A couple weeks ago we brought you news that R.F, a young man who had been in custody in Miami awaiting trial for nearly 5 years, had finally been sentenced and charged. I first met R.F photographing inside Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where he had been incarcerated since the age of 14. After that initial visit, we stayed in touch, and R.F eventually sent me a copy of the manuscript he had been writing about his childhood and life up to that point. There is something to be said about such a young life already having over 100 pages worth of stories to tell. Being in touch with R.F also meant being in touch with Gale Lewis, his public defender and a talented, passionate, immensely hard-working woman. Since the news that R.F’s case is finally moving forward, I recorded … Read More »

We have some really exciting events coming up that you will want to put on your calendar: The first week of January is busy, with the opening of the Juvenile-in-Justice exhibition at Ronald Feldman Fine Arts in New York on January 5 from 6-8pm, and a talk at Vera Institute of Justice on Wednesday January 9 at 6pm.
 

If you are around, we hope you will join us both of these events– both will be great and give you a chance to see the work of Juvenile-in-Justice in person and hear my thoughts on creating the work and on issues of juvenile justice.

And if you unfortunately are not in the area, please share with friends/advocates/non-profits in New York and surrounding areas. All are welcome!!!!!
 
 

via the New York Times: “Prison Could Be Productive”
This week, The Times Room for Debate section brings together experts and advocates in the field of criminal justice and prison law to discuss the following: “Given that most inmates will one day be released, how should incarceration change to prepare people to rejoin the outside world? How can a prison sentence change a person for the better?” An excellent, intelligent read that brings together a multitude of perspectives.
Read the debate HERE.
 

via the New York Times: “Deal Signed to Overhaul Juvenile Justice in Tennessee”

 
Since 2009, federal investigators have been in Shelby County, Tennessee (which includes Memphis) uncovering a heap of issues with the juvenile justice system there. The problems spanned from sending disproportionate numbers of black teenagers to adult court, to keeping kids restrained in restraint chairs like the one above (which was … Read More »

Yesterday, my image of a restraint chair at Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center in Wisconsin was featured in the NY Times alongside an article about the reforms being made to the juvenile justice system in Shelby County, Tennessee. The piece, by Kim Severson, details an ongoing federal investigation which revealed a system that was treating kids poorly, incarcerating a disproportionately high number of black teenagers, and employing bad and sometimes illegal practices. I have not been able to photograph in Tennessee, and perhaps this article illustrates what administrators desired to keep opaque. It is disappointing, but we can hope that now, with attention being paid and new changes being federally mandated, that the system in Shelby County (which includes Memphis) will improve for those that it serves.

Read the entire article HERE. 

In the wake of the beyond devastating events of last Friday (http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/us/connecticut-school-shooting/index.html), wherein a young man entered an elementary school heavily armed and proceeded to kill 6 adults and 20 children, I am forced to mourn again the case of firearms ending up in the wrong hands. In my work, I encounter story after story where children acquire guns, sometimes with fatal consequences. I remember talking to one young man and asking him where he got the gun he used in his crime, his response was,”Where do you get a gun? You just get a gun.” While vague, his statement reflects the ease with which a person, even a child, can access a deadly weapon. In Connecticut, the gunman, a 20-year-old man, used three of his mother’s guns in the massacre.

This is all  leaves me wondering, what can we do? … Read More »

via the A.P: “US: 200 Teens Have Been Detained In Afghan War” 
This article by Peter James Spiellman takes us out the U.S to Afghanistan, where a significant number of Afghan teenagers are being held in custody at a detention facility in Parwan. A recently released U.S report categorizes these youth as “enemy combatants” detained “to prevent [them] from returning to the battlefield.” Human rights organizations, such as the ACLU, are questioning the legitimacy of this detention, noting that if the average age is 16, some of the children could be as young as 14 or 13.
Read the article HERE. 
 

 
via the Boston Globe: “Child-safe Lockups”  

Yvonne Abraham, originally of Massachusetts, offering important criticism of her home state’s juvenile justice system and praise of an upcoming bill to raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction from 17-18. It may seem like an insignificant gap, … Read More »

 
€œThis is my fourth time here. This time I’ve been here about a month. I’€™m almost 18. Before this I was in DHS (Department of Human Services, sometimes CPS) custody. I was at Kristy Care, but I had assaults against staff. They all occurred during a take down when I was 14.
 

I’€™m here for 3 assault-4€™s– misdemeanors. There are no other programs that would take me. My mom is a Kurd. My sister and I were adopted by my dad, he’s a lot older. I was born and raised in Kurdistan. I was about 10 when I came here. I was in Kristy Care for cutting myself. My mom is 30… she’€™s a prostitute. My father is about 80. My dad sexually assaulted me and my sister. My mom stayed in Kurdistan. My adopted dad brought me and my … Read More »