Abuse and mistreatment of juveniles in Texas detention facilities and half-way houses has doubled in the past five years.

Last year, the Texas Youth Commission received 1,458 allegations of abuse and mistreatment and determined that 535 cases were valid. That compared with 260 confirmed cases out of 693 allegations in 1998.

Almost half of the 5,200 juvenile detainees are mentally ill. Eight years ago, the number was only 27%.

Handling young people with mental illness, experts say, requires different skills from those needed for other minors convicted of delinquent behavior. They worry that most juvenile corrections officers don't have the experience and training to deal with mentally ill youths. There are no national standards for housing mentally ill juvenile offenders or for the staffing and training to handle them.

"I've talked to detention officers all over this state, and they say, `Give me a gangbanger any day of the week,' " said Frank Birchak, supervising attorney for the University of Houston Law School juvenile defense clinic. "They are much easier to deal with, easier to control."

Many juvenile corrections officers are just a few years out of high school, earning a typical starting salary of $20k a year. The turnover rate of staff is 33%, in part caused by a staff injury rate of 54%. One facility's superintendant said, ""We're doing the best we can with what we've got."

Sorry, but that's not good enough. This broken system needs to change.

Today's sneak Congressional attack--a little known provision has been inserted into a fast-moving bill that allows the FBI to collect juveniles' DNA. The bill has passed the house and is expected to pass the Senate early in 2004. Contact your Senators now and tell them you don't want the Government to have your child's genetic codes.

DNA testing should be reserved for those who have committed crimes.

The American Civil Liberties Union counters that DNA is different because it contains genetic information that should be kept private. Taking a person's DNA before he is even convicted, said ACLU Washington lobbyist Jesselyn McCurdy, "removes the presumption of innocence."

Advocates for juveniles say that giving teenagers what amounts to a "permanent criminal genetic record" defeats the purpose of the juvenile justice system by treating the youths as adults.

"It runs counter to the tenets of juvenile court, which is toward confidentiality and giving a child another opportunity to turn around," said Nancy Gannon of the Coalition for Juvenile Justice, which advises state governments on justice policy.

The debate continues to rage on the issue of charging juveniles as adults. We oppose it. We oppose any kind of one-size-fits-all justice. Here's the latest from the Baltimore Sun on the matter.

Rikki Klieman, former prosecutor, defense attorney, Court TV Anchor, and now NBC Legal Analsyst, wrote in her recently published memoir, Fairy Tales Can Come True, about her unsuccessful attempt as a prosecutor to have a juvenile charged with manslaughter convicted as an adult:

[Background: Rikki insisted the juvenile be tried as an adult. He was convicted on a lesser assault and battery charge, but the Judge exercised his discretion and sentenced him as a juvenile. She was furious. Years later, she ran into the young man who had become a kind and productive member of society. He even thanked Rikki for sending him to jail.]

How wise was Judge Young. How biased was I. The hubris of a young prosecutor, to think that I knew so much, that I had such power and zeal to put a young man in prison forever without any effort at rehabilitation. If we cannot rehabilitate our young people, who can we ever rehabilitate? Placing prosecutorial power in the hands of people perhaps too young or too lacking in life experience is sometimes not wise. Judge Young, being far older and more seasoned—and more learned—than I, understood that we could not give up on these children, we needed to give them another chance….As a prosecutor, I could only see the crime. Although I knew all about the defendant’s lives, I could not see their humanity.

Amnesty International reports that there are 4,500 children in jail in Pakistan--most of whom have committed no crimes.

The charges are contained in a report called "Pakistan: denial of basic rights for child prisoners," the BBC reported Thursday. The report claims children are sometimes jailed for years because their impoverished parents cannot pay their bail. When the children's cases finally come to court, the conviction rate can be as low as 15 percent, the report charged.

Other sickening details: There are 350 children on death row in Punjab and children are often housed with adult prisoners--which is illegal under Pakistani law.

Amnesty's press release is here. The report, "Pakistan: denial of basic rights for child prisoners" is available here.

Article 40, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, provides:

"State parties recognize the right of every child alleged as, accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law to be treated in a manner consistent with the promotion of the child's sense of dignity and worth, which reinforces the child's respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of others and which takes into account the child's age and the desirability of promoting the child's reintegration and the child's assuming a constructive role in society."

Amnesty International reports that there are 4,500 children in jail in Pakistan--most of whom have committed no crimes.

The charges are contained in a report called "Pakistan: denial of basic rights for child prisoners," the BBC reported Thursday. The report claims children are sometimes jailed for years because their impoverished parents cannot pay their bail. When the children's cases finally come to court, the conviction rate can be as low as 15 percent, the report charged.

Other sickening details: There are 350 children on death row in Punjab and children are often housed with adult prisoners--which is illegal under Pakistani law.

Amnesty's press release is here. The report, "Pakistan: denial of basic rights for child prisoners" is available here.

Article 40, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, provides:

"State parties recognize the right of every child alleged as, accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law to be treated in a manner consistent with the promotion of the child's sense of dignity and worth, which reinforces the child's respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of others and which takes into account the child's age and the desirability of promoting the child's reintegration and the child's assuming a constructive role in society."

Should minors be entitled to Miranda warnings? The Supreme Court is going to decide. We think they should, and so does Sherry Kolb, columnist for Findlaw, who analyzes the issues, and says there may be a stumbling block.

Good news: South Dakota is putting the kabosh on its juvenile boot camps program. The state is moving to a system of family counseling and individual treatment.

South Dakota's controversial boot camp, created by former Gov. Bill Janklow at Custer, is being renamed and its program emphasis shifted from a military regimen to individual treatment and family counseling, state corrections officials said Thursday.

..."The changes are reflective of Governor Rounds' vision for juvenile corrections," Reisch said. "He is absolutely committed to providing the highest quality of care for all youth committed to us."

Juvenile programs should promote rehabilitation. Many of the boot camp programs are overly punitive.

Another welcome change in the state is on its way:

The state court judge presiding over the trial of sniper suspect John Malvo who was 17 at the time of the alleged crime has ruled that he can be executed.

International laws and treaties do not prohibit Virginia from executing juveniles, a judge ruled Wednesday in the case against teenage sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo.

Defense lawyers had argued that an overwhelming consensus of foreign nations and certain international treaties combined to bar the execution of people under 18 at the time of their crime.

"The world has spoken. This isn't a close call. This is the world against us," said defense lawyer Craig Cooley. "Some things are so absolutely abhorrent to humanity that it is simply unacceptable. We are at that point when we talk about the execution of children."

The defense team argued that international consensus is a factor in U.S. law. The U.S. Supreme Court evaluates society's "evolving standards of decency" when considering whether a punishment is unconstitutionally cruel and unusual.

Last month the Missouri Supreme Court ruled the death penalty uncontsititutional for juvenile offenders. Here are the current statistics on executing juvenile offenders, from the National Coalition Against the Death Penalty ( NCADP):

14 year old Lionel Tate cries as Judge imposes life sentence

Lionel Tate is the youngest person in the U.S. to be sentenced to life in prison. At 12, he killed a 6 year old playmate while wrestling with her.

Lionel's mother turned down a deal for him to get three years in a juvenile facility, thinking he would be acquitted. He was tried and convicted as an adult, and sentenced to life. He is now 16.

Lionel lost his appeal. Jeb Bush turned down his first clemency petition because he had had behavioral problems in jail. His second clemency petition is now under consideration. The Warden at his prison supports it and says he has made marked improvements. So do his lawyers:

''We're proud as can be of someone who was in a terrible situation,'' said Fort Lauderdale attorney Richard Rosenbaum, noting that the teenager with a reputation for ''a big mouth'' and ''talking back'' is now earning A's and B's on his report card and wants to pursue a career in the culinary arts.

Lionel has a lot of support. His backers have brought his cause to the Pope and the Human Rights Commission in Geneva. The NAACP is supporting him. So is a police group in East Orange, NJ.

In the end, Lionel's future will be decided by one man--Jeb Bush--with advice from a three member Board of Executive Clemency. Bush has until September to decide whether Lionel gets a clemency hearing.

Here's more about Lionel and his case.

A California judge has sentenced a 16 year old to life in prison without the possibility of parole in a case in which no one died.

Antonio Nunez was 14 when he was arrested on April 25, 2001, and charged with kidnapping a Santa Ana businessman and shooting at police with an AK-47 semiautomatic weapon during a subsequent chase. No one was injured.

In addition to life without parole, Nunez received four additional life terms and 121 years for being found guilty of six counts of attempted murder of a police officer, assault, evading, street terrorism and committing crimes for the benefit of a street gang.

Defense attorney Joel Garson asked the judge to weigh "the mental maturity" of the youth, whose reading and math skills were purportedly at a second-grade level. Garson also claimed Nunez had a "very minor" past criminal history and a traumatic family life, including witnessing his brother's murder and parents who did not properly supervise him.

This troubles us. We should not give up on these kids. They are poor, disadvantaged and left behind in our society. We need to find a way to give every one of them an equal chance to succeed. We need to break the cycle. Life without parole is not the answer.

The owner of a Utah chain of private "disciplinary academy" for teens has been arrested in Costa Rica and charged with violating the civil liberties of the students.

The academies are owned by the Utah organization, the World Wide Association of Speciality Programs and Schools, known as Wwasps, but are located in Costa Rica, Jamaica and Mexico. Parents pay $30,000 a year for the privilege of having their children learn discipline--and according to the charges--suffer physical and emotional abuse.

Update: Lionel Tate's case will be featured on ABC's 20/20 tonight.

14 year old Lionel Tate cries as Judge imposes life sentence

"It was a tragedy that shocked the nation — the 1999 murder of a 6-year-old little girl, Tiffany Eunick, by her 12-year-old family friend, Lionel Tate. Perhaps as shocking as Tiffany's death was Lionel's conviction of first-degree murder and his sentence to life imprisonment."

Lionel Tate is the youngest person to be sentenced to life without. He was 12 at the time of the killing. He was offered a deal, but his mother convinced him to turn it down.

How could a 12 year old possibly understand the nature and consequences of a plea bargain?

Now, two years later, people are questioning whether justice was served, or whether Lionel should be shown some mercy. The prosecutor who won the case, even Tiffany's grieving mother, now feel that the punishment was too harsh for a child.

Tiffany's mom, Deweese Eunick-Paul, remembers meeting Lionel and his mom, Kathleen Grossett-Tate, after she and Tiffany moved to Broward County, Fla., near the resort city of Fort Lauderdale. The mothers, both divorced, became close friends and began helping each other take care of the children.

....In his January 2001 trial, Lionel sat quietly in court, almost as if he didn't know what was happening, watching through the eyes of a young adolescent. He never took the witness stand. Instead, his defense team entered a video reenactment into evidence, saying that Lionel, who loved wrestling, was only imitating wrestling moves he'd seen on television. But the wrestling defense backfired.

... "I offered Lionel Tate, three years in a juvenile facility, followed by one year of house arrest and 10 years of probation with psychological counseling and therapy." [State's attorney] Padowitz said he didn't understand why neither Tate, nor his attorneys, nor his mother accepted the deal.

On Jan. 25, 2001, the jury unanimously convicted Tate of first-degree murder. At Tate's sentencing hearing, just days after his 14th birthday, the judge stunned the court when he ordered Lionel to serve the rest of his life in prison, without chance of. It was a mandatory sentence in the state of Florida. As Lionel was led out of court in shackles, he broke down and cried.

The issue here is competency. These children are not mentally competent to stand trial as adults. Competency is different than mental illness, retardation or sanity. The question to be asked of a juvenile, particularly those 14 and under, are: can he understand the nature of the proceedings? Can he assist in his own defense? Can he understand his legal rights? Can he make critical decisions such as whether to testify or enter or refuse a plea bargain?

A study released earlier this week found that "a third of children aged 11 through 13 and a fifth of those aged 14 or 15 understood legal matters at a similar level as mentally ill adults who have been found incompetent to stand trial. Older adolescents did not perform significantly different from young adults."

The director of the study says that 200,000 children are charged as adults in this country every year. Tens of thousands are under 16.

Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia set no minimum age at which children could be tried as adults, and 27 set a minimum age for at least some crimes of 15 or younger. Professor Steinberg said the study suggested that change was called for.
"We should not set the age of transfer" from juvenile courts to criminal ones "at 12 or 13, as many states do, because we will be jeopardizing children," Professor Steinberg said. At a minimum, extensive competency evaluations should be done before juveniles are transferred, he said.

Petitions have been submitted to Florida Governor Jeb Bush for clemency on behalf of Lionel Tate. Even the prosecutor filed one.

Update: 1/26/04, Lionel Released from Jail. You can find a recap of the case here.