I didn’t know much of--most of--this. My only experiences of jail are from TV and movies. You’re doing such powerful work. Keep sharing. Shake us out of complacency. Looking forward to your next column.
Eye opening! Thank you for your work, research, and most of all for your writing/sharing with us. There’s a detention center a mile and a half down the road from me. Although kept out of sight, it makes me think; what’s right here is a world away.
Jen - powerful. What is the age of legal responsibility in NC? Can you believe that in most australian states (including SA) it is 10 years! There's a push to raise it to at least 16 - some States may soon raise it to 12. Wow! Who on earth would want their 12 year old (let alone 10 or 11) go to prison for, almost always, property offences. Truely criminal, violent, 'psychopathic' offences are vanishingly rare under 16 years (and the rare cases may be the exception). About 2/3 of under 18's in prison in Oz are First Nations kids (who are 3% of the population).
Oh my gosh! 10?!? Awful. I expect better from Oz. And it makes (racist, classist) sense that it 2/3 first nations youth. Heartbreaking. Oof. I bet you won’t be surprised that in the U.S. there is no minimum age of legal responsibility. If you are under 14, you have to be proven to have enough discernment between right and wrong to be incarcerated. Depending on the district, a ham sandwich could be proven so. (And of course it is incredibly racist and classist, who “knows better” and who gets a second chance.) Under 18s go to “juvie,” which is juvenile incarceration. It’s pretty awful, not too far from adult incarceration. AND if you commit a crime when you are, say, 16 or 17, and turn 18 before your trial / plea, your charge gets kicked up to “adult” court and you get transferred to the adult jail. Just awful.
... and again, depending on where you are (our District Attorneys have a LOT of discretion and our laws vary by state), youth can be tried as an adult if the crime is seen as bad enough. Guess who that disproportionately affects?
I didn’t know much of--most of--this. My only experiences of jail are from TV and movies. You’re doing such powerful work. Keep sharing. Shake us out of complacency. Looking forward to your next column.
Eye opening! Thank you for your work, research, and most of all for your writing/sharing with us. There’s a detention center a mile and a half down the road from me. Although kept out of sight, it makes me think; what’s right here is a world away.
Jen - powerful. What is the age of legal responsibility in NC? Can you believe that in most australian states (including SA) it is 10 years! There's a push to raise it to at least 16 - some States may soon raise it to 12. Wow! Who on earth would want their 12 year old (let alone 10 or 11) go to prison for, almost always, property offences. Truely criminal, violent, 'psychopathic' offences are vanishingly rare under 16 years (and the rare cases may be the exception). About 2/3 of under 18's in prison in Oz are First Nations kids (who are 3% of the population).
Oh my gosh! 10?!? Awful. I expect better from Oz. And it makes (racist, classist) sense that it 2/3 first nations youth. Heartbreaking. Oof. I bet you won’t be surprised that in the U.S. there is no minimum age of legal responsibility. If you are under 14, you have to be proven to have enough discernment between right and wrong to be incarcerated. Depending on the district, a ham sandwich could be proven so. (And of course it is incredibly racist and classist, who “knows better” and who gets a second chance.) Under 18s go to “juvie,” which is juvenile incarceration. It’s pretty awful, not too far from adult incarceration. AND if you commit a crime when you are, say, 16 or 17, and turn 18 before your trial / plea, your charge gets kicked up to “adult” court and you get transferred to the adult jail. Just awful.
... and again, depending on where you are (our District Attorneys have a LOT of discretion and our laws vary by state), youth can be tried as an adult if the crime is seen as bad enough. Guess who that disproportionately affects?
Timely thoughts friend. This came out today "Monday numbers: Lack of air conditioning in state prisons is “cooking people alive” https://ncnewsline.com/2023/08/14/monday-numbers-lack-of-air-conditioning-in-state-prisons-is-cooking-people-alive/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=f96fc077-d606-4e34-bea5-3f6ea38d6e31
Horrible. Thank you for sharing this link.