It is just the latest troubling incident for a state facility designed to deal with troubled youth. Now, the sheriff of the parish where the center is located said he plans to take his case for reform to the legislature next month.

Read the full article

Op-ed published in the Times-Picayune on January 18, 2012

The topic of extending the juvenile curfew in New Orleans has received significant attention — with strong opinions on both sides of the issue and local and national media paying close attention to the unfolding debate.  The City Council voted to lower the curfew Jan. 5 to 8 p.m. in the French Quarter for all youth under the age of 17 on weekends. This week the City Council is expected to vote on whether to extend the new curfew citywide.

But the city needs to stop and analyze the merits of expanding the curfew law before taking action.

The council’s interest in addressing issues of public safety is consistent with the interests of the city. However, a review of the evidence about the use of curfews to reduce crimes by and against youth suggest that it may not be a good use of already limited public resources.

In recent years, New Orleans’ executive and legislative leaders have delivered significant reforms that improve our justice system: the creation of an independent police monitor, advancements in the Police Integrity Bureau, the mayoral appointment of a Criminal Justice Working Group and a Criminal Justice Commissioner to focus on homicide reduction. Most recently, there was the successful launch of an initiative by the police superintendent to issue summonses in place of arrests for minor offenses.

These reforms represent strides in using evidence and data to support law enforcement practices that improve public safety and reduce crime, a goal that all of New Orleans’ diverse communities share.

An initial look at the curfew issue, however, suggests key questions about its ability to reduce youth-related crime. For instance, the majority of crimes committed by and against youth happen between the hours of 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., suggesting that focusing our efforts on this time of the day might have a more significant impact.

Also relevant is an analysis of the New Orleans youth curfew by the Handbook of Juvenile Justice that posits that one of the main reasons that it has not succeeded in reducing crime is that older adolescents and young adults commit the majority of serious crimes. This also suggests that police time or other interventions might be better spent focused on 17- to 25-year-olds, for the desired impact to be felt.

As expressed by dozens of citizens at recent City Council meetings, many New Orleanians also are deeply concerned about disproportionate racial enforcement of the expanded curfew law. This concern is supported by a 1999 analysis of the New Orleans curfew that showed young black people are arrested for curfew violations at a rate 19 times greater than that of young white people.

While racial profiling may not be the intention, these outcomes diminish community support and undermine the viability of the juvenile curfew as an effective crime-fighting tool. Expanding the extended-hours curfew citywide threatens to exacerbate these concerns and extend this disparity, which would be particularly damaging when we are working to improve community-police relations.

Last, a review of the literature about youth curfews suggests that introducing young people to the legal system, even for a small violation like a curfew, makes them more likely to have further encounters with law enforcement later in life. This raises the risk of unintentionally expanding the gateway into the criminal justice system for otherwise innocent youth, who under the proposed law will no longer be able to attend evening movies or Mardi Gras parades unchaperoned.

We share the council’s commitment to reducing the crime that is plaguing our city, and to protecting our youth. However, we must work for substantive solutions, based on what is demonstrated will work.

Instead of extending the curfew, we recommend that the council convene a 30-day study commission, composed of law enforcement experts, public safety scholars, community leaders and youth. Utilizing data, facts and analysis, such a commission could make a more deliberative recommendation to the council and help us to work together as one city to ensure that our law enforcement resources are directed where they can most effectively improve public safety.

This, we believe, is a goal that every New Orleanian can support.

JJPL worked with dozens of other community organizations to raise concerns about the effectiveness of extending the juvenile curfew to 8 pm citywide.  As a result of the concerns voiced by many sectors of New Orleans, including the business community, youth, and the Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs, the Council has decided to postpone consideration of the issue until there is the opportunity for a more deliberative and thoughtful process.  We are happy to see that the Council has demonstrated leadership in moving forward more thoughtfully on the issue, and look forward to working alongside JJPL’s many partner organizations and the city to develop a recommendation that will work to best  provide safety and support for New Orleans youth. 

Advocates for Christi Cheramie

As JJPL has shared in the past, Christi Cheramie was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release in June 1994, when she was 16 years old.  She pled guilty to second-degree murder in the killing of her fiance’s great aunt, Mildred Turnage, in February 1994.  By pleading guilty to the murder charge before her trial started – a decision she later explained was taken out of fear of being sentenced to death if the trial went ahead – she is prevented from directly appealing against her conviction of sentence.  In 2001, she sought to have her guilty plea withdrawn, testifying that she had not understood her rights or the trial proceeding when she pleaded guilty.  Her application was denied.

This year, JJPL and Citizens for Second Chances joined with Amnesty International to make Christi’s case a spotlight of Amnesty’s Annual Write-for-Rights Campaign, spotlighting her case as one of several individuals throughout the world whose terms of incarceration are considered a violation of international human rights norms.  We wrote letters to the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Governor Jindal to grant a clemency hearing to Christi Cheramie and to ensure that her sentence would be commuted in line with international standards.  We also received letters at JJPL to send to Christi herself, and for the last month JJPL has received literally thousands of postcards, letters and handwritten cards to Christi from people across the globe, expressing directly to her their support for her clemency petition. 

Unfortunately, on January 24^ththe Louisiana Board of Pardons reviewed the clemency petition submitted by Christi Cheramie and denied her a clemency hearing.  This denial, coupled with no access to an appeal process, means that Christi must wait for seven years before she is permitted to submit a further application for clemency.  While Christi and her family were of course deeply saddened by the news, they expressed how meaningful it has been for them to receive the letters of support from across the world.  While JJPL continues to work alongside the Cheramies and the other members of Citizens for Second Chances for the end of life without parole sentences for juveniles in Louisiana, we have also found hope in the growing support for ending this law.  Alongside faith leaders, representatives of law enforcement, families, victims, and human rights activists from across the world, JJPL will continue our efforts in Louisiana to end this unjust practice and to ensure that Christi, alongside many others, can one day have their hope for release be fulfilled.

December 22, 2011

One week from today Chris and I will be arriving in Hong Kong to start our 6 month journey to London! The process to get here has been a bit daunting as we have had to navigate international visa requirements, currency conversion, a half dozen vaccinations, language barriers as we reconnect with old friends and make new friends via Couchsurfing.org, determining what exactly we will need to pack for a 6 month long trip that spans three very different seasons, and, of course, convincing our moms we are prepared and will be safe…

This December we celebrated the one year anniversary of the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana (JJPL)in partnership with the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) welcoming home their first clients after they were released from the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. Together these men served nearly a century in prison (pictured above as they walked out of the prison gates). Their release was due to the United States Supreme Court decision in the case of Graham v. Florida which made life without parole for juveniles unconstitutional in cases where a murder did not occur. As we celebrated I was reminded of what it took to not only get them home that night, but also how that week after their release was at times so tough that those huge smiles were ripped away by feelings of doubt. After spending nearly their entire lives in prison and walking out with only a pillow case and $10 checks to start their new lives, we were first faced with the harsh reality that to even cash that check we would need $15 to pay for a birth certificate (because both of their families had lost their homes and their possessions in Hurricane Katrina – a common reality amongst those serving JLWOP) to get a State ID. Essentially, they were starting out $5 behind.

A year later we are thrilled to see the United States Supreme Court consider extending the Graham ruling to even more cases, but also concerned about how we will be able to keep that hope alive once they walk out of those prison gates. Annually, it is estimated that around 700,000 people return home from prisons and jails.  Many despite a strong work ethic and goals to succeed on the outside will end up homeless because of barriers to employment, and the simple fact that most come home with nothing besides the clothes on their backs to start their new lives. This concern is why we have decided to dedicate our trip to raising money for those, who we hope, will be at home with their families next holiday season. Please visit our Sponsorship Page to learn more and make a donation. Every penny will go towards paying the high costs of re-entry for people given a second chance after being sentenced to life without the possibility of parole as youth in Louisiana.

Chris and Kelly are originally from Colorado where they attended the University of Colorado at Boulder and graduated in 2008. Chris and Kelly have been living in Louisiana for the last three years. Chris has been working as an elementary school teacher at Milestone SABIS Academy; Kelly was working as the state coordinator for the campaign to end life without parole sentencing for juveniles in Louisiana with the Juveniles Justice Project of Louisiana (JJPL). In the fall of 2012, Chris will be enrolling in graduate school to pursue a career in wilderness based therapy and counseling with youth; Kelly will be enrolling in Law School to continue her work with youth in the adult criminal justice system. Together, like JJPL, they envision a world where children, their families and their communities are given the greatest opportunities to grow and thrive. 

Watch the full video

Listen to the interview here

JJPL’s mission is to transform the juvenile justice system into one that builds on the strengths of young people, families and communities to ensure children are given the greatest opportunities to grow and thrive. We have three key program objectives to achieve this mission: to reduce the number of children in secure care and abolish unconstitutional conditions of confinement by improving or, when necessary, shutting down institutions that continue to inhumanely treat children; to expand evidence-based alternatives to incarceration and detention for youth; and to build the power of those most impacted by the juvenile justice system.  

Watch the video here