Treatment of 10-Year Old “Adult” Prisoner Making Headlines
A 10-year old Pennsylvania boy with mental health concerns is currently sitting alone in an adult prison cell, charged as an adult in the killing of a 90-year old woman. Prison officials provided the boy with coloring books and crayons, and guards make sure he has time to “play.”
When we have to schedule “recess” in prison, something is terribly wrong. Prosecutors had no choice but to charge him as an adult—Pennsylvania law requires it—but they can, and should, quickly agree to move the boy’s case to the juvenile justice system.
Juvenile Law Center believes that the treatment of children as adults in the justice system should be extremely rare— and it should certainly never happen with 10-year olds. From our legal work on landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases, to our public outreach efforts to reform legislation, Juvenile Law Center continues our fight to protect the rights and welfare of children in the justice and child welfare systems.
Thank you for your on-going support that we might continue this important work.
To learn more about this 10-year old inmate and Juvenile Law Center’s views on his case, here are a few recent articles of interest (click to read):
A "Coloring Book" Standard for the Care of Children in Adult Jails? - Huffington Post
Expert: Adult murder charge for boy, 10, "defies all logic" - CBS News
Charge For A 10-Year-Old Boy Claimed to Defy Logic - Inquister