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Texas Lawmakers Want To Allow 17-Year-Old Offenders To Be Tried As Juveniles

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From Texas Standard:

Texas is one of six states that tries 17-year-olds as adults. But a new bill wants Texas to follow the national trend of raising the age of criminal responsibility from 17 to 18.

House Bill 122, authored by Reps. Harold Dutton Jr. (D-Houston) and Gene Wu (D-Houston), passed the House last week and could be on its way to the Senate.

Wu says that on the practical side, moving 17-year-old suspects from the adult criminal justice system to its juvenile justice counterpart would bring Texas in line with the federal standard of considering 18-year-olds adults.

“From a more philosophical side, a 17-year-old can't sign contracts, they can't serve on a jury, they can't buy tobacco, they can't consent to their own medical care, they can't join the military [and] they can't vote because we say they’re not emotionally and intellectually mature enough,” Wu says. “But yet we say we can put you in prison for that same immaturity.”

What you’ll hear in this segment:– Why Wu believes this bill could save the state thousands of dollars a week

– How Wu responds to one of the bill’s main critics, Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston)

– Where the bill stands in the Legislature

Written by Molly Smith.

Copyright 2020 KUT 90.5. To see more, visit KUT 90.5.

Alain Stephens heads up investigative reports for Texas Standard. A graduate of the University of North Texas and a veteran of two of the U.S. armed forces, Alain served both in the Coast Guard and the Air Force. His work has won accolades for exposing how the state pays those with disabilities below minimum wage, as well as the fast-tracking of juveniles to adult prisons. Contact Alain at astephens@kut.org, or (512) 232-6173.