The Honorable James Sensenbrenner
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable John Conyers
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairman Sensenbrenner and Representative Conyers:
On behalf of the undersigned organizations and the National Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Coalition we are writing at this time to express our deep concern about your recently introduced ""gang prevention"" legislation (H.R. 1279). Specifically, we strongly oppose provisions in this legislation that would result in more youth prosecuted as adults in the federal system.
We urge you to eliminate any provisions in your legislation that would result in the expanded "transfer" or "waiver" of youth to the adult criminal system and/or placing an additional number of youth in adult correctional facilities. Comprehensive national research on the practice of prosecuting youth in the adult system has conclusively shown that transferring youth to the adult criminal justice system does nothing to reduce crime and actually has the opposite effect. Study after study has shown that youth transferred to the adult criminal justice system are more likely to re-offend and to commit more serious crimes upon release than youth who were charged with similar offenses and had similar offense histories but remained in the juvenile justice system.
Moreover, national data shows that, in comparison to youth held in juvenile facilities, young people incarcerated with adults are:
- five times as likely to report being a victim of rape;
- twice as likely to be beaten by staff; and
- 50% more likely to be assaulted with a weapon.
A recent Justice Department report also found that youth confined in adult facilities are nearly 8 times more likely to commit suicide than youth in juvenile facilities.
Further, minority youth will be disproportionately affected by this policy. Recent studies by the Department of Justice have shown that more than 7 out of 10 youth admitted to state prisons across the country were youth of color. Youth of color sent to adult court are also over-represented in charges filed, especially for drug offenses, and are more likely to receive a sentence of incarceration than White youth even when charged with the same types of offenses. Finally, most youth currently prosecuted in the federal system are Native American: presently, among the 225 juvenile offenders under federal jurisdiction, 167 are Native American, 20 Black, 19 White, 18 Hispanic, and 1 Asian.
We also believe that placing the decision of whether to prosecute a youth as an adult in the sole discretion of a prosecutor - with no ability to file an appeal - violates our most basic principles of fairness and due process.
While there is no question that violent and dangerous youth need to be securely confined for our safety and theirs, incarcerating youth with more sophisticated adult prisoners renders them vulnerable to attack and more damaged when they return to society. This is tantamount to giving up on them - something we should never do.
Our challenge as responsible adults is to create a fairer and more effective youth justice system, where there is a balance between prevention, treatment and intervention that gives young people a chance to make a better choice. Unfortunately, we believe H.R. 1279 does not meet this goal in its current form.
We appreciate your consideration of our concerns.
Sincerely,
National Organizations
Alliance for Children and Families
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
American Civil Liberties Union
American Correctional Association
Campaign 4 Youth Justice
Catholic Charities USA
Child Welfare League of America
Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD)
Children's Defense Fund
Church Women United
Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators
Democracy Project
Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health
Girls Incorporated.
Justice Policy Institute
Juvenile Law Center
Legal Action Center
Mennonite Central Committee US, Washington Office
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
National Collaboration for Youth
National Council of La Raza
National H.I.R.E. Network
National Juvenile Defender Center
National Mental Health Association
National Network for Youth
Physicians for Human Rights
Presbyterian Church (USA) Washington Office
School Social Work Association of America
Society for Research in Child Development
United Church Of Christ
Volunteers of America
Women of Reform Judaism
Youth Law Center
Regional Organizations
Chester & Vestal, P.A. (Portland, Maine)
Children's Law Center of Massachusetts
Children's Law Center of the University of Richmond School of Law Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants-Virginia, Inc.
Edwin F. Mandel Legal Aid Clinic, University of Chicago Law School Franklin County, Ohio Public Defender Office
Just Children Project of Virginia
Juvenile Justice Coalition of Ohio
The Legal Aid Society of the City of New York
Loyola Law School, Center for Juvenile Law and Policy
Loyola University Chicago Civitas Child Law Center
Mid-Atlantic Juvenile Defender Center
Southern Poverty Law Center
