On March 29, Louisianans will vote on Amendment 3, a constitutional amendment that would hand legislators the power to add, with a two-thirds majority vote, any felony to the list of charges that would qualify a child to be treated like an adult in the eyes of the law. In Louisiana, this includes crimes like making a fake ID or stealing a phone. The state constitution currently restricts the crimes for which minors aged 14 and up can be charged as adults to a list of 16 serious felonies including murder, rape, and armed robbery.
The amendment’s sponsor, Republican state senator Heather Cloud, says the limits on charging children as adults have “hamstringed” Louisiana from being able to address juvenile crime. Some of the bill’s supporters have expressed a deeply pessimistic view of Louisiana’s youth population; in a House committee hearing last fall, Republican lawmaker Tony Bacala told his colleagues, “Some of these kids are already lost when they’re two years old.”
As in “The kids are yearning for the prison cells”? Hmm, who might profit from even more prisoners in a corrupt justice system?
The system is beyond lost and this is their way of doubling down.
Charging a kid pretending to be an adult with a fake ID as an adult is beyond regarded. “You wanna be an adult? Here ya go, adult charges and prison time for your undeveloped brain” Also we’ll ruin your adult life now so you have to be a slave
Fuck these assholes
It always comes back to slavery with the lost
… Republican lawmaker Tony Bacala told his colleagues, “Some of these kids are already lost when they’re two years old.”
How ghoulish and completely divorced from reality must one be to look at a two year old as a criminal?
That dude is a sick fuck.
more prisoners == more slave labor
someone’s gotta pick the crops…
Unironically this. Juvie has more restrictions and is essentially a bit nicer/safer. It’s less expensive to run non juvie places and putting them in with adults must (I don’t actually have stats) increase recidivism. So if they get out they are more likely to get back in. Juvie records can also be automatically sealed in some places, but not if transferred to non juvie. So more likely that they follow this person forever.
Its more than that
I assisted on research when I was an undergrad that consistently showed simply trying a juvenile as an adult meant they were far more likely to be convicted
I am sure the state is well aware of this effect and wants to make it easier to increase conviction rates
That tracks. Juries think of “serious crimes” as needing conviction more not less
I had no idea. Thank you for that information. I 100% believe that, but can you link any relevant studies? I feel like I would be less likely to convict if I felt a juvie was being sent to an adult center. The only thing I could think would be that a state would be more likely to try as an adult in cases with overwhelming evidence or particularly abhorrent crimes, so they’re more likely to get convicted because for the same reason they were more likely to be tried as an adult. Would love to see how that was accounted for or if it was all just mock trials. Again, not doubting the findings, just interested in the methodology.
https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/juveniles-charged-adult-criminal-courts-2014
“At case disposition, 65% of persons ages 12 to 17 charged with a felony in adult criminal courts were convicted, compared to 25% of persons charged with a misdemeanor.”
First thing I found that wasn’t mock trials. I’m hesitant to link the research I was involved on because my name is attached but fwiw my research was mock trials.
Thanks for the link! Really surprising stats including “At case disposition, 65% of persons ages 12 to 17 charged with a felony in adult criminal courts were convicted, compared to 25% of persons charged with a misdemeanor.”
Def don’t link to your research. It’s bad opsec lol. In this case I do feel like mock trials would give a better indication as to the actual effect, seeing as in actual cases there’d be so much to account for. Really sad to hear this is the effect shown even in the research you did with mock trials.
The younger they start, the longer they can work.
You can just say they want more slaves. It is blatantly obvious what is going on. I just saw they are trying to take away mandatory food breaks for working kids in Florida too. You guys are all so fucked and just sitting around and taking it like good peons. Twas a nice country, once upon a time.
Half the articles nowadays can be answered by one response:
“Fuck the South!”
Every state has similar restrictions. Louisiana is trying hard to be Florida and Texas combined.
It’s probably worth noting they didn’t get these batshit ideas to the fore until their Democratic governor term-limited out. Thier new MAGA stooge is rubber stamping every fascist thing he can.
