May 14, 2024
State lawmakers are pushing to roll back landmark juvenile justice reforms, called the Raise The Age law, that passed with broad bipartisan support several years ago.
Until 2019, North Carolina was the only state in the country to still automatically charge all 16- and 17-year-olds in adult court, even for the most minor criminal charges. Raise The Age changed that by allowing those teenage offenders to be tried in juvenile court, while also leaving the option for particularly serious crimes to be moved up to adult court.
But now Republican lawmakers in the state Senate, working with a lobbyist for prosecutors, have proposed HB 834 that would let the state go back to automatically charging 16- and 17-year-olds as adults for a wide range of felony offenses. It passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday — over opposition from advocates from civil liberties and racial justice groups, as well as Democratic lawmakers. . . .
Opponents all said scientific studies show teenage offenders are less likely to commit more crimes in the future if they go through the juvenile justice system, instead of the adult prison system.
“Teens in adult prisons are far more likely to encounter gangs and drugs, and to be assaulted and raped,” Tara Muller said. She leads the group Disability Rights North Carolina, which has filed multiple lawsuits outlining problems in state jails and prisons.