[ad_1]
Politics is getting in the way of public safety in Virginia. What’s worse, politics is undermining our ability to protect our state’s youngest and most vulnerable children.
As current and former prosecutors, we must speak out when the actions of our elected officials harm the health and well-being of our communities. Unfortunately, Governor Glenn Youngkin’s recent veto of a criminal justice bill did just that.
In total, the governor has vetoed 22 bills that would improve police and criminal justice in Virginia. And in doing so, he broke with the research-based reforms he is working on across the country.
Perhaps most concerning was the veto of a bill that would have limited prosecutors from prosecuting children under 11 and allowed judges to provide services and supports to children without involving them in the juvenile justice system. was.
This bill joins Virginia with most states and other parts of the world in recognizing that criminalizing children under the age of 10 does not make sense as a public safety measure. Medical science has long demonstrated that adolescents differ from adults in terms of brain development, susceptibility, impulsivity, and understanding of crime.
Troubled children need treatment, not incarceration.
Because the neuroscience of human brain development is well established, the U.S. Supreme Court has long held that juveniles under the age of 18 deserve special treatment in criminal law.
In fact, cutting-edge science is now recognizing that people under the age of 25 should be treated differently in court.
As law enforcement professionals and parents, we cannot believe that anyone would think it would be beneficial to criminally prosecute elementary school children. Children who can barely read need treatment, not incarceration. There are countless ways to fulfill your responsibilities and get your child the support he or she needs to grow and thrive without going through the courts or prosecutors.
How can we prevent child abuse?Tightening the rules for homeschooling families would help.
The only result of placing any young person, let alone a 10-year-old, in the criminal legal system is to cause further trauma and exacerbate the very problems underlying the illegal activity. And these consequences inevitably erode the safety of our communities.
Simply put, the veto of this important bill is a moral, practical, and political failure by Virginia adults against our children and their futures.
Youngkin argued that removing the threat of prosecution against young children would open the floodgates for gang members to recruit children to commit gang-related crimes. However, the bill would provide even more protection to both children and the community by criminalizing adults who knowingly encourage or cause children to engage in delinquent behavior.
Moreover, the experience of other states that already protect children under 11 from prosecution shows that threats of gang members finding new recruits on elementary school playgrounds have no basis in reality.
Criminal justice reform addresses drug cases and eliminates police shortages
Another unfortunate veto would undermine proven harm reduction strategies and further reduce public safety by inhibiting prosecutorial discretion in drug cases. Another prevents communities from having a broad base of applicants interested in joining law enforcement.
The governor killed a reform that would have allowed prosecutors to file misdemeanor charges instead of felonies if someone is arrested with drug residue. The exception was fentanyl, which remained a felony.
Yonkin argued that the bill would reduce the “seriousness of drug crimes.” But mandating a felony conviction for possession of barely traceable quantities of drugs imposes harsh, life-altering consequences on individuals and their loved ones that outweigh any “benefits” the governor can claim. It turns out.
Drug treatment instead of incarceration:Meeting my adoptive mother changed the way I thought about addiction and changed my life.
Felony convictions hinder job prospects and prevent access to essential services such as low-income housing. It is difficult to see how the punishment fits the crime.
Additionally, the failed “war on drugs” approach of felony convictions for drug possession, not to mention drug residue, does not address the underlying problems that lead to problematic drug use. I know I can’t even deal with it.
During that time, he hit police departments across the state.
With law enforcement agencies facing massive staffing shortages, Youngkin vetoed a bill that would have made Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients eligible for law enforcement jobs. This bill would help address staffing shortages while giving people who were brought here illegally as children the opportunity to serve their communities.
By vetoing the bill, the governor has decided to sacrifice safety and eliminate a path to economic upward mobility in order to stoke fear against immigrants.
Mr. Yonkin has vetoed more bills in a single session than any Virginia governor in modern history, and his wide-ranging and questionable actions have led to comments from Democratic lawmakers who proposed these bills. Other than that, it has caused little backlash.
Many seem resigned to the fact that this is how politics works, with one party vetoing important legislation passed by the opposition.
But we cannot be satisfied with such decisions, nor can we accept leaders who are unwilling to adopt effective, data-based policies. We must demand that our leaders put people before politics.
Parisa Deghani-Tafti is the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Arlington County and the City of Falls Church, Virginia. Jim Hingley is the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Albemarle County. Miriam Krinsky is the executive director of Fair and Just Prosecution, a former federal prosecutor, and author of Change from Within: Reimagining the 21st-Century Prosecution.
[ad_2]
Source link
