FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – June 24, 2014
Contact: Kayla Keller, 281.682.6212, kayla@fitzgibbonmedia.com
Civil Rights Group Calls on North Carolina Senate to Raise the Age and Keep Kids Out of Adult Prisons
Thousands of ColorOfChange.org Members Call On NC Legislature to Pass Young Offenders Rehabilitation Act
**VIEW THE PETITION HERE: http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/NC_raiseAge/**
Raleigh, NC — The nation’s largest online civil rights organization, ColorOfChange.org, is urging the North Carolina Senate to pass the Young Offenders Rehabilitation Act (HB 725) which recently cleared the House of Representatives with widespread bipartisan support. The bill would amend a regressive, century-old law and raise the age of adult prosecution to keep 16 and 17-year-olds charged with misdemeanors in the juvenile justice system.
Rashad Robinson, Executive Director of ColorOfChange, said, “North Carolina’s Senate has an incredible opportunity do what’s right and bring the state in line with the rest of the country. The current system is broken and maintaining the status quo is just not an option. Due to continued prejudice in the justice system, Black youth are nine times more likely to be sent to adult prison than their white counterparts. Charging youth as adults for minor crimes is discriminatory, deeply inhumane, and does nothing but rob youth of their futures, waste taxpayer dollars, and decrease public safety.”
“North Carolina is the only state that prosecutes all 16 and 17-year-olds as adults — without exception— and forbids transfer back into the juvenile system. The results have been devastating. Thousands of Black North Carolina youth face harsh adult jails and a permanent criminal record for issues as minor as skipping school or throwing water balloons.”
Kids in adult facilities are the most vulnerable to sexual assault, guard abuse, suicide, and, once released, they face life-long barriers to education and employment. North Carolina reports one of the highest rates of Black youth incarceration in the country. In 2008, nationally, Black youth were 62% of those held in adult prisons although they comprise only 15% of young people.
For years, community advocates and thousands of ColorOfChange members have taken action to support the Young Offenders Rehabilitation Act. Now, HB 725 has strong support from both sides of the political aisles and is closer than ever to becoming law. National polls report wide spread public support for keeping kids out of adult prisons and many states are replacing harsh and aggressive youth incarceration with highly effective community-based alternatives that promote rehabilitation.
Robinson continued, “It is key that the Senate Raise the Age this session. This could be the last chance for years to stop this widespread attack on North Carolina youth and families. The majority of kids in North Carolina’s criminal justice system are there for minor, non-violent offenses and don’t need to be incarcerated, let alone placed in adult facilities. The juvenile justice system, which is geared towards rehabilitation, is better equipped to offer the age appropriate services, emotional support, and family contact proven to help build a brighter future.”
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With over 900,000 members, ColorOfChange.org is the nation’s largest online civil rights organization.