jail

When defense attorney Michael Perehinec’s 16-year-old client was arrested in New York’s Tompkins County last spring, the judge at his arraignment decided to place him in state custody. The client faced violent felony charges, making it difficult, Perehinec said, to argue that he should be immediately released and supervised within the community before a trial.

The Justice Department last week published proposed new rules related to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) that will require most states to make significant improvements or face the loss of federal funds at a time when the appropriation has dropped significantly.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved yet another attempt to update the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), which has not been reauthorized since 2002. The bill, S.1169, would phase out the lone exception in the law that permits the detention of status offenders; set new terms for failure to comply with the act; limit expenditures on mentoring and require the collection of new data on juvenile offenders.

In 2015, advocates for juvenile and criminal justice reform may be surprised to find a new ally in the oft-controversial Koch brothers, who control the second-biggest privately-owned business in America and financially fuel several libertarian and conservative causes.

by Liz Ryan The United States has the obscene distinction of being number one in the world for the worst policies on the treatment of youth in the justice system, and youth of color bear the brunt of our harsh and regressive policies. 

by Carla Benway A stay-at-home mother of seven children died in a Berks County jail this week. The cause of Eileen DiNino’s death is unknown. The reason for her incarceration is.

By Lauren Gonzalves This past June, Sesame Street introduced a new character named “Alex”, whose father is in jail. Alex is not likely destined for an appearance on the PBS, but a lot of work and partnership went into making Alex the center of a targeted campaign to families involved in the justice system.