Commentary: Maryland Must End the Harmful Practice of Automatically Charging Youth as Adults

Commentary: Maryland must end the harmful practice of automatically charging youth as adults

By Kisha A. BrownSpecial to the AFRO Maryland’s criminal system has long operated like an engine built to run roughshod over Black lives, and the data makes that plain: Black people represent roughly 30 percent of the state’s population but make up about 71 percent of those behind bars. That imbalance is a monument to deep-seated structural policies and practices to cage and cripple the Black community.  In a state that birthed Harriet Tubman an…

Black, Native Youth Disproportionately Charged As Adults In Washington

Source: intek1 / Getty Despite passing a law in 2018 aimed at reducing the number of youth charged as adults, recent data revealed that Black and Native youth disproportionately make up the number of kids still being charged as adults.  According to AP, data from the Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families found that 83% of kids charged as adults in 2023 were not white. “All that’s left are youth of color,” state Rep. Roger Goodma…

BLK ALERTS - Black, Native Youth Disproportionately Charged As Adults In Washington State

Source: intek1 / Getty Despite passing a law in 2018 aimed at reducing the number of youth charged as adults, recent data revealed that Black and Native youth disproportionately make up the number of kids still being charged as adults.  According to AP, data from the Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families found that 83% of kids charged as adults in 2023 were not white. “All that’s left are youth of color,” state Rep. Roger Goodma…