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Delegate Melvin Stukes: "Where are the people who oppose the youth jail?"
By Heber Brown, III
FaithinActionOnline.com
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Delegate Melvin L. Stukes |
This past Friday I was blessed with the opportunity to testify in Annapolis before the Baltimore City Delegation of state representatives. I was there voicing my support and urging the support of City Delegates for House Bill 1140, a bill sponsored by Delegate Jill Carter that would prohibit the planning and construction of yet another Youth Jail in Baltimore "until adequate structures are in place and adequate funding is dedicated to meet the educational, recreational, and social services needs of juvenile residents in Baltimore City."
The bill is bold and in a straightforward way expresses the concern of many people in this city who perceive that the "political powers that be" seem always ready to invest in the criminalization of Black youth in Baltimore while at the same time being reluctant to embrace audacious ideas that would promote the healthy development of youth in the city.
If it is true that "revolution" involves the redistribution of resources, then this bill is a revolutionary bill. Instead of continuing to feed the monster of failed and immoral policy (i.e. the over-incarceration, criminalization, and dehumanization of Black youth), the legislation points us toward the type of society that most of us envision - one where every child has a great school, robust recreational opportunities, and employment options irrespective of the color of their skin or the particulars of their zip code.
The hearing on the bill went well with many of the delegates raising valid questions related to the bill and how something like this would even be accomplished. Delegates Mary Washington, Barbara Robinson, Shawn Tarrant, and others probed the particulars of the legislation while expressing support for the concept. However, there was one question that caught me off guard.
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States Prosecute Fewer Teenagers in Adult Courts
By MOSI SECRET
NYTIMES.COM
A generation after record levels of youth crime spurred a nationwide movement to prosecute more teenagers as adults, a consensus is emerging that many young delinquents have been mishandled by the adult court system.
Last year, Connecticut stopped treating all 16-year-old defendants as adults, and next year will do the same for 17-year-olds. Illinois recently transferred certain low-level offenders younger than 18 into its juvenile system. And in January, lawmakers in Massachusetts introduced a bill to raise the age of adulthood in matters of crime, and their counterparts in Wisconsin and North Carolina intend to do the same.
By year's end, New York might be the only state where adulthood, in criminal matters, begins on the 16th birthday.
The changes followed studies that concluded that older adolescents differed significantly from adults in their capacity to make sound decisions, and benefited more from systems focused on treatment rather than on incarceration.
A 2010 report by Wisconsin's juvenile justice commission to the governor, James E. Doyle, and the Legislature found that "for many, if not most, youthful offenders, the juvenile justice system is better able to redirect their behavior," in large part because of the greater availability of social services.
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 | | Gov. O'Malley's Youth Jail: "Black People, What Ya'll Goin' Do?" |
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Delegate Jill P. Carter
Youth Justice Sunday - Oct. 31, 2010 |
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Kinetics Faith & Justice Network mission is to provide the faith community with the tools to advocate and mobilize on local, national, and international issues, to build capacity to solve our own problems, and to use dialogue as a catalyst for social change. Members include clergy, scholars, lawyers, social justice advocates, and nonprofit and business professionals.
www.Kineticnet.org | |
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About Us
... You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell. (Isaiah. 58:12)
Kinetics mission is to develop new ideas that work to strengthen social movements within the African-American community; bridging the gap between church and community and providing them with the tools and skills to pursue justice and better address the needs of those whom they serve.
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Tough on Crime Policies Not Working for Youth Charged as Adults
Maryland's 20 year experiment with the "tough on crime" approach of automatically sending youth into adult criminal courts, jails and prisons for certain offenses has failed. National studies show that youth who are sent to adult facilities go on to commit more-and more violent-crimes than those who received rehabilitative services in the juvenile system. This costs taxpayers much more in the long run. Automatically charging youth as adults has been politically popular. But the data show that when their cases are individually considered, most cases in Baltimore are dismissed or sent to the juvenile system, raising the question of whether they should have been put in the adult system in the first place.
Why Are So Many Youth Charged as Adults?
Since the 1990s, Maryland legislators have approved laws requiring that a youth charged with any of 33 different offenses will automatically be charged as an adult, and will be held in an adult jail for months or even years while waiting for trial.
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Book Drive For Incarcerated Youth: The Autobiography of Malcolm X
One of the joys of my life currently involves the privilege I have been afforded to mentor incarcerated youth. Twice per week I am blessed to connect with young men who have been charged as adults for various crimes. For me, they truly represent what I like to call "brilliance behind bars." Though some would like to lock these young brothers into a particular stereotype; I've learned from first-hand experience that these young men are some of the most thoughtful, reflective, loyal, and spiritual brothers I've ever met.
I speak to them about how being free mentally, spiritually, and emotionally is often a precursor to physical liberation. Indeed, there are many people in our communities who have freedom of movement, but who are prisoners in a larger cell. Slave mentalities, self-destructive behaviors, and unhealthy relationships are the wardens that keep too many of our people in bondage.
My mentees who range from age 14 to 17, are beginning to understand the need to embrace freedom on a higher plane. Toward that end, to help plant that seed even deeper, we are preparing to begin reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Brother Malcolm's story is not just a source of inspiration, but it's also a testimony of redemption and that's what my young brothers need. They need to know that despite their current condition and irrespective of the circumstances that brought them to the City Jail, they too can be redeemed. Reading this book together will help cement that truth.
I would like for you to consider donating a book to this effort. For those in the Baltimore City area, you can purchase a book from Everyone's Place (1356 West North Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21217) and leave it there for me to pick up. The book is $7.99 plus tax. Or you can purchase the book from a vendor of your choice and drop it off or mail it to my church: Pleasant Hope Baptist Church, 430 E. Belvedere Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21212.
Any support you can give will be greatly appreciated and I'll be sure to provide regular updates on our progress.
Asante Sana (Thank You Very Much)
Rev. Heber Brown, III |
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Racial Disparities Remain High in Juvenile Arrests
Drop In Overall Arrests Shows More Direct Approach Needed
Advocates for Children & Youth
Executive Summary
African-American youth in Maryland continue to be arrested at a much higher rate than White youth, according to new data obtained and analyzed by Advocates for Children and Youth. This disparity persists despite an overall drop in youth arrests. To reduce disproportionate arrests of minority youth, state and local agencies, particularly schools and school law enforcement and resource officers, must employ proven strategies that more specifically target the problem.
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Dear Delegate ______________:
I am writing to urge you to support HB 1140 - Baltimore City - Juvenile Detention Facilities - Moratorium. This important bill would place a moratorium on the construction of the proposed youth detention center in Baltimore City. Our youth and community do not need a new jail; they need better schools, community based programs and recreational centers.
So far, Governor O'Malley has paused construction on the proposed Youth Detention Center pending a revised population estimate and no additional money has been allocated toward the jail. However, HB 1140 is necessary because this current pause does not protect Baltimore from the construction of this jail. Pre-authorized allocations for the jail remain and could be used to begin construction at any time the Governor's office chooses.
This jail would not help youth in my community. Youth who are incarcerated in adult jails do not receive appropriate programming and services that will help them become productive members of my community. Instead youth in adult jails are warehoused without receiving even the most basic of services, and are more likely to reoffend more frequently and more severely than kids who receive services in the juvenile justice system.
I ask you to stand up for my community and oppose Maryland spending over $100 million to build an adult jail to incarcerate kids. I ask you to support my community by using this money for community-based services, treatment facilities, educational and recreational center and other proven alternatives that will improve youth outcomes, support youth and increase public safety.
Support HB 1140 so that we can move away from locking up our youth and towards building stronger communities.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Name
Address
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Download File- Baltimore City - Juvenile Detention Facilities - Moratorium |
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We have another opportunity to present support from the faith community this Tuesday afternoon when a House of Delegates committee will hold a hearing on the bill to raise the minimum wage.
Please let me know as soon as possible if you think you might be able to participate! Also, it's not too late to get more individuals to sign the letter of support. Please help us spread the word. For links to the letter and information, go to www.letjusticeroll.org go directly to: or
http://letjusticeroll.org/news/001165-take-action-raise-maryland-minimum-wage |
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