Six months into the year, Kid CAT has made significant progress in accomplishing its goals and activities.
The changes stem from exceptional work by San Quentin prisoners and volunteers.
Early in 2015 children’s rights is making progress with two new bills, Senate Bills 261 and 382.
SB 261 would expand SB 260 to affect thousands of California inmates who were under the age of 23 when they committed their crimes. It would allow them expanded access to parole hearings.
SB 382 would make it more difficult for children to be prosecuted, sentenced in adult courts and be sent to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
If passed, the bills will bring unprecedented reform to juvenile sentencing laws affecting thousands currently serving life sentences and will help juveniles that commit crimes to be committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice rather than adult prisons.
This Year’s Progress:
April: Photojournalist Richard Ross, author of Girls In Justice and Juvenile In Justice, interviewed Kid CAT members to highlight the men that are affected by laws that today are challenged. By revealing our stories of crime and transformation, we seek to place a face on the long-term impact of juvenile justice policy.
May: At the annual Kid CAT banquet, keynote speaker Alison Parker shared her commitment for the same goals that Kid CAT has in reforming children’s rights in the criminal justice system. Her commitment to the human rights reinforced the groups’ urgency to do the work we do on the inside and keeps us motivated to be the example of the people that they support. She is director of Human Rights Watch U.S. Program
The Beat Within and Kid CAT collaboration is growing and making a difference with each workshop.
Inspired by Kid CAT’s writings, a group of juvenile lifers at Chuckawalla State Prison formed their own writing group to share their stories to The Beat Within.
In Alameda Juvenile Hall, a staff member placed The Beat Within and Kid CAT stories on the wall of a maximum-security unit because of the difference the pieces made in the lives of the incarcerated children.
The group continues working toward making October Youth Justice Awareness Month in California. If celebrated throughout schools, communities and by public officials, the event is aimed at raising awareness and affect change by making youth justice a shared responsibility in society.
The Kid CAT “Bay Area Hygiene Drive for Homeless Youth” is scheduled for the fall. In April, a Soledad State Prison inmate wrote to Kid CAT, saying he was inspired to begin organizing a hygiene drive at his institution. Kid CAT’s goal for this year is to increase inmate donations and, through our example, inspire universities and the community to form their own drives.
Kid CAT Speaks understands that when it comes to juvenile lifers primarily the focus is on male offenders, not young women. This does not accurately reflect the issue; therefore, Kid CAT Speaks will strive to report on issues that affect women juvenile lifers, seek ways to publish their stories and include them in the dialogue and effort for change.
Changing Times:
Citizens and lawmakers put in a lot of effort into laws addressing children’s rights. Sometimes, it takes several years and even decades for these reforms to take place.
In the past year, a shift has taken place in the public dialogue concerning children’s rights beyond the usual pass or fail of legislation.
Initially the dialogue about children’s rights concerned studies revealing that the adolescent brain is not fully developed until the age of 25. Now the movement to reform children’s sentencing laws is not simply a matter of science but of a growing moral consciousness that stands to rupture the status quo of criminal justice policy and will transform public safety policy for the next several decades.
What the shift means in the moral compass of this state remains to be seen.
California is in the unique position to be the nation’s most progressive state in how it treats the future generations of youth and establishes precedents for other states.
Legislation that has been passed recognizes that young offenders have no place in the adult criminal justice or correctional systems.
SB 9 limited the practice of sentencing minors to serve Life Without Parole in adult prisons. The law providing inmates serving LWOP the recourse to have their prison terms reviewed after serving 25 years.
AB 1276 established a classification system in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation that prevents offenders under the age of 22 from being housed with adult inmates on level four maximum-security yards. The law acknowledges that the prison yards were too dangerous for the young inmates and facilities lacked the appropriate programs necessary for their rehabilitation.
Kid CAT continues to expand in its mission and vision and to create awareness.
