Kids deserve better than to be denied a second chance
BY DAVID ROGERS
treated as adults within our criminal justice
system, we see their future prospects for
egular readers of our column will
school, employment and productive
know that Partnership for Safety and
contributions to society diminish.
Justice and our members worked very
Additionally, significant research from the
hard to help shape the recommendations U .S. Department of Justice, the Centers for
that the Governor’s
Disease Control, and elsewhere shows that
Commission on Public
putting youth in the adult system makes it
Safety made to the
more likely they will re-offend.
Oregon Legislature. The
Partnership for Safety and Justice is
result was House Bill
fighting to mitigate the treatment of youth
3194, which contained 19
as adults. One smart policy change would be
recommendations. It
earned review hearings.
looks like two
Earned review hearings are an existing
recommendations, the
policy that should be made available to
ones that would have
youth who commit a Measure 11 offense.
made changes to some Measure 11
Under a proposed expansion of this process,
sentences, are being removed by
youths who have served half or three-
amendment.
quarters of their sentence would have an
Most disappointing: earned review
opportunity to go back before a judge. If the
hearings for youth (also known as Second
young person can demonstrate that he or
Look) is on the chopping block. (See below
she has made significant positive changes
for a full explanation). This is a distressing
since the original offense, a judge may
turn of events.
permit the youths to then serve out the rest
Oregon’s Measure 11 places 15, 16, and
of their sentence under mandatory
17 year olds automatically in adult court as
community supervision, under conditional
soon as a prosecutor charges them with a
release.
Measure 11 offense. This practice defies all
Earned review recognizes that youth can
of the national research about what
and do change and transform themselves.
produces the best public safety outcomes
By re-evaluating the status of youth
and the best future for those young people.
offenders, we give ourselves the opportunity
More than 100 years ago, the country’s
to place young people in the setting where
first juvenile court was created in Chicago
they are most likely to succeed.
with the acknowledgment that youth are not
Adult mandatory minimum sentences for
finished products and could greatly benefit
youth are disturbingly counter-productive.
from education, mental health treatment,
Putting youth in the adult system increases
and vocational training that are currently
recidivism, places those young people at a
unavailable in adult corrections systems.
much greater risk of committing suicide or
Oregon’s juvenile justice system has some
being assaulted, while adult felony
incredible strengths, yet Measure 11
convictions create life-long barriers to
(passed in 1994) carelessly tosses kids into
success.
the adult system.
Despite the logic behind reforms in the
way Measure 11 treats youth, politics are
While intending to be tough, we have
getting in the way. There are two major
forgotten to be smart. As more youth are
C O N T R IB U T IN G C O L U M N IS T
R
and
JUSTICE
David Rogers is the
executive director of
Partnership for Safety
and fustice. P S J is a
statewide, non-profit
advocacy
organization
dedicated to making
Oregon’s approach to
crime and public
safety more effective
and just.
hurdles.
First, changing Measure 11 requires a
two-thirds approval from the legislature,
which is a very high bar. Second, district
attorneys are adamantly opposed to changes
to Measure 11, no matter how much they
are supported by research and national best
practices. We have previously written in
Street Roots about how mandatory
minimums give prosecutors lots of power in
the justice system, which, selfishly, they are
not willing to give up.
This issue is a classic example of the
public being out in front of the legislature.
Earned review hearings for youth have
consistently polled over 70 percent of
Oregon voters in support.
A 2012 survey conducted by GBA
Strategies in 2012 of 600 registered Oregon
voters showed 78 percent favor requiring a
hearing part-way through a youth offender’s
mandatory sentence where a judge can
determine if the youth should remain in
prison or be transferred for mandatory
supervision by a parole officer.”
In May 2013, another poll of 600
registered Oregon voters done by the
Mellman Group and Public Opinion
Strategies showed 75 percent support the
same concept.
Despite incredibly strong public support,
legislators either want to posture as tough
or are simply afraid to take more leadership
on this issue. But progress is being made.
The fact that reforms to Measure 11
regarding youths were even included in the
original recommendations by the
Governor’s Commission on Public Safety is
a large step in the right direction. But we
are not there yet. That said, Partnership for
Safety and Justice isn’t giving up on this
fight because we fundamentally believe that
kids deserve better.
I Am From Two Ways
By Armando P. - Grade 9
I am from the cold cells of Juvie.
I am also from good food, loving friends, and the gang- who are like family
No one likes the decisions I make so what path do I have to follow?
I am from a high school I try hard in and lately
losing my losing my grades in
If I try I might fail
My mom was hard and respected and well known
also she married a Mexican mafia member
I am from Mexico and when I was young my sister got taken away
When I was one my dad beat my mom
She got beat nearly to death and thrown in a river to die
M y dad took us away, my mom got us back
and we were escorted to the U .S . from there
Canning jars &
equipment,
cookware, kitchen
tools & appliances
I got older, watched some of my friends die
I follow their path to remember them
So when you ask where I am from I will say
“I am from proud street soldiers”
Organic cotton
sheets, towels,
& blankets
Thank you for giving a hand up in Portland and
supporting your neighborhood vendor!
Natural Kitchen
& Home
Food dryers
2 1 0 6 SE Division
Books on meat-free
cooking, gardening
& sustainability
5 0 3 *2 3 1 *5175
m ira d o rc o m m u n ity sto re .c o m
M o n -S at 10-6 • S un 11-5
Juicers