Juvenile Justice

U.S. Shouldn't Jail Youth For Life

Youth Radio -- Youth Media International | Posted 11.05.2009 | Politics


Youth Radio -- Youth Media International

How the Supreme Court rules in two cases concerning juvenile incarceration could determine whether sentencing juveniles to life without parole is cruel and unusual punishment.

A Day for A Day

Joe The Nerd Ferraro | Posted 11.01.2009 | Politics


Joe The Nerd Ferraro

A couple of rouge judges in Wilkes-Barre, in the Northeast part of the state, destroyed the lives of thousands of young people because the judges were on the take.

No Safe Passage: Little Rock to Chicago

Bernardine Dohrn | Posted 10.07.2009 | Chicago


Bernardine Dohrn

Remember the eight extraordinary students in Little Rock who ultimately required the presence of troops for their safe passage into the school they finally integrated? Where was Derrion Albert's safe passage?

Our Justice System Needs to Protect Children's Human Rights

Bernardine Dohrn | Posted 10.05.2009 | Chicago


Bernardine Dohrn

Routine police interrogation methods have elicited an outrageously high proportion of false confessions -- coerced confessions given by innocent suspects, especially children, who quickly recant.

Why Young People Falsely Confess to Police

Steve Drizin | Posted 10.02.2009 | Chicago


Steve Drizin

I've seen police lie to children in all manner of ways, telling one child that his dead sister's blood was found in his bedroom and a different boy that his father had awakened from a coma and told police the boy was his assailant.

Barney Brown: His First Year of Freedom

John Maki | Posted 09.24.2009 | Chicago


John Maki

On September 24, Barney Brown celebrates his first year of freedom after 38 years of wrongful incarceration. His story is one of the most egregious wrongful convictions in U.S. history.

Promising Models for Reforming Juvenile Justice Systems

Marian Wright Edelman | Posted 11.08.2009 | Politics


Marian Wright Edelman

The pipeline to prison in the U.S. is not an act of God or inevitable but a series of choices that can be changed with strong leadership and a focus on meeting child and youth needs.

Santa Clara County Probation Program's Alternative to Warehousing Youths

Marian Wright Edelman | Posted 07.09.2009 | Politics


Marian Wright Edelman

The programs cognitive therapeutic approach directs young people to confront the choices they've made and develop empathy for their victims.

Los Angeles' Juvenile Justice Fiasco

Jacqueline Caster | Posted 06.02.2009 | Politics


Jacqueline Caster

We can go a long way toward helping California's budget crisis simply by reforming Los Angeles County's antiquated juvenile justice system. Californ...

Privatized Hell

J. Richard Cohen | Posted 05.23.2009 | Politics


J. Richard Cohen

As a society, we are facing a crucial decision: We can continue to criminalize our children and groom them for adult prisons. Or, we can invest in programs that help rather than harm them.

National Cradle to Prison Pipeline® Summit This Week

Marian Wright Edelman | Posted 03.26.2009 | Living


Marian Wright Edelman

The disparity in spending on youth incarceration compared to spending for education reveals how perverse the California's priorities have become.

Juveniles Don't Belong in Adult Prisons

Marian Wright Edelman | Posted 08.12.2008 | Politics


Marian Wright Edelman

There is no justification for locking up these young people in adult prisons. Juveniles may be held in adult jails for months or even years, although most of them are not charged with a violent crime.

Reforming Juvenile Injustice

Carol Chodroff | Posted 07.10.2008 | Politics


Carol Chodroff

Our nation's juvenile justice policies are replete with contradictions between practices proven to prevent crime, and punitive laws politicians promote to get elected.