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Harris County dominating stats on certifying juvies as adults

Earlier this year there was a sharp debate over whether removing 19-20 year olds from TYC caused more juveniles to be certified as adults. But it turns out the biggest factor in adult certifications may be geographic: Kids are much more likely to be certified to stand trial as adults if they live in Harris County. According to the Houston Chronicle ("Experts: Juveniles dumped into adult justice system," June 7):As many as 900 Harris County teens, some as young as 14 and most of them minorities from broken homes and mean streets, have been certified as dangerous enough to be charged and jailed as adults over the last decade, at times facing prison sentences as long as a life. In 2007 and 2008 alone, Harris County juvenile judges transferred 160 teens? cases to the adult system ? more than nine of the largest urban counties in Texas combined, according to a Chronicle analysis of statewide certifications by county...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on June 07, 2009 (boomark / email).