skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Judge tosses Trump 2020 election case; Maryland trains more health workers to offer abortion care; New England clinics see post-election spike in contraceptive requests; Report: CT teacher pension financing creates inequity.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The special counsel wants to drop the January 6 charges against President-elect Trump. U.S. officials hint at a ceasefire in Lebanon, and Trump's pick for 'border czar' warns states that are promising to fight strict immigration policies.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The health of rural Americans is getting renewed attention from the CDC, updated data could help protect folks from flash floods like those devastated in Appalachia, and Native American Tribes want to play a key role in the nation's energy future.

WI Legislation Suggests Everyone Deserves a "Second Chance"

play audio
Play

Friday, November 1, 2013   

MADISON, Wis. - In 1995, Wisconsin lawmakers decided 17-year-olds should automatically be treated as adults and tried for criminal offenses in adult court. But, 18 years later, the Second Chance Bill is moving forward, a measure that puts first-time nonviolent 17-year-olds in juvenile court instead. The Assembly Corrections Committee unanimously approved the bill Thursday.

The Wisconsin Council on Children and Families has worked hard to make this happen and, according to Jim Moeser, deputy director of the group, a lot has been discovered about young offenders in the past eight years.

"We've learned a lot in the area of brain development, adolescent development, about how kids think," he specified. "We've learned a lot about sort of strategies that can address, and using what we've learned about how they think really lets us better intervene with them and get them to make better decisions, and we've done a lot of work in Wisconsin on improving practices at the local level."

Seventeen-year-olds who are charged with violent or repeat offenses would still be charged in adult court, but the changes proposed in the Second Chance Bill could affect as many as 2,000 teens who are now in the justice system.

Moeser said the adult criminal justice system is simply not geared to deal with the realities of a 17-year-old's world.

"We're seeing some positive signs in the adults, moving towards more diversion programs and things like that, but it's not a system that has the kinds of services or staffing aligned to really meet adolescent needs in terms of assessing them; it does not work with families," he declared. "For instance, we know that these kids still live with their families for the most part, (at) 17, 18, and even beyond that now."

Wisconsin is one of only ten states that automatically treats all 17-year-olds as adults for purposes of criminal prosecution. Moeser also pointed out that the Corrections Committee in the Legislature is composed of both Democrats and Republicans, and said moving the Second Chance Bill forward is a positive sign of bipartisanship in areas of public policy.

The Assembly Bill is AB 387; the companion Senate Bill is SB 308.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
The NAACP, Human Rights Watch, the ACLU and other groups are voicing opposition to the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

A bill introduced in Congress is facing backlash from nonprofit organizations, warning it could stifle free speech. The Stop Terror-Financing and …


play sound

The latest round of Workforce Ready Grants means $42 million is being divided among 62 projects aiming to foster Oregon's diverse workforce in the fie…

Health and Wellness

play sound

By Kate Ruder for KFF Health News.Broadcast version by Eric Galatas for Colorado News Connection reporting for the KFF Health News-Public News Service…


On the day after the Nov. 5th election, Planned Parenthood health centers nationwide reported a 1200% increase in scheduled vasectomy appointments and a 350% increase in birth control implant appointments. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Health clinics in New England and elsewhere are coping with a sharp uptick in requests for long-acting contraceptives in the wake of the election…

Social Issues

play sound

November is National Family Caregivers Month and AARP Wyoming is working to meet rising demand for caregiver resources. About 58,000 Wyomingites …

The USDA is investing more than $3 billion in about 140 pilot projects for "climate smart" farming initiatives. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

By Seth Millstein for Sentient.Broadcast version by Shanteya Hudson for Alabama News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collaborat…

Social Issues

play sound

Georgia higher education officials are crediting a program assisting high school students with a wave of new enrollment in the state's colleges and un…

Social Issues

play sound

By Amy Felegy for Arts Midwest.Broadcast version by Kathleen Shannon for Greater Dakota News Service reporting for the Arts Midwest-Public News Servic…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021