Bill Limits Prosecuting Juvenile Offenders as Adults

FCCB staff participated in a press conference on December 5 in support of a juvenile justice proposal. SB 936 by Senator Bobby Powell (D-West Palm Beach) / HB 509 by Rep. Sean Shaw (D-Tampa) modifies the process by which juveniles are transferred to the adult criminal justice system. Florida prosecutes more children as adults than any other state, most of them for non-violent offenses. 
 
Youth who commit crimes should be held accountable for their actions; however, the bishops do not support provisions that treat children as though they are equal to adults. Young people have the capacity to reform and transform their behavior and their lives. The part of the brain that controls impulse and the consideration of future consequences is not fully developed until the early- to mid-twenties.

Miguel Rodriguez, shown above, spoke at the press conference about his experience of being tried as an adult after vandalizing a vacant home with friends when he was 15 years old. While on probation, he was arrested again for missing curfew when he ran late at work. Altogether, he served close to 10 years in adult prison for a non-violent crime he committed as a minor.
 
"Placing children in adult jails is a sign of failure,
not a solution." 
( Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice, November 15, 2000)