Politicizing crime

Over the past several years, reform-minded prosecutors like Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty have been elected on platforms that involve a commitment to not charge juveniles in adult court. This is a simple promise that has and will continue to deliver equitable justice without exception to children. However, the implementation of this commitment has been met with intense backlash, resulting in attempts from the far right to undermine the discretion of reform-minded prosecutors and remove them from office.

In Oakland, District Attorney Price’s decision to charge a 17-year-old in juvenile court was leaked by an adversarial media outlet. Soon after, this decision became fuel for the recall facing Price, bolstered by the same MAGA messaging on crime we see catching fire across the country. In Minneapolis, County Attorney Mary Moriarty charged a 15-year-old in juvenile court, resulting in sustained requests from Republican state officials to transfer the case to the state attorney general’s office. As major cities across the country have elected reform-minded prosecutors, Republican lawmakers have attacked and disparaged them at the great cost of Black communities, who are disproportionately impacted by tough-on-crime prosecutorial practices.

The “adultification” of Black kids in our criminal legal system is no secret. Black youth comprise 47.3% of adult court transfers, while only making up 14% of the youth population. The GOP’s continual pressure to charge kids as adults is not just an attack on criminal legal reform, it is a coordinated attack on justice for Black children. Children in adult jails are more likely to suffer permanent trauma and are five times more likely to die by suicide than children held in juvenile detention centers. We know that incarcerating children with adults also deprives them of access to essential programs and services that are fundamental to successful reentry into their communities. This can not be about politics, it has to be about delivering appropriate justice that considers age-appropriate sentencing.

The US Supreme Court appropriately recognizes that youth are different from adults. The Court’s ruling in Roper v. Simmons – where the court held that executing minors under the death penalty is unconstitutional – confirmed what science has shown to be irrefutably true: The adolescent brain is not fully developed until about age 25. Therefore, youth cannot be viewed “as morally culpable as adults” in their conduct.

Excerpted: ‘The GOP Is Politicizing Juvenile Crime for Political Gain’. Courtesy: Commondreams.org