Juvenile Angle Frees Man After 14 Years in Jail, The New Indian Express

The Madras High Court has come to the rescue of a 37-year-old man, who has spent 14 years in Vellore prison on the charge of murder by ordering his release on the ground that he was a juvenile at the time of murder.

As Jayavel was a juvenile in conflict with law when the crime had been committed, as per the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, he could not have been sentenced to life, a division bench comprising justices K N Basha and P Devadass said.

As per the law, at the most, he could have been detained in a special home for three years. Now, he had been in jail for more than 14 years. Following the mandate of law and Supreme Court decisions, Jayavel should be released from jail, the bench said.

Juvenile Justice Shifts Advances, LEXCH.com

Nebraska lawmakers gave a first-round thumbs-up to changing how the state deals with youngsters who run afoul of the law.

Legislative Bill 561 aims to deal with more of those youths at home rather than putting them in local detention centers or the state institutions at Kearney and Geneva.

“This is a sea change in the way that Nebraska is going to address the needs of juveniles in this state,” said State Sen. Colby Coash of Lincoln.

The bill would shift responsibility for all 3,500 or so juvenile offenders from the Department of Health and Human Services to the state’s Office of Probation Administration.

Center for Children, Law & Policy to Bring National Juvenile Justice Advocates to Houston for Professional Development Training, The Wall Street Journal

Juvenile rights, education and national juvenile defense standards will be the focus of the 12(th) Annual Zealous Advocacy Conference to be held May 16-17 at the University of Houston Law Center. Co-sponsored by the Center for Children, Law & Policy and the Southwest Juvenile Defender Center, the two-day seminar is the premier training for juvenile public defense attorneys practicing in the Southwestern United States.

“This is the only conference in Texas that is specifically designed to help attorneys who defend children in delinquency court,” said Ellen Marrus, co-director of the Center for Children, Law & Policy and the George Butler Research Professor of Law at the UH Law Center. “It gives defenders from various states an opportunity to come together and exchange ideas. We try to make sure our presentations are on the cutting edge.”

Six Houston High Schools Among Top 100 in the U.S., Houston Chronicle

U.S. News & World Report has come out with its 2013 list of best public high schools, and Texas claims 15 spots among the top 100.

No. 1 among more than 21,000 high schools in the nation, according to the magazine, is School for the Talented and Gifted in Dallas.

Two other Dallas schools show up in the top 100 – No. 14, Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School and No. 24, School of Science and Engineering Magnet.

Houston’s first entry on the list is No. 17, with Carnegie Vanguard High School, 1501 Taft St. in Midtown.

In all, Houston has six schools among the top 100.

Taser Used on Youth at Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center, WJTV

A year after a settlement agreement was reached to address abusive conditions at the Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center, an independent court monitor has found that a Taser was used on a youth at the facility on Christmas and that the detention center has shown little progress meeting the conditions of the agreement.

The monitor’s third quarterly report, filed in the U.S District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, describes a number of other failures, including inadequate staffing, training and programming at the facility. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is urging the facility to make immediate and significant changes to protect the children at Henley-Young from further harm.

“It is outrageous that after reaching a settlement agreement that the staff at Henley-Young feels it is appropriate to allow  deputies into the facility to use a Taser on a youth,” said Corrie Cockrell, SPLC staff attorney. “This incident is a symptom of a facility with a dangerous disregard for the safety of the children in its care.”

Book on Child-Related Laws for Police Launched, Business Recorder

A book launching ceremony held in the Police Training Collage Hangu on Child related laws for police officers/trainees. At the occasion Rahim Hussein CLI PTC, Hangu, while presenting the contents of laws, said that the book contains Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa JJSO Rules 2002, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and Welfare Act 2010, Probation of Offenders Ordinance 1960 and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Borstal Institutions Act 2012.

He said that with collaboration of SPARC, PTC Hangu published 1,000 books, which is now included in the syllabus and will be taught in Local Special Laws. Akbar Ali Shah Programme Manager Juvenile Justice SPARC thanked PTC, Hangu, especially Abdul Waheed Khan Commandant PTC, Hangu for their efforts in making all the way possible for the publication of this book, while addressing to the participants he shared massage of Ms Zarina Jillani Executive Director SPARC as follows;

The importance of effective training of Police is essential to provide and protect human rights in every society. In the case of children it becomes even more crucial considering that both national and international laws require special consideration, care and protection when dealing with them.

Monitor Files Report on Hinds Juvenile Lockup, SunHerald.com

A court monitor says the Hinds County juvenile detention center violated a provision in a lawsuit settlement when a stun gun was used on a youth Christmas Day.

The Southern Poverty Law Center sued the Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center in 2011. SPLC alleged that children were being denied mental health services and subjected to verbal abuse and threats by staff.

The lawsuit resulted in the settlement agreement, which included an expert, Leonard Dixon, monitoring the facility.

Dixon said in a report dated April 12 that there was no need for a Hinds County deputy to enter the facility and use a stun gun on an unruly inmate.

It seems like every week, if not every day, there is a new report about another girl who has been raped. Sometimes that story ends with a conviction of the rapist, but most times it does not end that way. The young girl is badgered on social media and sadly, sometimes it results in her death. When is it going to be enough? When will we start to teach everyone to stop raping rather than how not to get raped? When will girls and women everywhere be able to walk outside at night or have a drink on a date without the fear that the night will end in rape? When will our culture of rape tolerance cease?

A few months ago, a college in Colorado even published a list of helpful hints for women on how to prevent rape. Conveniently, it did not publish a list teaching men how to stop raping women. For years, a girl’s sexual history, clothing, and personality have been taken into account when people decide if she “had it coming” or not. This is flat out disgusting. Why is the girl put on trial when she is the victim? Why aren’t we teaching boys and men to not rape? Why not cut off the crime before it even begins? We need to start teaching boys and men to respect women and to understand that YES means YES.

In the last two months there were two stories of young victims of rape who killed themselves after badgering on social media and at school was too much. Jane Doe in Ohio had to watch the media favor the rapists in her rape trial. Our culture needs to wake up and realize it enables rapists. We put upon girls the responsibility of not getting raped and then if they are raped we blame them again. There is a law against rape for a reason; it is the rapist’s fault it happened. Society needs to start taking responsibility and choosing to blame the rapist. We need to start teaching everyone to not rape. We need to teach that what a girl wears to school or if she chooses to consume alcohol does NOT give anyone the right to rape her. Rape is wrong and it is about time we start teaching that. When will these stories be enough? When will we vindicate the victims? When will the time come when girls do not have to be scared of what could happen to them? I hope that society learns something from these girls’ stories and we can start to protect our children again.

Canadian Teen Commits Suicide After Alleged Rape, Bullying, CNN

The family of a teenager who committed suicide after she was allegedly gang-raped and bullied is urging Canadian officials to reconsider filing criminal charges.

Rehtaeh Parsons, a 17-year-old high school student from Halifax, Nova Scotia, was taken off life support on Sunday, three days after she tried to hang herself. Her family told CNN they met with Canadian justice officials on Wednesday and the officials assured them they would take a fresh look at filing charges.

The teen was bullied for more than a year after the alleged sexual assault, which happened in November 2011 when she was 15, her family said.

Authorities confirmed that a photograph allegedly showing Parsons having sex with one of the boys was circulated to friends’ mobile phones and computers. As a result, her family said she developed suicidal thoughts.

Charter School’s Entry Fee is Illegal, The Houston Chronicle

Houston Gateway Academy, a public charter school that serves mostly low-income families, was charging parents fees to enroll their children in violation of state law, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Applicants to the school received a letter saying the fee – $100 for one child or $200 per family – was required for students to land a reserved spot next fall.

The school described the mandatory payment as an “activity fee” that was “for but not limited to special activities, P.E. equipment and other supplies, bus transportation for field trips, enrichment activities and/or renovations district wide.”

Charter schools and traditional school districts are allowed to charge for materials, student clubs, identification cards and a few other areas under state law, but the fees cannot be tied to admission, said TEA spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe.

Best and Worst Restaurant Meals for Kids, The Houston Chronicle

A nonprofit consumer advocacy group is urging restaurants to take greater steps to encourage kids to eat healthier.

A recent report by the Centers for Science in the Public Interest looks at nutrition information from kids’ meals in some of the country’s top restaurant chains and evaulates the meals based on nutrition guidelines laid out by the National Restaurant Association’s Kids LiveWell program.

The study, performed by CSPI and the University of North Carolina at Asheville, looked at the 50 top U.S. restaurant chains but could only find nutrition info for 34 of them.

Texas Senate Approves Bill to Limit Ticketing Youth, Education Week

Faced with a documented pattern of teenagers pushed into the criminal justice system for acting out in class, Texas lawmakers on Thursday advanced a measure to start decriminalizing youthful misbehavior.

The Senate unanimously approved a bill that would limit the practice of issuing tickets for minor classroom offenses. The measure, which still must clear the House, would replace misdemeanor citations with counseling referrals and punishments such as community service performed on the school grounds.

“When you have these tickets, you end up having the kids caught up in the system for little violations that should be taken care of in the school,” Sen. Royce West, a Dallas Democrat who wrote the bill, told The Associated Press.

If this bill passes the Texas House, finally schools will be limited in how they deal with children acting out in class. In too many districts, an infraction as small as writing on a school desk is a state jail felony and is treated as so by the school, instead of dealt with inside the school system. When I was little I remember other students having detention, time out, signing the bad book, or suspensions. While children do need to behave in class so that all students may be able to pay attention and learn, schools can implement discipline programs within their walls, instead of taking the easy way out and calling the police.

To learn more on the matter the rest of the article can be found here.

The Southwest Juvenile Defender Center (SWJDC), a program of the Center for Children, Law & Policy at the University of Houston Law Center, is accepting applications for the seventh annual Napoleon Beazley Defender Award.  The award recognizes the efforts of a graduating law student who is committed to working on behalf of the defense of children in our region: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. The award will be presented at our annual Zealous Advocacy Conference on May 17, 2013

SWJDC works to bring together juvenile defenders, mental health professionals, educators, legislators and other juvenile justice professionals in Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah.  We view the representation of children as a holistic paradigm and encourage the zealous advocacy of children whether in schools, delinquency centers, dependency situations or as unaccompanied minors in the immigration system.  To meet this goal SWJDC provides training to individuals working on behalf of children, the services of a social worker to help attorneys representing children, technical assistance to defenders across the region, publications, community outreach, and other resources for children and families.

Napoleon Beazley was executed in Texas for a crime he committed when he was seventeen.  He believed that the death penalty was morally wrong and that children deserved second chances. When asked about his upcoming execution, Napoleon responded by saying “I want something positive to come out of this no matter what happens to me.  To me that is important, and that is what I’m focused on.”  The United States Supreme Court concluded in Roper v. Simmons that the death penalty for juveniles was unconstitutional, but it was too late for Napoleon.  This award honors his memory and the work he believed needed to be done.

Applicants must be law students who graduated during the 2012-13 academic year, registered to take the bar in one of the states mentioned above, and planning to practice in some area of children and the law.  Applications must include a resume, two letters of recommendation, and an essay of no more than 500 words that states why the applicant should receive the award.  All applications will be reviewed by the Napoleon Beazley Defender Award Committee and must be received by April 8, 2013 by 5:00 PM.  No late or incomplete applications will be considered.  Applications may be sent by mail or e-mail to:

Professor Ellen Marrus

University of Houston Law Center

Center for Children, Law & Policy

100 Law Center Drive,

Houston, TX 77204-6060

EMarrus@Central.UH.edu

Teen Court Gives Wayward Youth a Jury of their Peers, Spirit of Jefferson

Imagine making a poor decision that could change the course of your life. Now imagine having a second chance to correct your mistake and learning how to be a productive citizen.

The Jefferson County Teen Court program in partnership with the United Way of the Eastern Panhandle is a community-based intervention/prevention program designed to provide an alternative response for the juvenile justice system for first-time, nonviolent juvenile offenders by having a community young people determine the appropriate sanctions for the offender.

The program is a legally binding alternative system of justice that will hold youthful offenders accountable in an effort to promote long-term behavioral change that leads to enhanced public safety. The program is designed for youth in the 7th through 12th grades and between ages 11 and 18. Juvenile offenders are referred to teen court by the Jefferson County juvenile prosecuting attorney’s office. Both the juvenile offender and his parent must agree to the terms of Jefferson County Teen Court.

Judge:  Teen to Stand Trial as Juvenile in Murder Case, The Advocate

A Juvenile Court judge ruled Monday that a 15-year-old Baton Rouge boy charged with murder in a deadly home invasion last year should stand trial as a juvenile, denying a request by prosecutors that he be tried as an adult.

After two days of testimony, Judge Pamela Taylor Johnson found Darien Bailey has “borderline” intelligence and the mind of about a 10-year-old, though he was 14 when he was arrested in the Nov. 6 fatal shooting of Derrick Marioneaux.

Bailey has better chances of being rehabilitated through Office of Juvenile Justice services than if he were to become a “victim” among the older adult prison population, Johnson determined.

10 Places that can Change your Child’s Life, CNN

She’s looking over the boat’s edge to spot a dolphin and record its markings. He’s digging for medieval tools in the fields around an abandoned friary. Or they’re simply hearing their native language spoken a bit differently in a different country, where the food doesn’t quite taste the same.

Travel can introduce kids to the world’s real-life wonders, changing their perspective on topics they may have only read about in books.

It can literally change their lives.

“There is a kid’s way of seeing the world,” says Keith Bellows, editor-in-chief of National Geographic Traveler magazine and author of National Geographic’s “100 Places That Can Change Your Child’s Life.” “As an adult, get out of the way, and stop marching them through an experience. When you get them to slow down and experience a place from their perspective, it’s magic. Not just the place itself, but the experience.”

Texas Investigator found 30+ Bruises, Cuts on Dead Boy Adopted from Russia, CNN

A 3-year-old adopted boy — whose death in West Texas has drawn stern criticism from Russia — had more than 30 bruises, cuts and other marks on his body soon after he was pronounced dead, according to a report from a Texas medical examiner obtained by CNN.

Along with his 2-year-old brother, Max Shatto arrived in the United States with his adoptive parents in November 2011. Just more than two months later, his adoptive mother told authorities that she found him unresponsive in the family’s Gardendale, Texas, backyard. He was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at a nearby hospital.

Soon after Max’s death on January 21, Russia’s top child rights advocate tweeted that the boy had been “killed” or “murdered.” Children’s Rights Commissioner Pavel Astakhov later acknowledged he might have spoken too soon — though he has remained highly critical of the U.S. handling of the case.

A High School where the Students are the Teachers, Time

If high school students took charge of their education with limited supervision, would they learn? A Massachusetts school is finding out.

“Some kids say, I hate science or I hate math, but what they are really saying is: I hate science class or I hate math class,” says high school senior Matt Whalan.

Whalan is writing a novel. That’s a notable feat for a 17-year-old, and he has a semester to finish it. Whalan is enrolled in the Monument Mountain Regional High School’s Independent Project, an alternative program described as a “school within a school,” founded and run by students. The semester-long program is in its third year, and Whalan has completed the program three times during his high school career and says it has saved his grades.

Torrington Holding Public Meeting on Cyberbullying, NorthJersey.com

The arrests of three high school students on sexual assault charges and the online taunting of an accuser have prompted Torrington officials to organize a community meeting on cyberbullying, statutory rape and social media.

Board of Education Chairman Kenneth Traub said Monday that school officials, local police and religious leaders are organizing a community forum they expect to hold in the first two weeks of April. He said additional public meetings are possible.

“I imagine that the public input section of it would be overwhelming,” Traub told the Register Citizen newspaper of Torrington. “We are working with the city and the police department to put on a forum to discuss the issues at hand.”

Ohio School Shooter Shows Contempt, No Remorse during Sentencing, CNN

Lane’s own lawyer told the court he urged his client not to make the type of statement that the attorney expected to be delivered.

But no one could have fully foreseen the actions and words of Lane, who entered the courtroom and removed his blue button-down shirt while the judge and those in attendance took their seats.

Lane, now 18, revealed a white T-shirt with the word “killer” written on it.

Test of Anthrax Vaccine in Children gets Tentative OK, Reuters

A presidential ethics panel has opened the door to testing an anthrax vaccine on children as young as infants, bringing an angry response from critics who say the children would be guinea pigs in a study that would never help them and might harm them.

The report, however, released on Tuesday by the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, said researchers would have to overcome numerous hurdles before launching an anthrax-vaccine trial in children. It now goes to Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, who will decide whether to take the steps the commission recommended.

Ex-TEA Chiefs Concede Too Much Testing, Houston Chronicle

It was the first time these four men and woman had shared a single stage, at least in recent years. The Texas Tribune billed the event as “Ex-Commissioner Confidential.” Four of the five most recent commissioners of the Texas Education Agency had agreed to appear together for an in-public, on-the-record interview that no doubt would include questions about the most controversial topics in education.

There wasn’t much they kept confidential.

Unleashed from the politics of their public office, former commissioners Mike Moses, Jim Nelson, Shirley Neeley and Robert Scott acknowledged that the Texas education system they had overseen had gone too far with high-stakes testing. They didn’t settle on the appropriate number of tests, but agreed that the 15 end-of-course exams  most Texas high school students now must pass to graduate was too many.

Parents Say Bullying Led to 12-Year-Old Son’s Death, CNN

Playing catch in the yard. Walking in the park. Watching a Phillies or Flyers game. Laughing.

It’s the simple things Rob O’Neill said he misses most about his only child, Bailey.

Cupping his chin, O’Neill slowly scans his living room and sighs.

“Honestly, I just miss sitting with him on the couch,” said O’Neill, 39. “I won’t hear ‘Daddy’ anymore. That’s tough.”

O’Neill said his son was punched during a bullying incident at recess at Darby Township School on January 10. He said Bailey, a 6th grader, suffered a fractured nose, a concussion and seizures from the attack. Two weeks after the incident, he was placed in a medically induced coma.

Louisiana Voucher School Students Taught Hippies Were Dirty, Rude, Rock-Loving Satan-Worshippers, Huffington Post

If Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) loses a legal battle over his school voucher program, his state’s tax dollars may no longer go toward sending students to private institutions to learn that hippies were all a bunch of disheveled, drug-addled, godless philistines.

While the controversial law remains mired in the courts after being ruled unconstitutional last year, however, Louisiana taxpayers will continue to fund a program that sends poor and middle-income students to private institutions with curricula often determined by controversial and inaccurate textbooks.

The latest bizarre history lesson comes from the page of an unnamed textbook, via John Aravosis of AmericaBlog, and suggests that the text’s author wasn’t very fond of a particular counter-culture movement of the 1960s.