Editor’s note: The letter below was sent to subscribers by the SPLC Action Fund. Visit splcactionfund.org for more information,
Last year, the governor of Louisiana moved incarcerated juveniles from youth secure care centers to a maximum security adult prison known for its human rights abuses — Angola Penitentiary. It is unacceptable to place youth in this setting. Look at the terrified declaration of a 9th grader in Louisiana’s juvenile system about the prospect of transfer to Angola adult state penitentiary:
Before I share the remainder of his story with you, please read and forward our latest report, written by my colleague Delvin Davis, on our misguided, punitive approach to youth justice, tragically epitomized in the Louisiana governor’s decision to move youth to Angola:
Threatening to transfer a child in need of support and services to a dangerous maximum-security adult prison, like Angola Penitentiary, represents a complete failure by the state of Louisiana to provide rehabilitation to children. When faced with the prospect of being transferred from a juvenile secure care facility to an adult maximum security prison, this 9th grader wrote in his declaration to the judge:
I am terrified of being moved to Angola. I do not believe I have done anything to deserve that… I am worried about not being able to talk to my mom as frequently or at all. I am worried also I will lose access to school and books for recreational reading at Angola. I do not believe we will have access to the same level of treatment.
I am sad to tell you that his fears were well-justified: built on a former slave plantation, Angola has become notorious for human rights abuses. Incarcerating young people in the nation’s largest maximum security prison is simply wrong, and underscores the failures of a system that punishes youth instead of rehabilitating them.
By reading our report, you will learn a few of the major reasons that our juvenile justice system is skewed toward punitive justice and what we can do about it. One thing you will learn in the report is that the adults in Louisiana are failing children.
The disproportionate rate at which Black youth are suspended or expelled from school, especially in Louisiana, creates the school-to-prison pipeline — and once they are in that pipeline, Black youth are less likely to get access to existing diversion programs that are rehabilitative. (See the blue bars below.) Imprisoned youth face a higher risk of physical and sexual assault, and research shows that people imprisoned as youths are more likely to get stuck in a lifelong cycle of incarceration.
So, knowing these tragic facts, and reading these tragic stories, we are left with a question. What do we do? It’s actually pretty clear-cut:
1. Ban youth imprisonment in adult facilities like Angola,
2. raise the minimum age of incarceration,
3. ensure non-violent offenses do not lead to jail for juveniles, and
4. increase the number of behavioral, rehabilitative community-based alternatives.
I want to linger on this last point before I close. The 9th grader quoted above had challenges that modern therapy has the ability to treat. “I also see… a social worker every two (2) weeks for my mental health issues,” he wrote, “We also discuss coping skills and anger management.”
Consider what this 9th grader’s life could be like if those services were available to him in the community. Consider if they were available to him before his entanglement in the youth justice system. Research shows that youth are likely to age out of violence, especially with behavioral support, such as regular appointments with a social worker.
Governor Edwards of Louisiana and Louisiana’s First Lady, Donna Edwards, have said publicly that youth are a priority. Tell Louisiana’s Governor, Louisiana’s First Lady, and the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet to close the juvenile wing at Angola State Penitentiary and remove those children from adult prison immediately.
We cannot win justice for youth — in Louisiana, in the United States — without your continued support. The best way to do that is to email the Governor and read and forward this report today.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely, Nina Patel
Senior Policy Counsel,
Decarceration and Criminal Legal System Reform SPLC Action
SPLC Action Fund
400 Washington Avehttps://www.splcactionfund.org/
Montgomery, AL
36104
United States
334.956.8200
