Gov. Parson is right about juvenile offenders. Fund Missouri’s Raise the Age law, GOP
In some counties in Missouri, 17-year-old criminal suspects are still being automatically prosecuted as adults even though a law passed three years ago banned the practice.
Gov. Mike Parson has asked the GOP-controlled Missouri legislature to approve the $18 million that’s needed make the Raise the Age law a reality.
The 2018 measure raised the age of adult prosecution to 18, but the law had a three-year delay and other provisions, including a mandate to fund increased caseloads in juvenile courts and youth programming staff.
Parson’s request will be debated this week in the Missouri House as part of budget discussions. It’s an important ask from a Republican governor to lawmakers in his own party.
Right now, only five of 46 jurisdictions in Missouri are adhering to guidelines, Marcia Hazelhorst, executive director of the Missouri Juvenile Justice Association, told The Star Editorial Board.
Prosecutors in Jackson, Cass and Clay counties are charging 17-year-old suspects as adults on a case-by-case basis.
In Jackson County, about 19 such cases have been referred to the juvenile court for evaluation, said Lori Stipp, juvenile officer for Jackson County Family Court.
Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd, meanwhile, continues to treat 17-year-olds as adults.
“I support 17-year-olds being handled in the juvenile justice system unless they are certified to stand trial as an adult,” Zahnd wrote in an email. But, he said, “Funding must first be available for juvenile officers to handle the additional caseloads.”
Young people held with adults are at the highest risk of sexual abuse, according to a Justice Policy Institute report, “Dangers of Detention.” Teen inmates were also 36 times more likely to commit suicide than youth in juvenile facilities, the report found, and they were at a greater risk of being held in solitary confinement.
And it’s not just more dangerous for them, but for all of us, since housing teens with older inmates only increases the odds of recidivism, studies have shown.
For now, Missouri remains one of only five states that continue to prosecute teens under the age of 18 as adults. What was the point of passing a law and then failing to put aside the money necessary to put it into effect?