SHEBOYGAN, Wis. - The Netflix documentary series "Making a Murderer" drew national attention to the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach. Steven Avery was convicted of the murder, and Avery's nephew, Brendan Dassey, who was 16 at the time, was tried and convicted in adult court of helping Avery commit the crime. But now, a federal judge has thrown out Dassey's so-called confession, and opened the possibility that Dassey will be set free.

Sheboygan criminal defense attorney Casey Hoff said Dassey should not have been tried in adult court.

"The problem with that is that we have so much medical and scientific research that shows that juveniles simply do not have the brain development that adults have," he said. "In males, it can be in the mid-20s when they have a fully formed brain, depending on the scientific research that you look at."

Hoff and others think juveniles should not be tried in adult court. Supporters of trying juveniles as adults have said that if a young person commits a heinous crime, they're acting as an adult and should be treated that way.

According to Hoff, wrongful juvenile convictions because of forced confessions happen more often than most people think.

"We know it because we have people that have confessed to crimes - so-called confessions - that later were exonerated by DNA evidence," he said. "So this isn't something that just happens extremely rarely. Unfortunately, it happens far too often than we might like to admit."

In Dassey's case, the federal judge ruled that the so-called confession was coaxed out of the special-education student by police who coerced him.

Hoff referenced another current high-profile Wisconsin case involving two young girls from Waukesha, accused of stabbing their young friend multiple times to please a fictional character.

"You've seen this in the Slender Man decision where you had, I believe, it was the 12-year-old girls that are now being tried as adults," he said. "They simply do not have the same cognitive and decision-making and appreciation of risks and consequences as adults do. It doesn't mean that we shouldn't hold juveniles accountable when they commit horrendous crimes."

Hoff agreed with the girls' attorney, who said that in the adult justice system, the young girls will not get the counseling and social services help that they need.


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Efforts to keep young people out of the criminal justice system are working, according to a new Sentencing Project report.

Elie Zwiebel, attorney and executive director with the Transformative Justice Project of Colorado, said the vast majority of adolescents in the justice system - disproportionately children of color and other marginalized groups - have committed low-level, non-violent offenses.

He said programs that bring young people face to face with victims, and help them repair the harms they caused, send an important message.

"We are saying that we value keeping those young people in our neighborhoods," said Zwiebel, "because we recognize that they should have a chance to learn and grow, and to ensure that they can become pro-social beneficial members of their communities."

The report highlights a decade-long effort to increase diversion programs in Colorado. Today, half the state's court districts divert adolescents to restorative justice programs.

More than 90% complete the program, fewer than one in 10 commit a new offense, and 99% of victims reported being satisfied with the process.

Dick Mendel, senior research fellow for youth justice at The Sentencing Project and the report's author, said community-based programs also benefit taxpayers.

The average cost of locking up an adolescent is $588 a day, but it costs just $75 a day for programs with wraparound services.

"Diversion tends to be cheaper," said Mendel. "It's not a net cost, it's a net savings, even in the short term. And it's especially a net savings financially in the long term, because these young people are much less likely to come back."

The report challenges political rhetoric that only tough-on-crime policies can make communities safer.

Researchers found that being arrested in adolescence actually increases the likelihood of recidivism, and greatly reduces a child's chances for success in school and beyond.

Zwiebel said he believes it's time for a different approach.

"We have tried - as a nation, and as individual communities within our nation - to implement tough-on-crime policies for decades," said Zwiebel. "For decades we tried that, and it didn't work."




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A new report showed a decade after being passed, Kentucky's juvenile justice reform law is getting results.

It found 60% of juvenile cases were diverted to alternative programs in 2020, compared to 41% in 2013. Instead of being sent to in detention centers, kids in diversion programs participate in home supervision, group homes, foster care, community programs and wraparound services.

Richard Mendel, senior youth justice research fellow for The Sentencing Project, said the state has also made strides in reducing racial disparities among kids whose cases are diverted. He pointed out statewide coordinators work across counties to help youth and their families navigate the system and find alternatives to detention.

"Kentucky looked at this, the state, and they very quickly changed their process for notifying people," Mendel explained. "Instead of sending a form letter, they started calling and engaging the families, and explaining why it's better to keep your kid out of court."

According to the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, in 2022, 982 youths were placed in an alternative program. In the first half of last year, 726 were placed. A spokesperson for the Cabinet said the number is expected to continue to increase, year-over-year.

Mendel added the goals of alternative programs are to ensure the public remains safe and the young person is set on a positive life path to reduce the odds of reoffending in childhood or as an adult.

"Diversion tends to be cheaper," Mendel emphasized. "It's not a net cost, it's a net savings, even in the short term. And it's especially a net savings financially in the long term, because these young people are much less likely to come back."

Last year, Gov. Andy Beshear signed Senate Bill 162, which provides more than $25 million in funding for Department of Juvenile Justice staff salaries, transportation costs and expanded programming and diversion resources, such as residential psychiatric treatment for youth with severe mental health issues.


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A new report by national researchers says Iowa is making progress in reforming its juvenile justice system, and finding ways to steer kids away from crime - long term.

The state convened a task force last year to study youth crime diversion programs.

Senior Research Fellow for Youth Justice with The Sentencing Project, Dick Mendel, said Iowa is one of the states making progress on addressing juvenile justice issues, by focusing on ways to keep kids from being incarcerated - and maybe discouraging them from committing crimes in the first place.

"Diversion tends to be cheaper," said Mendel. "It's not a net cost, it's a net savings, even in the short term. And it's especially a net savings financially in the long term, because these young people are much less likely to come back."

Iowa has also implemented restorative justice programs, which engage young people in repairing the harm caused by their behavior. That can often mean face-to-face meetings with their victims.

The Sentencing Project report also shows that Black youth in Iowa tend to be arrested for disorderly conduct more than white youth by a factor of 8 to 1, despite comprising a much smaller percentage of the state's population.

Mendel said while Iowa and other U.S. states are starting to bolster diversion programs, the idea of finding ways to rehabilitate young people and keep them from offending again is not new.

"When you look at other nations, 75 to 80% of the young people who are identified as possibly being fit for prosecution, are diverted," said Mendel. "Other countries have seen this research, and they've responded."

Iowa, Florida, Georgia, Kansas and Utah now track results of their diversion programs, which Mendel sais helps those states to make them more effective.




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