JUVENILE JUSTICE REFORM: FORTY YEARS AFTER GAULT (10/28/07)
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Forty years ago - the Gault case opened a can of worms - should children be judged as children or was it fine to misuse the law and incarcerate a young person involved in a simple prank call - spend several years in person without any representation in the Court of Law?
Down the years NOT much has changed because the adult laws laid down and understood in a vague manner by most attorneys are applied automatically to children, teenagers and young adults - those in the age group from eighteen years to twenty four, suffer most. In California youth have been incarcerated and treated like animals. I have heard this from victims and others for years and the fact that it took California so long to bring about some small changes - is a crying shame. Ask any one how the three strikes is applied with ease linked to children - and you will be in for a drastic shock. Models like Restorative Justice cannot be implemented by anyone that does not have a moral compass. The changes in our system favors punitive measures and encourages incarceration as part of the over One Trillion dollar business and where this Nation incarcerates a full two percent of its population - needs some deep thinking and complete over haul. Segregation is used in most jails as a tool to control and break down the individual and torture, traumatize, and sometimes end a life. A change in the Incarceration Systems cannot come from those deeply entrenched in criminal activities, immoral behavior, while pretending to be upholders of the law. Some of the worst criminals are found among Correctional Officers be it the California Youth Guidance Centers or at the various levels where they play their games as the expense of young children. We cannot treat our children like animals and the fact it that they are treated like animals. Animals get better treated at the Society for Prevention and Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) then at the Juvenile Facilities. Go visit them and prove me wrong. In the last forty years the family life has drastically changed in America and more in California. Any way you look at it children - through no fault of their own often times unfortunate children have been the victims. No one qualified person - no one experienced and qualified body has had the guts to address the situation at hand and bring reform using the victims as a source of resource and meaningful input. We have so called authorities looking deeply at punitive measures and longer stays linked to incarceration to create statistics and make money - using children as scapegoats and having blood on their hands. Local, State, and Federal governments have gone with the flow for so many years. I have spoken to these authorities - first, allowing them to make their case. Then probing them gently - so that they reveal most of the facts that I am fully aware of, as I have been following cases linked to Juvenile Cases for the last forty years all over the world - but more in the United States. It is shocking to hear their jerks defend themselves and blame the system - while all the time they prey on the victims and make big bucks with huge salaries and fulfill their evil carnal pleasures. The Justice Systems loves to play games with that population that is most vulnerable, defenseless, and innocent - and that is wrong. Youth will tell you how they have been raped and traumatized when they should have been protected. Others will tell you how they have been beat up and scars left for years to heal on their own. It is not uncommon for some youth to be sentenced for a couple of years and be kept behind bars for 10 years or more. The more intelligent you are and more the years of incarceration one gets. Behind the wall they just do not want you to challenge the masta - after all it is a plantation of a special kind. It goes without saying if you are a person of color - you better watch out. Only those that take time - as I have done - talking to the victims can come to an understanding of the immense pain and suffering imposed on our thousands of children. And the same applies to adults behind the walls and in places like San Quentin. The California Youth Guidance centers must be torn down and the sites moved to different another site. Building on a site that has been defiled - will not solve the problem. There are unseen vibrations crying for justice - especially those that have taken their lives - preferring to end their suffering - to send some message that has taken so long to come to the attention of the world. Besides the laws of the land - local, State, and Federal - there are International Laws and those laid down in the United Nations Charter that have been broken by the California Youth Guidance authorities, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and those at the various Juvenile Centers all over California. These laws apply to children in a big way. It is time to make a documentary and to have former incarcerated youth speak up and reveal the truth. Time to adjudicate and charge those Correction Officers and Managers that have harmed our children and send them to jails - where in the adult Correctional Criminals can get a dose of their own medication - this nonsense has been going on for too, too long. Juvenile Justice Reform: Forty Years After Gault - brought some to the Boalt Hall of School of Law in Berkeley, California. It was an occasion to talk but there were few action items. An eye opener to those that knew some but not to those that have been watching the system go down the drain. There is Karma and now it the time for pay back. We must stay united to fight the forces of evil - the Correctional System of devils. For sure there were those that took advantage to make a fake point that did not go unnoticed. Kamala Harris thinks that most people look at crime and think of it as - either to be hard or soft on crime. The moronic woman has figured another dimension - "being smart on crime". One has to define "smart" and then define "crime". Smart on Crime is a cliché - that sounds good but is a contradiction in terms. It is such nonsense that has taken us backwards and brings down the good work of the very few that really care for the youth, the incarcerated, fair adjudication and proper justice. I really do not like going to workshops but I wanted to see for myself those many that talk the talk and the very few that walk the walk. Kudos to the many that put this Juvenile Justice Reform: Forty Years after Gault held October 26 and 27, 2007 at the Boalt Hall School of Law, in Berkeley, California. |
