In the past year, the City of Memphis has seen a 15 percent increase in adolescents being transferred from juvenile court to adult court, says Josh Spickler, executive director of Just Memphis. A vast majority of them, he adds, are people of color.
Spickler joins host Eric Barnes and Daily Memphian reporter Bill Dries for this week’s WKNO-TV Behind the Headlines for a discussion about the treatment of youths in the criminal system. Solutions could include legislation that would change the age a youth can be tried as an adult.
In addition, Spickler talks about a proposed change from building a brand-new juvenile center to renovating an old Shelby County youth facility. Spickler says the focus should be on the treatment of juveniles and not the “warehouse mentality” of where to house them.