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Fascinating report on New York's broken juve prison system

By Douglas A. Berman

After beating up on the New York Times' editorial work here, I must give the Old Gray Lady props for this potent front-page story about New York's prison system for juvenile offenders. The piece is headlined "New York Finds Extreme Crisis in Youth Prisons," and here is how it begins: New York?s system of juvenile prisons is broken, with young people battling mental illness or addiction held alongside violent offenders in abysmal facilities where they receive little counseling, can be physically abused and rarely get even a basic education, according to a report by a state panel. The problems are so acute that the state agency overseeing the prisons has asked New York?s Family Court judges not to send youths to any of them unless they are a significant risk to public safety, recommending alternatives, like therapeutic foster care...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on December 14, 2009 (boomark / email).