Supporters of raising the age of criminal responsibility in North Carolina are optimistic as legislation heads to the Senate after a 104-8 approval vote in the General Assembly.
The overwhelming vote Wednesday is a major step in the last state that still automatically charges 16-year-olds as adults, no matter the crime.
The bill calls for youth to be charged as juveniles until they reach 18, although there are provisions allowing prosecutors and victims to ask a judge to refer the most serious cases to adult court.
“We were expecting it would pass, but I never expected nearly that many votes,” said Rep. Duane Hall, a Democrat, who has introduced similar measures in previous years, only to see them fall short. “This gives us great bargaining power when it goes to the Senate, and it also shows just how much support is out there in each district.”
[For more of this story, written by John Holland, go to http://jjie.org/2017/05/18/rai...s-in-texas-missouri/]
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