropriate proceedings if the prosecution proves they acted with discernment in committing an offense. The exemption granted however do not cover civil liability.
ROLE OF THE JJWC :
ROLE OF THE JJWC RA 9344 also created a Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council composed of representatives from various government agencies, which will convene 15 days after this law goes into effect. The Council, which will be chaired by the DSWD Secretary, will ensure the effective implementation of RA 9344. The Juvenile Justice Law also mandates the establishment and strengthening of local councils for the protection of children, which will be composed of responsible members of the community, representatives from the youth sector, & government & private agencies concerned with the welfare of children.
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The local council will serve as the primary agency to coordinate with and assist local government units on the adoption of a comprehensive plan to prevent delinquency and to oversee its proper implementation. One percent of the IRA of barangays, municipalities and cities shall be allocated for the strengthening and implementation of the programs of the local council. Each local government unit is in charge of disbursing this allocation.
ROLE OF THE MEDIA :
ROLE OF THE MEDIA Under RA 9344, media practitioners are ordered to maintain the highest professional standards in reporting and covering cases of children in conflict with the law. Any undue, inappropriate and sensationalized publicity of any case involving a child in conflict with law is hereby declared a violation of the child’s rights.
ROLE OF THE POLICE :
ROLE OF THE POLICE The Juvenile Justice Law also guides law enforcers on how to handle children properly once they are taken into custody. Law enforcers shall refrain from “using vulgar or profane words and from sexually harassing or abusing, or making sexual advances on the child in conflict with the law”. The law added that law enforcers shall not display any firearm, weapons or handcuffs, unless necessary in apprehending child offenders.
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Law enforcers shall turn over custody of the child “immediately but not later than eight hours after apprehension” to the Social Welfare and Development Office or other accredited non-government organizations and notify the child’s parents or guardians and the public attorneys’s office of the child’s apprehension. The Social Welfare and Development Office shall then explain to the child and the child’s parents or guardians “the consequences of the child’s act with a view towards counseling and rehabilitation, diversion from the criminal justice system and reparation, if appropriate.
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PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ASK QUESTION!
Thank you! We just ended the 1st part. :
Thank you! We just ended the 1st part. Pahabol…. DON’T DO THIS TO YOUR CHILD , THEY MAY NOT ONLY BE DELINQUENT IN THE FUTURE BUT THEY MIGHT BECOME REBELLIOUS!
Our mission is to place a national spotlight upon the nations approach to juvenile justice, and to place faces and stories to the children that were waived, and thereby, held to an adult standard in the courtroom and then sent to adult prisons. Our mission is to end the practice of sentencing children to life without the possibility of parole, and to reduce the harm caused to children in adult prisons by supporting legislation that will make those who were sentenced as children eligible to have their sentences reviewed at some point during their incarceration. Advocates for Abandoned Adolescent's mission is to introduce concerned citizens to effective ways in which they can contribute to enhancing the quality of juvenile justice, to create chapters of A.A.A. in every state coast to coast. To organize and coordinate a national synchronized protest on all fifty state capitals on the same day, at the same moment and unified under the A.A.A. banner. Advocates for Abandoned Adolescents - Our Mission is to do better!
Juvenile Justice Reform: A Law That Congress Needs to Pass
David Chura has worked with at-risk teenagers for forty years. His writing has appeared in the New York Times and multiple literary journals and anthologies, and he is a frequent lecturer and advisor on incarcerated youth. His book, I Don't Wish Nobody to Have a Life Like Mine, documents the lives of children in adult lockups and how we as individuals and as a society have ultimately failed them. The following article was written to draw attention to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act that is slowly making its way through Congress.
When you go to jail, you feel like everybody's in your business but nobody cares. You get cuffed, and shoved into the back of a squad car. The police blotter broadcasts to the world what you did. You get booked, fingerprinted, photographed, and everything about you is fed into "The Man's" hungry computer. You're watched by correctional officers, wardens, nurses, and other inmates; even the kitchen workers warily scope you out. There are bars instead of doors.
At least that is how you feel if you're a kid doing time in an adult county prison like the teenagers I taught for ten years.
Like many adolescent perceptions of the world, they're right and they're wrong. Everybody is in your business, watching, overseeing, suspicious of everything you do, telling you to do this, don't do that. You're always under somebody's eye, electronic or otherwise, yet you feel alone, isolated, convinced nobody cares.
But I want to tell the kids I taught, and every other kid locked away, that there are people who, although they may seem to be "in your business," want to help out, and do care.
A few of those locked-up teens might have heard about the Supreme Court's recent decision, outlawing life without parole for non-homicidal crimes by juveniles. But I doubt they've heard about the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). Not many people have, it seems, considering that the bill, first enacted in 1974, is woefully and embarrassingly three years overdue for Congressional reauthorization. Finally, it is making its way slowly through Congress.
The bill calls for reforms to the juvenile justice system that are simple yet vital for the well-being of young people entangled in the system. It provides federal funds to states who comply with the following conditions when dealing with young offenders.
Participating states are encouraged to get minors out of adult jails and prisons. If they cannot for some reason, they must ensure that kids in these facilities are out of "sight and sound" of adults. Unfortunately it's a restriction that doesn't work. In the county adult lockup where I worked, many young adolescents were housed on a minor's block. Nevertheless, they had ongoing contact with adults at rec, clinics, the law library, and in the hallways. Likewise, housing teens on a separate block didn't protect them from the harmful effects of the adult jail culture—violence, predators, paranoia, and assault to all the senses—which permeated the place. States must be urged to remove youths from adult contact all together.
The bill also requires states to address what Congress calls "disproportionate minority contact." Some of us would call it racial profiling or racism. Others would call it the new Jim Crow. The kids I taught would call it, "locking up the brothers." It's a lifeless, bloodless, meaningless term for a devastating reality—the increased incarceration of young people of color. It's hard to believe that in 2010 the states must have money dangled in front of them to get them to work on this blatant, escalating racial disparity.
Another condition is that states must stop jailing kids who are guilty of status offenses such as truancy; running away; alcohol or tobacco possession; and breaking curfew. I worked with youngsters, some living in group homes, others at home, who were doing time in an adult facility for truancy or for breaking curfew because the adults responsible for them wanted "to teach them a lesson." I can assure you, it did.
And finally, states would be required to improve conditions wherever juveniles are detained by ensuring proper mental health and medical services and by ending such dangerous practices as pepper spraying, hog-tying, and imprisoning in prolonged isolation. Too many young inmates are in desperate need of both. Yet often these needs are overlooked or outright neglected for the unstated reason of saving money. I have seen, and written about minors slipping into depression or the chaos of psychosis because they were denied prescribed medications.
JJDPA is a good bill and there are lots of good people behind it. It has over 16 congressional sponsors and is endorsed by 9 international groups including Human Rights Watch; more than 90 national groups; 259 state and local organizations; and the Department of Justice.
That's the news I'd like to share with the nation's locked-up kids: indeed, people are "in your business," and because of those people, you're not alone. It might be a tough sell, though. When you're 15, sitting in a cramped, dirty, smelly cell, cut off from anyone and anything that has any meaning to you, you get mighty skeptical and feel abandoned. I just hope the 111th Congress doesn't let these kids down. It's happened far too many times in their lives already.
Clara Shortridge Foltz, née Clara Shortridge (born July 16, 1849, probably New Lisbon, Ind., U.S.—died Sept. 2, 1934, Los Angeles, Calif.), lawyer and reformer who, after helping open the California bar to women, became a pioneering force for women in the profession and a major influence in reforming the state’s criminal justice and prison systems.
Clara Shortridge taught school in her youth and in 1864 married Jeremiah R. Foltz, with whom she moved to California. Widowed in 1877, she undertook the reading of law in the office of a local attorney. On discovering that the California constitution limited admission to the bar to white males, she drew up an amendment striking out those limiting qualifications and, aided by Laura D. Gordon and others, pushed it through the legislature in 1878. That year she became the first woman admitted to legal practice in California. In 1879, denied admission to the state-supported Hastings College of Law in San Francisco, she brought suit and, again with Gordon’s help, argued her case successfully up to the state Supreme Court. That year she and Gordon became the second and third women admitted to practice before the state Supreme Court.
Foltz served as clerk of the state assembly’s judiciary committee in 1879–80. Her private legal practice in San Francisco grew rapidly, and in 1893 she organized the Portia Law Club with other women lawyers of the city. During 1887–90 she lived in San Diego, where she founded and edited the daily San Diego Bee. Later she resided and practiced briefly in New York City. A growing practice in corporate law led her into such sidelines as organizing a women’s department for the United Bank and Trust Company of San Francisco in 1905 and publishing a trade magazine, Oil Fields and Furnaces (later merged into the National Oil Reporter). From 1906 she lived and worked in Los Angeles. She played a leading role in the campaign that secured the vote for women in state elections in 1911, and shortly thereafter she served for a year or two as the first woman deputy district attorney in Los Angeles.
From 1910 to 1912 Foltz was the first woman member of the State Board of Charities and Corrections, a post awarded her on the strength of her long efforts for reforms in criminal procedure and prison administration, including the appointment of public defenders for indigent defendants and the segregation of juvenile offenders from adult prisoners. She was also responsible for legislation that allowed women to serve as executors and administrators of estates and to hold commissions as notaries public. In 1916–18 she published the New American Woman magazine. She was long active in state politics. In 1930, at age 81, she entered the Republican gubernatorial primary; although she lost, she received a respectable vote.
A.A.A.Mission Statement
Our mission is to place a national spotlight upon the nations approach to juvenile justice, and to place faces and stories to the children that were waived, and thereby, held to an adult standard in the courtroom and then sent to adult prisons. Our mission is to end the practice of sentencing children to life without the possibility of parole, and to reduce the harm caused to children in adult prisons by supporting legislation that will make those who were sentenced as children eligible to have their sentences reviewed at some point during their incarceration. Advocates for Abandoned Adolescent's mission is to introduce concerned citizens to effective ways in which they can contribute to enhancing the quality of juvenile justice, to create chapters of A.A.A. in every state coast to coast. To organize and coordinate a national synchronized protest on all fifty state capitals on the same day, at the same moment and unified under the A.A.A. banner. Advocates for Abandoned Adolescents - Our Mission is to do better!
The prison reform movement is an ongoing movement in the United States seeking to improve the conditions for inmates in the penal system. The arguments in support of prison reform are generally founded on one of two assertions. The first is that abusive conditions, such as inadequate food, poor hygiene and medical care, and abuse by guards, inside prisons constitute a violation of fundamental human and civil rights. This argument attempts to appeal to not only one's sense of humanity, but also the 8th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which forbids "cruel and unusual punishment".
The second argument hinges on the rehabilitation of prisoners. In order for the penal system to be as effective as possible and beneficial to society, it is important to determine what the goal of the penal system as a whole is.There are various theories on what the role of the penal system should be. Two theories dominated the doctrine about the role of the penal system until late in the 19th century, and they persisted into the 20th century as well. These theories were that should prison should punish criminals for their deeds and that the threat of prison should serve to deter people from criminal behavior. A survey of American prisons in the 1860s by Enoch Wines and Theodore Dwight concluded that not a single state's penitentiary system focused on rehabilitating its prisoners.[1] However, these two theories have largely fallen out of usage, in favor of the doctrine of rehabilitation. Rehabilitation seeks to correct the areas in which a criminal is lacking, with the end goal of transforming them into a useful member of society.
An example of a program focused on rehabilitating prisoners is the Vipassanā meditation program detailed in the film The Dhamma Brothers , a documentary about Donaldson Correction Facility in Alabama. The meditation program encourages the inmates to reflect on their own situation, past actions, and to really probe deeply within themselves. It teaches patience and self-discipline, by forcing the men to confront difficult feelings from their past. The men learn to not be ruled by their emotions, and instead of acting impulsively on anger or other feelings, contemplate each emotion they feel, then let it go. In this way, Vipassanā is an ideal example of a prisoner rehabilitation program focused on producing useful members of society.
Maud Booth was born in England and grew up in London. Her parents had a strong background in social work, which may have inspired the work she did later in her life.
She worked with the Salvation Army in Europe, then co-founded Volunteers of America and began working to improve prison conditions in the United States in the early 1900s
One of Booth's most significant contributions was in the area of parole and rehabilitation.
Prior to her era, prisons merely sought to contain prisoners, rather than rehabilitate them or reform them.
Due to Booth's work, prisons began to provide services improving parole procedures and providing skills that would be necessary to recently released inmates, such as social and people skills training, and re-acclimating them to society.
She advocated for programs that sought to identify and treat the sources of criminal behavior, instead of merely punishing prisoners.
Elizabeth LEslie Rous Wright Comstock (1815-1891)
Katharine Bement Davis (1860-1935)
Goldsborough Sappington Griffith (1814-1904)
Louisine Waldron Havemeyer (1855-1929)
Jessie Donaldson Hodder (1867-1931)
Isaac Tatem Hopper (1771-1852)
ALice Bertha Kroeger (1864-1909)
Josephus Nelson Larned (1836-1913)
Sophia Lousia Robbins Little (1799-1893)
Cornelia Marvin (1873-1957)
Robert Wilson McCaughry (1839-1920)
Anne Carroll Moore (1871-1961)
Timothy Nicholson (1828-1924)
Sarah Worthington King Peter (1800--1877)
Edward G. Robinson (1893-1973)
William M. F. Round (1845-1906)
Lutie Eugenia Stearns (1866-1943)
Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes (1867-1944)
Julia Strudwich Tutwiler (1841-1916)
Frederick Howard Wines (1838-1912)
Caroline Bayard Stevens Wittpenn (1859-1932)
Wines was a 19th century minister and prison reform advocate
In the first half of his life, he studied theology and became a preacher.
In the 1860s, he dedicated himself to the cause of prison reform
1862: Became secretary of the New York Prison Association
1870: Founded and became secretary of the National Prison Association
July 1872: Organized in London the first "International Penitentiary Congress" in London, to discuss the topic of prison reform and prisoners' rights, with representatives from 26 countries.
Wrote 12 books, including:
The Prisons and Reformatories of the United States and Canada (1867)
State of Prisons and Child-Saving Institutions (1880)
A school teacher in her youth until she married Jeremiah R. Foltz and moved to California
In California she learned that only white males could enter bars and made an amendment allowing women to enter bars that was pushed through legislature
After being denied entrance to Hastings College of Law in San Francisco brought suit and successfully argued her case to the supreme court
Foltz was an active women rights activist throughout the late 1800's and early 1900's.
In 1910, Foltz became the first women member of the State Board of Charities and Corrections
She also helped give indigent defenders public defenders and segregate juvenile offenders from adult prisoners
Focused on making education available to those groups who had typically been denied it, such as women and prisoners.
Founded the Tuscaloosa Benevolent Association in 1880 to aid in prison reform efforts.
Pushed for reforms such as classification of inmates by their crime committed, and for state inspections of prisons and other facilities, in order to ensure that certain standards for prisons were being met.
In addition, she established an innovative school system within prisons, allowing inmates to educate themselves to a degree, one of the most key steps to rehabilitation.
Cunningham started working to reform prisons after she herself was sent to prison under the espionage act.
She was sent to prison in 1919 and published two books :
Kate O'hare's Prison Letters
In Prison
Later she recieved a full pardon from Calvin Coolidge
In 1922 she organized the Childrens Crusade, which got hundreds of children of imprisoned anti-war agitators to march on Washington
International
Organizations
John Howard Association of Illinois: Working for Prison Reform Since 1901
An Illinois citizen advocacy organization focusing on public policies that ensure public safety, rehabilitation, and fiscal responsibility and mediating concerns affecting inmates, their families, prison officials, and legislators. Primary nonviolent methodology: advocacy and policy reform
U.N.I.O.N. : "United for no injustice, oppression, or neglect." UNION is working to reform the California Justice system and hopefully can make prisons rehabilitate all prisoners. They feel that prisons end up putting men back into the world worse than they were before which is why they need to change the prison system.
Nonviolent Strategies, Campaigns, Tactics
Timeline of Prison Reform in the United States
2002: Larry Osborne becomes the 100th death-row inmate exonerated in the United States since 1973. As of October 2010, the number of death-row inmates freed stands at 138. Advocates for prison reform point to these kinds cases as a sign of fallibility and corruption in the United States justice system, and as a reason to abolish the death penalty. Another concern of prison reform advocates is the role that race frequently plays in capital cases. Blacks are sentenced to death at a rate far higher than their proportion of the population. 41% of death-row inmates are black, but blacks make up only 12% of the population. The total number of whites and blacks murdered are similar, but 80% of all people executed since 1977 were convicted of murdering a white victim.
Bennett, Scott H. "'Free American Political Prisoners': Pacifist Activism and
Civil Liberties, 1945-48." Journal of Peace Research 40.4, Special Issue on
Peace History (2003): 413-433. JSTOR. Web. 8 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.jstor.org/stable/3648291>. http://www.aca.org/
[1] Morris, Norval; Rothman, David J. (1995), Oxford History of the Prison, New York, Oxford University Press
"prison reform." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online . Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 19 Apr. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/477222/prison-reform>.
Our mission is to place a national spotlight upon the nations approach to juvenile justice, and to place faces and stories to the children that were waived, and thereby, held to an adult standard in the courtroom and then sent to adult prisons. Our mission is to end the practice of sentencing children to life without the possibility of parole, and to reduce the harm caused to children in adult prisons by supporting legislation that will make those who were sentenced as children eligible to have their sentences reviewed at some point during their incarceration. Advocates for Abandoned Adolescent's mission is to introduce concerned citizens to effective ways in which they can contribute to enhancing the quality of juvenile justice, to create chapters of A.A.A. in every state coast to coast. To organize and coordinate a national synchronized protest on all fifty state capitals on the same day, at the same moment and unified under the A.A.A. banner. Advocates for Abandoned Adolescents - Our Mission is to do better!
“So many kids end up in the juvenile justice system before they've been able to get help. They end up getting it (help) through the juvenile justice system, and that's wrong. A kid shouldn't have to commit a crime to get the help they need.” Lori Reynolds
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