Bobby Bostic’s Injustice: A Cruel and Usual Story

Eleanor Goldfield / Art Killing Apathy Apr 24, 2018 As a 16-year-old, he was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison for robbery. And the Supreme Court will not review his case to overturn the extreme punishment. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Illinois Cutting Solitary Confinement Time for Juveniles

Duaa Eldeib / ProPublica Oct 29, 2017 State officials heed a court order regarding the punishment and say research on the harm of isolating young offenders is too powerful to ignore. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

For Some Youths, ‘Minor’ Offenses Lead to Major Sentences

Duaa Eldeib / ProPublica Oct 25, 2017 Cases threaten to undermine efforts at juvenile justice reform in Illinois. Dig deeper ( 13 Min. Read )

Why 15-Year-Old Travion Blount Got More Than 6 Life Sentences for a Crime in Which No One Was Hurt

Sonali Kolhatkar / Truthdig Jan 16, 2014 Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, as one of his last acts in office, reduced the sentence of a 23-year-old African-American inmate named Travion Blount to 40 years in prison, making him eligible for release at age 55.Instead of being a poor black kid, what if Travion Blount had been white and wealthy? Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Why Has It Taken the Justice Department 10 Years to Act on Rape in Juvenile Hall?

Staff / Truthdig Jan 14, 2014 Last week, the Justice Department convened hearings under the Prison Rape Elimination Act to examine the prevalence of rape and sexual abuse in the nation's prisons and juvenile detention centers. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Education

David Fitzsimmons, Cagle Cartoons, The Arizona Star Sep 6, 2013 Dig deeper

Top Court Revamps Life Sentence Rules for Underage Criminals

Staff / Truthdig May 17, 2010 The U.S. Supreme Court changed the future fortunes of minors accused of less severe crimes than murder on Monday, ruling in a 6-3 decision that doling out life sentences with no chance of parole in those cases would amount to cruel and unusual punishment. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Fighting Crime by Reforming Juvenile Hall

Staff / Truthdig Jun 2, 2009 This week on the podcast: Sheerly Avni and Omar Turcios from The Beat Within, a magazine written by and for the troubled kids in juvenile prisons. Such facilities could be "recruiting grounds for crime fighting," argues Avni, and that's in our self-interest. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

15 or Not, Alleged Pirate Will Be Tried as Adult

Staff / Truthdig Apr 22, 2009 Whether or not Abduwali Abukhadir Muse is 15, as his father claims, he will be tried in New York as an adult for his alleged role in holding an American ship captain as a hostage. Muse's mother, on the other side of the world, has asked President Obama for mercy, or to at least let her be with her son. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Crime, Poverty and Education: It’s Not Rocket Science

Staff / Truthdig Sep 25, 2007 Truthdig regulars Sheerly Avni, James Harris and Josh Scheer put their heads together to try to figure out why the big problems that plague our communities never get solved. Dig deeper ( 11 Min. Read )

Paul Cummins: Writing Poetry Beats Armed Robbery

Paul Cummins / Truthdig Jan 4, 2007 An enrichment program for incarcerated L.A. youths is proving that non-punitive rehabilitation can and does work. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )