WHY WOULD WE LET THEM RIG THE GAME?

HEALTH CARE ANYONE?? This certainly includes our America's "children"!!

(excerpt)
While we clearly have the ability as a group of 305 million to update the system that is American Health Care and move our country into the 21st century in the process, it's becoming clear that we may not have the leaders to do it.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dylan-ratigan/why-would-we-let-them-rig_b_302480.html

WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN?/KIDS GROWING UP/TRYING TO SURVIVE IN AMERICA??/A MUST READ BY ALL

This issue is so important to all of us, what's going to happen to all future children, presently, and those in the coming years???and those presently "incarcerated"??

http://www.earnedmedia.org/prdo0929.htm

Adolescents Tried as Adults: A Push for Change in Idaho

A very important issue all across our nation, many ignore, but the very next "child" COULD BE "YOURS", facing this very issue. Just when will officials finally come to terms and see/understand, that "children are NOT "adults", and NOT allowed by law, the amenities of those of an adult, so indeed, why are they being dealt with, as an "adult"??
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/adolescents-tried-as-adults-a-push-for-change-in-idaho-118315.php


(excerpt)Please read full article....

"For Zachary Neagle, an Idaho fourteen-year-old, the everyday realities of other their teens have been replaced by court appearances, criminal pleas and a defense strategy. The math here is measured in years.

Many point to statutes prohibiting youths from engaging in adult activities such as voting: If teens aren't mentally mature enough to act like an adult in these situations, how can they be tried as adults in court?"

UNDERSTANDING INSIDE THE TEENAGE BRAIN/PBS

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/view

(excerpt)

"The relationship between desired behaviors and brain structure is totally unknown," John Bruer tells FRONTLINE. He is president of the James S. McDonnell Foundation and author of The Myth of the First Three Years. "This simple, popular, newsweekly-magazine idea that adolescents are difficult because their frontal lobes aren't mature is one we should be very cautious of."

Supreme Court to consider juvenile 'lifers'/A MUST READ

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-court-preview28-2009sep28,0,1454652.story

Supreme Court to consider juvenile 'lifers'
Does life without parole for minors who didn't kill constitute cruel and unusual punishment?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Many lawyers and prosecutors said that until the Supreme Court agreed this year to take up the issue, they were unaware of juveniles receiving such sentences."

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As widespread this issue is with sending juveniles to life with NO chance of parole, how can it be, that many lawyers and prosecutors state "they were unaware of juveniles receiving such sentences", where have they been all these years??????HOW COULD THEY POSSIBLY "NOT" KNOW??????? It is and has been in all the newspapers, time and time again of kids getting sent to adult prisons, lwop!!!!.....many have ALREADY DIED behind bars, Shawn Smith(13) in Fl, hunged himself in his cell, Omar Paisley(17),Fl, begged in severe pain for 3 days for medical help, died on the cell floor of a ruptured appendix, Martin Anderson(14)Fl, died at the hands of the facility guards/and a nurse(yet)all were "acquitted of any wrongdoing), Danny Matthews(15)Fl, was stabbed to death by another juvenile inmate, these are only a few cases, and ALL in Florida, so tell me, how is it, prosecutors and lawyers DO NOT KNOW?????? I am totally appauled at that statement!!!!

Is a child still a child if he is also a felon?/A MUST READ

REASONS "why" "children" cases should always be held in a "juvenile court of law", as the "child" they are. Adult sanctions is a "death sentence" for many of our nation's youth. Juvenile Justice Law Reform is imperative!

http://www.startribune.com/local/61935897.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUgOy9cP3DieyckcUsI


(excerpt)
Author Michele Deitch found that 27 states allow children ages 12 and under to be prosecuted as adults. In 22 of those states, children as young as 7 can face adult punishment.

TEENAGERS/THE "POWER OF GIVING"

http://teenagerstoday.com/resources/articles/powerofgiving.htm


The Power of Giving~ Teen volunteers make a difference for themselves,
and others

By Laurie Dove

(excerpt)
"For Sarah Swagart, it wasn’t an ideal childhood.

Swagart was molested at an early age, battled her own drug addictions and finally, at 14, was hospitalized for a serious suicide attempt. When she returned to school, Swagart felt "different" and alone. However, a community crack-down on skate boarders -- none of whom Swagart knew -- soon caught her attention. These were kids like her, she thought -- marginalized, different, without a voice.

But not for long................"

Minor Offenses: The Tragedy of Youth in Adult Prisons /PLEASE READ NOW

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091012/prison


(EXCERPT)(Interview with Liz Ryan, of the Campaign for YOUTH JUSTICE......

When 16-year-old Bobby Nestor's mother found a marijuana roach in his jacket pocket she called the police, hoping to scare him. She never intended for her teenage son to be sentenced to an adult facility, or to be harassed and raped by older inmates. After four months, Bobby hung himself in his cell........

The National Coalition for Criminal Justice Reform

Be sure to read and get involved with these most important issues.

Raising Awareness for the Wrongly Convicted and Criminal Justice Reform

http://reformingjustice.com/

New DCF reports verify abuse at Marianna boys school

Abuse of children is happening all on this nation, some have even met their deaths behind bars/confinded. Children are at the very "mercy" of their peers/guards, who take liberty of these children at will, many are never reported, many never are charged for those crimes. The next child COULD be YOURS. Education, getting involved in these juvenile INjustice issues is critical, to help save our nation's youth from doom and deaths.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/new-dcf-reports-verify-abuse-at-marianna-boys-school/1038757

(NJ)Judge Demystifies Juvenile Courts

Interesting for all parents and guardians in that area. Attendance is encouraged..FREE to the public

http://manchestertimes.micromediapubs.com/news/2009/0923/community_news/017.html

DON'T FORGET "DETAINEES" AT "HOME"

http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20090921/VIEWPOINTS02/909210301/1129/Don+t+forget+detainees+at+home


(excerpt)PLEASE READ FULL ARTICLE, SO IMPORTANT!

"Torture is wrong. Our nation believes this, and we are concerned about torture tactics used on detainees, as we should be. Shouldn't we also be concerned about abusive tactics used on our own population, particularly our children?............"

CRIME & YOUTH~"THEY ARE NOT ADULTS

http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/59071822.html

"These "one size fits all" approaches are contrary to common sense, ignore what we know about adolescent development, and in the end disregards what we know really contributes to community safety......"

Debate over youthful offenders continues100 years later

http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/article.aspx?subjectid=65&articleid=20090918_65_A17_Irecen439381

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the practice of trying and sentencing youth as adults failed to reduce violent crime or to promote public safety. Youth transferred to the adult court system were almost twice as likely to re-offend as are their counterparts sent to the juvenile court system for the same type of offense and with similar prior records, and were more likely than their counterparts to commit more serious new offenses, and at a fast rate............"

Why Reforming the Juvenile Justice System is So Hard

ONE of many articles on juvenile INJUSTICES, excerpt below, article is quite lengthy, but so important to read, the next child could be YOURS!! Juvenile Law Reform is imperative, to help save our nation's youth from doom and DEATH!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1924255,00.html

"There are some tough kids in the system but Darryl was a basically good kid," says Bob Keach, who is representing the family. "He died because of an argument over rec time — the highlight of his day — that should never happen to any kid and we're suing so that never happens again."

Youth in a Suspect Society: Are WE a Soulless People?

http://thedailyvoice.com/voice/2009/09/youth-in-a-supect-society-are-002273.php

"In a radical free-market culture, when hope is precarious and bound to commodities and a corrupt financial system, young people are no longer at risk: they are the risk."
- Giroux, Henry. Youth in a Suspect Society: Democracy or Disposability? New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009, p. x.
"If youth once constituted a social investment in the future and symbolized the promise of a better world, they are now entering another stage in the construction of a global social order in which children are increasingly demonized and criminalized..."

MENTAL HEALTH AMERICAN ADOPTS POLICY OPPOSINIG LIFE SENTENCES W/OUT PAROLE FOR JUVENILES

A critical issue for our nation's youth.......

Mental Health America Adopts Policy Opposing Life Sentences Without Parole For Juveniles

WHEN CHILDREN KILLS/PUNISHMENT VARIES

A compelling, interesting, informative article about juveniles in the "system"


http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/1443770.html

REFORMING THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM...A MUST READ

http://www.kcautv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1136937

JEFFREY DESKOVIC SPEAKS/ URGENT MESSAGE

Jeffrey Deskovic, presently an exoneree, but had been sentenced to prison, served 16 yrs for a crime he did NOT commit..........YOUR attention and ACTION is urgently requested..............
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Please forward as far and wide as you can, the link to this email about my endorsing anti-wrongful conviction advocate Richard Aborn, who is running for DA in Manhattan. Here is a piece in The Huffington Post in which I make clear the reasons I support Aborn and why you should too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lynne-glasner/trial-and-error-houston-w_b_279048.html

To have an ally in the Manhattan DA's office will help us get needed anti-wrongful conviction legislation passed, and he has publicly pledged to lead a coalition against the death penalty if there is a push to bring it back in NY. This election will be very close. I am encouraging everybody who supports me to both vote for Aborn, and encourage friends and family to do so as well. Even if you don't live in Manhattan, if you have friends and family that do, please spread the word about Aborn. This is a defining moment for criminal justice not just in NYC, but all of NY and indeed the country.

Please forward this email and this link to as many people as you can, through your list serves and all available communication methods.

Best,

Jeff Deskovic
Criminal Justice Advocate, Exoneree
http://www.JeffreyDeskovicSpeaks.org

Former Pa. judges indicted in kids-for-cash scheme

A MUST READ........

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/6610642.html

PARENTS/GUARDIANS BEWARE......NEVER go into any legal situations WITHOUT A LAWYER!!!! ONE YOU CAN "TRUST"

Texas abolishes life without parole for juveniles

http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/09/texas-abolishes-life-without-p.html

© The Dallas Morning News, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

ZACHARY REID(17) FACES LIFE IN PRISON

Zachary Reid is a 17 year old accused of first degree intentional homicide in the killing of his father Brett. Deserves a "fair and just" trial. Facing life in prison.
Please consider signing petition below and share with others.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/119/justice-for-zachary-reid

Case details....search "Zachary Reid"

PROMISING MODELS FOR REFORMING JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEMS

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marian-wright-edelman/promising-models-for-refo_b_279204.html


PROMISING MODELS FOR REFORMING JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEMS

Article is lengthy, but so important to read and get involved in these issues, excerpt below

"First, we must prevent children from entering the pipeline. Then we must help children already trapped in the pipeline find a way out rather than locking them into a lifelong spiral of arrest and incarceration."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reference juvenile justice support
http://www.kidsincourt.net
http://www.whoopassforjustice.org

IMPERATIVE READING/WRITTEN BY FORMER GANG MEMBER/A SUCCESS STORY

Very important reading, share with those in your world.........

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-rodriguezluis3-2009sep03,0,2748207.story

latimes.com
Opinion
Keeping at-risk kids out of jail -- it's an art
'Tough on crime' gang injunctions just funnel teens into jail. But one former gang member knows firsthand how a little care and attention can make a true difference.

By Luis J. Rodriguez

EXONERATED/THE DARRYL HUNT PROJECT

http://www.darrylhuntproject.org/

Hunt was released from prison after 19 years when DNA evidence exonerated him of a rape and murder charge. He is helping others, who were wrongly convicted.

129 M to SUPPORT YOUTH MENTORING

This is certainly needed "nation wide", and more of parents/guardians actively participating in children's daily lives.

Justice Department Announces $129 Million in Awards to Support Youth Mentoring

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS188450+02-Sep-2009+PRN20090902

WAR ON KIDS~~**ALERT**

WAR ON KIDS...A phenomenal informational site, a must read! Please share with those in your world.

http://www.rutherford.org/articles_db/commentary.asp?record_id=610

NEW INTERSTATE COMPACT FOR JUVENILES NOW ACTIVE

http://www.csg.org/programs/ncic/InterstateCompactforJuveniles.aspx


The new Interstate Compact for Juveniles is now active.The Compact has been adopted by 39 states.

The Council of State Governments, in cooperation with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, is currently supervising the introduction of The Interstate Compact for Juveniles. At issue are the management, monitoring, supervision and return of juveniles, delinquents and status offenders who are on probation or parole and who have absconded, escaped or run away from supervision and control to states other than where they were sentenced. Also at issue is the safe return of juveniles who have run away from home, leaving their state of residence.

(Thanks to Anita for sharing this important info, can also be viewed at Warriors for Juvenile Justice
http://lovingaconvict.ning.com/group/warriorsforjuvenilejustice/forum/topics/interstate-compact-for-2

(Must be a member to view on above URL)