ALBANY, N.Y. -- Rates of youth incarceration in adult jails and prison are down to zero since New York raised the age of criminal responsibility to 18, according to a new report by the Sentencing Project.

New York passed "raise the age" reform in 2017, and in the years following, a "youth part" of the criminal courts was created. Judges trained in adolescent development and family-court process review felony cases of 16- and 17-year-olds.

Julia Davis, director of youth justice and child welfare for the Children's Defense Fund of New York, said the youth justice system also has been shrinking.

"The number of arrests have decreased, the number of young people going into placement, being adjudicated, and needing to be incarcerated in the family court system, or in the adult court system has gone down," Davis outlined.

The report noted in 2016, there were more than 575 juveniles sentenced to state prison and almost 2,400 in adult jails. By 2020, there were none. In addition, between 2010 and 2019, felony arrests of minors were down 53%.

Marcy Mistrett, senior fellow at The Sentencing Project and the report's author, noted there has been a major drop in the number of criminal records started before 18.

"So we went from about 250,000 kids every single year getting criminal records before they turned 18, and we are now at about 50,000 that we can document, and I think it's actually even lower than that," Mistrett explained.

She added 16- and 17-year-olds, disproportionately young people of color, are mostly arrested for low-level petty offenses. She emphasized individuals need rehabilitative services, rather than incarceration.

Davis argued the age of youthful offender protections should be raised through 25, to prevent a criminal conviction that could impact things such as education and housing. Now, she hopes Gov. Andrew Cuomo will sign another "raise the age" bill that makes the age of juvenile delinquency arrest and prosecution 12 years old, instead of 7.

Davis added the work doesn't stop there.

"Looking at the youngest kids who are still in family court, reducing incarceration, closing more youth prisons and reducing our reliance on institutions for young people who come into contact with the family court system," Davis urged.

She also stressed youth justice reforms are an essential step in addressing the long-standing racial disparities that exist in the criminal-justice system.

In Mississippi, people face many barriers to restarting their lives after prison and this week, the "Rethinking Reentry" conference will focus on helping them succeed.

Mississippi has one of the world's highest incarceration rates, with more than 1,000 people locked up for every 100,000 residents.

Yahaira Battiata, community outreach administrator for the DirectEmployers Association, said her organization will be part of the conference to network with employers and community-based organizations hiring people who have served their sentences, and who may need help with compliance and recruitment challenges.

"We help employers bridge the gap between recruitment marketing and OFCCP compliance. We assist them with online recruitment, DEI and compliance," Battiata outlined. "My role is to connect community-based organizations who have any kind of diversity program, any kind of employment or job readiness program."

The nonprofit Mississippi Center for Reentry hosts the one-day in-person and virtual conference Aug.1, at Tunica Resorts. Participants will hear from people who have been in jail or prison and those who work with them, on how to improve reentry services.

Elizabeth English, a criminal justice advocate, said at the conference, she will discuss how her son being charged as an adult at 17 and her grandson's murder in 2020 have intensified her fight for justice.

"I'll be speaking on several different things," English noted. "Transparency within our judicial and law enforcement, that's a big problem. Habitual offender is a big issue, and drives mass incarceration nationwide; and if I can get a word or two in about no-knock warrants, and the dangers that poses."

English added her advocacy work also involves reaching out to lawmakers and local law enforcement to explore ways to improve Mississippi's criminal justice system.

Andre De Gruy, Mississippi state public defender, said he will join English and other speakers for the "Reentry Talk" panel discussion. They will discuss how the state can potentially improve things from a legal advocacy perspective.

"I'll be talking about the public defender system, so people maybe have a better understanding of how it's working, how it's not working," De Gruy explained. "What are the things that we want to do, like having standards for public defenders, so that public defenders know what they're supposed to be doing?"

De Gruy noted for the last few years, legislation has been proposed to establish standards for public defenders in Mississippi, subject to Supreme Court approval, on issues like data collection and workload limits. The bill passed both House and Senate last session, only to be killed on a procedural motion.


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About 7,000 Nebraskans with felony convictions who thought they'd be able to register to vote, now face uncertainty.

In question is the constitutionality of Legislative Bill 20, a new law scheduled to take effect last week.

It restores voting rights without a two year waiting period for people who've served their sentences. Gov. Jim Pillen allowed it to become law without his signature.

Jane Seu, legal and policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska, said it appears Nebraska Secretary of State Robert Evnen asked Attorney General Mike Hilgers about the law, and Hilgers has concluded it is unconstitutional.

"This is a validly passed and enacted law," said Seu. "The legislature passed it through its own process with major bipartisan support. So really, I think what all the Attorney General's doing - and the Secretary of State - is really just causing confusion and doubt for voters, questioning their right to vote."

In his opinion, Hilgers points out the Nebraska Constitution grants the power to restore voting rights to the Board of Pardons.

Seu said she thinks this opinion has the potential to harm many more Nebraskans than those helped by LB-20.

That's because it also calls a 2005 law into question, which established the two-year waiting period in lieu of a Board of Pardons decision.

Seu said the speed with which Evnen acted after receiving Hilgers' opinion is noteworthy.

"So, the Attorney General released his opinion, and the Secretary of State has decided to follow that - and has directed county election officials to not register people with felony convictions to vote," said Seu. "That happened the same day, so kind of showing some coordination to keep people with felony convictions from being able to vote."

With the passage of LB-20, Nebraska became one of the 40 states that restore voting rights to people with felony convictions. Seu said this issue is far from settled.

"We want every Nebraska voter to know that their vote matters," said Seu. "They deserve a say in our democracy, and we're going to do everything we can to uphold that right. So, we're exploring every possible option."

Support for this reporting was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.




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It's being called a historic milestone - 200 people have been exonerated after being sentenced to death since 1973, what's known as the modern era of capital punishment.

The exonerees were wrongfully convicted, because of misconduct from government officials or other factors, and then set free after being behind bars - sometimes for decades.

Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said cases like this have been devastating not just for individual families, but for the nation.

"Communities really lose confidence in the integrity of the legal system," said Maher, "and its ability to respond appropriately and keep them safe."

Half of the public now believes the U.S. unfairly applies the death penalty, according to the latest polling. But a majority of Americans still favor death sentences for those convicted of murder.

Capital punishment is illegal in West Virginia, and the state's last execution was more than 60 years ago. But there have been efforts to reinstate it this year.

And a jury recommended federal death sentences for two Mountain State residents in 2007, which were later overturned.

Nationwide, Maher said far more than 200 people have likely been wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death, in part because of challenges with the legal appeal process.

"Once someone is convicted and sent to prison, that burden then shifts to them to prove that they're innocent," said Maher. "And that's very difficult to do without a good lawyer. And it's also very difficult to do because of the operation of the law."

The Death Penalty Information Center says two-thirds of those exonerated have been people of color.

President Joe Biden campaigned on abolishing the federal death penalty, but his administration has taken few steps to do so.




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