Kalief Browder, who spent three years in Rikers awaiting trial for a robbery he did not commit, recently took his own life after years of untreated trauma. Browder was starved, brutally beaten, spent more than a year in solitary confinement, and tried to commit suicide several times during his stint in the infamous jail. Soon after his death, Kenan Davis, an 18-year-old Rikers inmate admitted last Friday for violating parole hung himself after asking for a psychological evaluation.
Though tragic, Browder and Davis’ stories are not uncommon, as prison abuse and neglect impact hundreds of thousands of young people across the country. A recently introduced pair of bills in Congress may try to address the plight of juveniles for the first time in 13 years.
Piggybacking off of a bipartisan Senate bill that would strengthen youth programming, promote safer detention conditions, and emphasize community-based alternatives to detention under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), a member of the House just introduced a bill that would re-establish a set of guidelines for the treatment of youth in the juvenile justice system. Should the new bill make its way through Congress, it will mark the first time since 2002 that the system will enforce national standards for young people behind bars.
The Youth Justice Act, introduced by Rep. Robert “Bobby” Scott (D-VA) Thursday would re-authorize the JJDPA, which hasn’t been in effect for 13 years. Emphasizing safety, prevention, and learning in the juvenile justice system, it guarantees continuity of education, strengthens protections for youth by ensuring separation from incarcerated adults, and reduces funding for “dangerous” practices, such as solitary confinement. It also prevents the incarceration of juveniles for status offenses, and stipulates that individuals under 18-years-old awaiting trial are granted the same protections, even if they are in the adult court system.
The bill also requires states to address and reduce racial and ethnic disparities among youth in detention and those who are approached by law enforcement in the first place. Sponsors of the bill are particularly concerned with how — and who — enters the juvenile justice system. People of color aged 21 and under made up 71 percent of the youth in detention, but only 45 percent of the general population in 2011. The number of incarcerated girls is rapidly growing. And every year, thousands of youth are incarcerated for nonviolent status offenses, including running away from home.
“We need to look at why the system is punishing girls more harshly for ‘crimes’ like truancy, running away, curfew violations, incorrigibility or underage drinking,” said Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), a bill cosponsor. “We must stop handing out harsh sentences for small offenses.”
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) added, “In some states, such as Maryland, a child as young as 7-years-old is subject to being charged and prosecuted by the Juvenile Court System. The excessive and traumatic removal of children from their schools and the community is unacceptable and causing irreparable damage to young people.”
Once a child enters the system, they face rampant abuse and neglect that can alter their lives permanently. Thousands of incarcerated youth are raped and sexually abused by correctional staff and fellow inmates. In 2012, 1,720 youth reported some form of sexual victimization. Of those, 1,390 cited staff as the perpetrators, and the vast majority said they were victimized repeatedly.
Additionally, juvenile inmates’ healthcare needs are routinely ignored, as was the case for Browder and Davis. Facilities, including Rikers, are considered mental health institutions, based on the sheer number of inmates with mental illness. But resources are limited and those illnesses are exacerbated behind bars. Girls who enter the system with physical and psychological trauma are not provided with the proper treatment and services.
And in numerous cases, young boys and girls are tossed into solitary for extended periods of time — a practice advocates consider torture and neuroscientists say can physically alter the brain and prevent it from fully growing and maturing. In addition to increasing the risk of suicide, time in solitary exacerbates pre-existing mental health problems, such as depression. If the reauthorization passes, states will be informed of the dangers of putting individuals in solitary for more than a few hours.