Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy today said the state should consider treating young offenders as juveniles until they are 21 years old, a cutting-edge reform proposal.
“You can commit a nonviolent offense at 17 without a criminal record, but if you're 18 and you commit the same crime, it lasts a lifetime,” Malloy said in a speech at the University of Connecticut School of Law.
“If we are to acknowledge that we know a one-size-fits-all approach to criminal justice hasn't worked, that permanent punishment hasn't worked, then let's think about changing the artificial barriers we've imposed to get it right,” Malloy said.
A successful bid to raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction from age 17 to 20 would build on Connecticut’s existing push for juvenile and criminal justice reforms. The state often is considered a leader in juvenile justice reform.
[For more of this story, written by Sarah Barr, go to http://jjie.org/connecticut-go...he-age-to-20/150489/]
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