Youth Justice

[2021 Session] Help Kids Be Successful in the Community

Policy Background

On average, over 10,000 young Texans were on probation in 2019. Unfortunately, six of every 10 youth placed on probation following an adjudication in 2015 were rearrested within three years of their supervision starting, and about a quarter of the same youth were reconvicted in the juvenile system or convicted as an adult within the same time period.1

[2021 Session] “Second Look”: Provide an Earlier Parole Review to People Sent to Adult Facilities as Youth

Policy Background

After a series of U.S. Supreme Court cases, states were required to eliminate mandatory life without parole sentences for youth under 18 years of age. Texas now requires people who would have received that sentence to instead serve 40 years before becoming eligible for parole, a de facto life sentence that provides no reasonable opportunity to build a life outside of prison.

[2021 Session] “Raise the Age”: Hold 17-Year-Olds Accountable in the Juvenile Justice System

Policy Background

In Texas, 17-year-olds who are arrested are automatically sent to the adult justice system. Texas is one of only three states left to treat these teens as adults for criminal justice purposes1 – removing their parents from the court process, and exposing kids to confinement in adult jails.

Opinion: Youth probation reform can help Texas teens, save the state money

Opinion: Youth probation reform can help Texas teens, save the state money

While the economy and the pandemic remained of primary importance in many individuals’ vote for president and the Senate, Texas exit polls suggest crime and safety were the most important issues for a significant portion of Republican voters as was racial equality for an even larger portion of Democrat voters.

Editorial: Texas sex ed overhauled, still lacking

Editorial: Texas sex ed overhauled, still lacking

In 2018, the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition estimated 158,500 Texas youth identified as LGBTQ, including about 13,800 transgender students. Discussing sexual orientation and gender identity in sex education is being inclusive to all students, and also has the potential to limit bullying and harassment. This is no small detail. As we noted in a recent editorial about homophobic politics — especially in a North East ISD trustee race — LGBTQ students are vulnerable.

Opinion: Don’t lock away juvenile ‘lifers,’ especially in a pandemic

Opinion: Don’t lock away juvenile ‘lifers,’ especially in a pandemic

Providing a chance at parole for rehabilitated juvenile “lifers” is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, a 17-year-old survivor of domestic violence is preparing for trial in Texas. She faces up to 40 years in prison for a murder committed by a man her family says was trafficking her. Despite Zephaniah Trevino’s history of trauma and agreement by the defense and the prosecution that she did not pull the trigger, she is on the precipice of an extreme prison sentence.

“Spend Your Values, Cut Your Losses”: Justice Advocacy Group Releases 2021 Legislative Strategy

“Spend Your Values, Cut Your Losses”: Justice Advocacy Group Releases  2021 Legislative Strategy

Today, the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition (TCJC) released its legislative strategy for the 2021 Texas Legislative Session. The organization’s strategy is presented as a “divestment portfolio” for Texas lawmakers and is titled Spend Your Values, Cut Your Losses: Smart and Safe Justice System Solutions that Put Communities First.

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