“Today, every developed nation has a separate court system for juveniles, based on concepts of rehabilitation, proportionality and confidentiality. It represents a second chance for young people, who are by nature more impulsive and prone to risk-taking. It is shocking, then, that over a century later the United States leads these nations in punitive, cruel and inhumane practices against children and adolescents who come into conflict with the law. A visiting judge from the Netherlands recently commented that she didn’t understand what went wrong.“

Chicago Sun Times

August 26, 2019