The organizations protested in front of the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday to demand that he drop the new policy that seeks to try as adults children between 16 and 17 who commit serious crimes such as murder.
“Even though he says he will only do it sometimes, we don’t believe it will happen,” said Ally Durante, a spokesperson for the YMFC organization.
Years of research show, according to these organizations, that young people who are transferred to the adult system are more likely to relapse and their rehabilitation is slower.
“No matter what crime he has committed or not committed, he is not an adult and we should not treat our young people as adults they are not, it is more harmful that our young people are accused of adults”, said Andrea Mejía, spokesperson for the Coleman Advocates organization.
Furthermore, in adult prisons, minors are 500% more likely to be assaulted, beaten or sexually assaulted with weapons.
“They need support, we have to see that the system has not allowed our young people to get to the point where they have been accused,” Mejía said.
However, parents like Moises Vergara, who lost her son after a teenager shot him in a liquor store, have ensured that this type of perpetrator has no feelings.
“Those children who commit this kind of violence no longer have feelings or remorse, so they would need to be treated like adults,” Moises said.
For his part, the prosecutor replied that his policy is the result of conversations with community groups, that there will be a new review group for these cases and that he will seek the advice of both the defense and the victim’s family before submit any recommendations, each case will be addressed individually.
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