Setting the Record Straight

Ludicrous Attacks on State Senator Serve to Highlight North Carolina’s Appalling Policies

By Rob Schofield

It’s easy for politicians and pundits to spout off about “getting tough on crime.” Juvenile offenders, in particular, often make especially inviting targets. No one likes brats gone bad. If the state treasury had a dollar for every time a politician or talk radio troglodyte blathered on about the need to stop “coddling young criminals” it would have enough to pay for a universal healthcare system or, at least, the Google and Goodyear incentives for the next few years.

There’s just one problem with the “lock ‘em up” approach when it comes to the issue of juvenile crime: it seldom works. For all of the cheap and easy political points that can be scored with the “get tough” rhetoric, the fact of the matter is that juvenile justice is an enormously complex subject.

Even if one lays aside the myriad factors that contribute to the challenge of dealing with juvenile crime (poverty, racism, inadequate public education, lack of healthcare, lack of affordable housing, lack of mental health services, lack of role models – just to name a few) it’s clear that there’s more to producing good, long-term outcomes for juvenile offenders and the society they will inevitably re-enter than harsh punishment. Indeed, in many instances, punishing young people like adults, as North Carolina does more than just about any other state in the country, is a surefire way to produce boatloads of hardened, unemployable, disaffected people.

Don’t try telling this, however, to the folks who run the Franklin County Republican party. Earlier this week, the group launched the following rather remarkable broadside at State Senator Doug Berger. Berger, it seems, had the temerity to introduce legislation last winter that would have opened the possibility of allowing a small handful people to seek to have some non-violent crimes committed while they were 16 or 17 expunged from their records.

Here’s the full text of the attack:

“OFFICAL PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 3, 2007

Berger Blasted for Allowing Criminals in Children’s Classrooms
Bill Would Let Criminals Teach, Be Police Officers

The chairman of the Franklin County Republican Party is blasting Democratic state Sen. Doug Berger of Youngsville for sponsoring a bill that allows convicted felons to teach in children’s classrooms. Senate Bill 677 would expunge criminal records of 16- and 17-year-olds.

‘Doug Berger needs to explain why he wants criminals to be teaching our children,’ said Chairman John Edwards. ‘Even the county school superintendent and the state School Board Association oppose Berger’s bizarre attempts to give felons a second chance in the classroom. In fact, Berger’s bill would let criminals become police officers.

‘It’s obvious that Berger is looking out for the interests of criminals while ignoring the safety and welfare of our children and citizens. Once again, Berger has stooped to a new low.’

For more information go to www.FranklinNCGOP.com or call 919-496-1469.”

Setting the Record Straight

It’s hard to know where to begin when critiquing such incendiary claptrap. First of all, laying aside for the moment the substance of the attack (or the lack thereof), the timing of the whole thing is a tad strange. The bill in question, Senate Bill 677, was introduced in March. It was last debated in a committee on April 25. That the Franklin GOP felt compelled to release such an urgent attack now, almost five and a half months after the most recent action on the matter, is hard to figure. Perhaps someone should explain the General Assembly’s schedule to the group.

As for the content of the press release, here are the relevant facts:

The bill in question is not by any fair assessment an attempt to put criminals in the classroom or on the police force. It is, in fact, one of a handful of extremely modest (and probably inadequate) proposals this year to allow a very small number of North Carolinians (probably fewer than 20 people – maybe less than 10) to reclaim their lives after having paid their entire debt (plus more) to society for non-violent felonies they committed while aged 16 or 17.

Currently, a person convicted of a non-violent felony (which could include possession of marijuana or even theft of pine straw) at age 16 or 17 is automatically tried as an adult. Once convicted and permanently branded, such persons face an enormous, often insuperable, burden for the rest of their lives when it comes to a job search, applying for college aid and any number of opportunities.

Under the terms of the bill, such individuals could apply to have their records expunged if and only if they meet long list of specific and demanding criteria, including:

• Completing all court-ordered punishment and supervision and then remaining completely “clean” for additional two years.
• Submitting affidavits from unrelated persons as to their moral character.
• Proving they have earned a high school diploma or its equivalent.
• Completing 100 hours of community service above and beyond any sentence imposed.
• Submitting themselves to the full discretion of the judge – who must first hear from the District Attorney and receive a comprehensive national criminal background check.

Though far from perfect (the bill never got far enough along in the legislative process to be fully vetted) it is, by any dispassionate analysis, a genuine and sincere attempt to address an extremely serious problem in North Carolina’s juvenile justice system – namely, the state’s absurd policy of automatically trying all 16 and 17 year olds as adults.

At present, North Carolina is one of only three states to follow such a draconian policy (one of the other two, Connecticut, just repealed their law). In most other states, minors are generally presumed by law to be just that, minors. While young people accused of serious felonies can be transferred to the adult criminal system, the initial presumption is that they have a lesser capacity to make intentional choices and are thus likely to be less culpable for their crimes.

Not only is such a policy far more humane, it is also more effective and practical. Here’s what one former prosecutor had to say on the subject in an opinion piece in the Raleigh News & Observer in May:

“In North Carolina, 16- and 17-year-olds are automatically tried as adults no matter how minor the offense. I used to believe that this was a good way to make a community safer. Young people sent to the adult criminal justice system would be so scared that they wouldn’t break the law again.

It turns out, however, that the overwhelming majority of young people prosecuted in North Carolina as adults are not prosecuted for serious violent crimes. Many youths convicted do not serve time but instead serve probation, without access to the juvenile justice programs that could address the causes that led them into illegal activities.

Earlier this month the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Task Force on Community Preventive Services released a major report that examined whether transferring youths to the adult criminal justice system really deters crime.

The basic conclusion could not be more blunt: ‘Transferring juveniles to the adult justice system is counterproductive as a strategy for deterring subsequent violence.’"

The bottom line on the matter is this: juvenile justice is not a partisan matter. Both parties have their share of enlightened leaders and opportunistic oafs. In the future, the Franklin County GOP should get their facts straight and spare us the absurd hyperbole on a matter of such importance.     

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This entry was posted on Thursday, October 4th, 2007 at 2:42 pm and is filed under Setting the Record Straight. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.