Most of these children are first time offenders and are thrown away without any benefit of counseling or rehabilitation. Children are 8 times more likely to be beaten, sexually abused or committ suicide while in adult prisons.
While I do agree that laws do need to be in place for multiple offending and hardened gang members and drug dealers, our first offending youth are getting caught up in these same mandatory sentencing laws.
Protections must be put into place and the circumstances of each case must be reviewed. Currently there are no laws on the books for our first offending children.
Children are being sentenced to 30 years for automobile accidents, 17 year old William Thornton IV of Florida was sentenced to 30 years for an automible accident, he was a first offender, clean kid , good student.
What the judical system is doing to our offending youth will come back ten fold for our future if we do not demand change for these first offending children.
The government has basically abandoned any concepts of the juvenile justice system .
Please view and add your name in support for new legisaltion for our first offending children 14 and under.
It is called Christopher’s Bill (The Juvenile Justice Reform Act ).
Christopher's Bill was written after the conviction of 12 year old Christopher Pittman of South Carolina.
Christopher Pittman age 12 at the time,killed his grandparents while having an adverse reaction to 200 mgs. a day of Zoloft.Christopher was given Paxil and then Zoloft without the required 2 week washout period needed to cleanse his body. Paxil and Zoloft are SSRI's and do not interact with each other. And are not approved for children 18 and under.
He was tried and sentenced to 30 years without the possibility of parole.
His case will be heard in the South Carolina Supreme Court soon. I have worked with Christopher and his family for the past 2 years .Christopher is a wonderful child and should have never been tried as an adult.
Christopher's Bill is a common sense Bill only putting into place protections for young children and for parents as well. Many parents are not aware that when a child is waived up to adult court at any age as young as 10 to date, you will lose all parental rights to your child.Christopher's Bill puts protections in place for you as the parent to protect your child.
Please sign the attached petition on the bill .This purposed bill has been taken to Washington DC for review as a federal bill and is also being delivered throughout this nation to state legislators to conform to their state laws .
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/429258617?ltl=1114901126
We must begin a change and offer our youngest of first offending children every opportunity for rehabiltation and counseling.
Whatever your opinion on the SSRI issues and their dangerous side effects to children and adults , when you speak of your own children at 12 years old .They are a child, your child.
For more information , please visit: www.juvenilejusticefoundation.com
Janet Sisk/ Founder / JJFC
Contact : jsisk@juvenilejusticefoundation.com