Mike Males and Juvenile Justice

We here at Rights Readers have a soft spot for writer Mike Males, author of Scapegoat Generation. Nearly eight years ago we invited Mike to give a talk about juvenile justice at a local bookstore and while there I picked up a flyer listing book groups that met at the store and the lightbulb went on: why not us? Thus Rights Readers was born. Thanks Mike! He's still on the case, debunking the "predator youth" myth. See this LAT opinon piece for more.

Pasadena Events: Solovky Power, Sister Janet Harris

This Sunday, March 26, at 10:15 AM, Documentary filmmaker Marina Goldovskaya will be speaking about her efforts to document the history of the Soviet gulag and her film "Solovky Power" at All Saints Church in Pasadena (132 N. Euclid Avenue). This event is in Sweetland Hall on the ground floor. Solovky Power is a groundbreaking documentary on the history of a concentration camp that was one of the first to become known as the Gulag. For more information check out this CNN interview with the filmmaker. Amnesty International Group 22 volunteers will be there making the modern-day "gulag" analogy with actions on Guantanamo and the US practice of outsourcing torture.

Also at All Saints this Sunday, Sister Janet Harris, advocate for incarcerated youth, will be speaking, (same time, only downstairs in the "Forum." I blogged a few months back about this case and the story keeps getting better:

Six years ago, a persistent nun persuaded a large law firm to take, pro bono, the case of a young man she believed to be wrongfully accused of murder. In December 2005, Mario Rocho's conviction was overturned. All Saints' Senior Warden Bob Long, a partner at Latham & Watkins, was the lead attorney on the case. Sister Janet Harris was Mario's advocate. This journey to justice attracted a documentary team who captured the story on film, a short segment of which will be shown in this presentation. Harris came to know Mario Rocho at the Inside Out Writing Program she founded at LAÕs Central Juvenile Hall. A former high school teacher and chaplain, Harris has been an advocate for troubled youth in Southern California for 35 years. Come and be inspired by what happens when individuals put their heart for justice together with their education and training and don't give up!

Hope to see a few of you at these events!

Sister Janet's Juvenile Justice Initiative

Today's Los Angeles Times Column One feature is an article about Central Juvenile Hall's Sister Janet Harris and her crusade for a young man she took note of in the detention center's writing program. This should ring bells for our long-time readers who remember one of our favorite books, Edward Humes' No Matter How Loud I Shout. The article points up the legacy of Prop 21 (recall our candlelight vigil outside Juvenile Hall?) and cites Amnesty's recent report The Rest of Their Lives: Life Without Parole for Child Offenders in the United States. From the article:

An initiative passed in 2000 by 62% of California voters gave district attorneys the power to determine whether juveniles accused of certain serious crimes should face adult punishment.

The most severe sentence that can be imposed in Juvenile Court is detention until age 25. Had Rocha not been tried as an adult, his supporters say, he might have been freed by now.

Last year, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office filed 178 juvenile cases in adult court, and 119 juveniles were transferred to adult court after judicial hearings, according to the agency's statistics.

A report published Oct. 12 by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch found that 2,225 offenders are serving life without parole in U.S. prisons for crimes committed before they turned 18. For an estimated 59% of those inmates, it was their first conviction.

The U.S. is one of only a few countries that allow children to be imprisoned for life without parole. Elsewhere in the world, about 12 young offenders are currently serving such sentences, the study found.

By the way, Edward Humes has a website if you're curious what he's been up to lately.