Legislative bodies across the United States are repealing decades of evidence-based juvenile justice policy that prevented minors from being charged as adults and given long-term sentences.
In 2024, Louisiana Republican Governor Jeff Landry called a special legislative session immediately after taking office to repeal policies on “out-of-control juvenile crime,” according to an article by Governing.
The changes come after years of bipartisan reforms that focused on rehabilitation for minors, rather than retribution.
“I don’t think they should be charged as adults because they are young, but they need an opportunity a life,” said SQ resident Latorean Christopher, who at 22 was sentenced to eight years for robbery. “They really need a role model to give them a sense of direction at life, and if it’s their first time, they shouldn’t get washed away for inside the system.”
Louisiana’s 2019 “Raise the Age” law was hailed as a bipartisan victory for its success keeping young teens out of the adult carceral system. That was until the law was repealed in 2024, leading to more youth being charged as adults for various crimes.
Although the law’s reversal was intended to hold youth offenders committing serious crimes accountable for their actions, the vast majority of 17-year-olds charged as adults were accused of nonviolent crimes.
“Only 13 percent have been charged with serious felonies, such as armed robbery and murder charges, which usually always gets transferred or direct filed into adult court,” noted the article.
States like North Carolina adopted the same tough-on-crime approach, vetoing bills aimed at non-carceral youth rehabilitation efforts in favor of charging kids as adults.
In 2013, approximately 6,500 kids were being housed in the California prison system after being tried and sentenced as adults.
That same year, California voters approved SB 260 to give juveniles convicted under the age of 18 and sentenced as adults an opportunity to be considered for release after serving a term of 15 years on a non-homicide offense. The law was implemented to hold youth accountable, but also provide them an opportunity to be released early on parole.
The new changes in other parts of the country ignore recent scientific evidence on adolescent development and neuroscience, according to SB 260. Studies have shown that the prefrontal cortex is not fully developed until the age of 25.In 2005, the Supreme Court highlighted this in the case of Roper v. Simmons, noting that minors are still developing their decision-making skills, struggle to find their identity, and can mature and rehabilitate overtime.