easyt65
Diamond Member
- Aug 4, 2015
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Hundreds of D.C. murders committed by “youths” who received lenient sentences - Hot Air
"The violent crime rate in the District of Columbia is a subject which doesn’t receive as much attention as some other spots like Chicago and Baltimore, but it’s just as serious in many ways. The local news section of the Washington Post has an excellent multi-part series which is delving into the numbers and complicating factors that are plaguing the area. In the installment I’m reading today they examine the history of a law known as the “Youth Act” which seems to be doing more harm than good. Originally designed to give judges more leeway in the sentencing of young offenders, offering a chance at rehabilitation rather than a life behind bars, it seems to be resulting in a revolving door of younger criminals who graduate from minor offenses to everything up to and including murder."
"Hundreds of criminals sentenced by D.C. judges under an obscure local law crafted to give second chances to young adult offenders have gone on to rob, rape or kill residents of the nation’s capital.
The original intent of the law was to rehabilitate inexperienced criminals under the age of 22. The District’s Youth Rehabilitation Act allows for shorter sentences for some crimes and an opportunity for offenders to emerge with no criminal record. But a Washington Post investigation has found a pattern of violent offenders returning rapidly to the streets and committing more crimes. Hundreds have been sentenced under the act multiple times."
"The violent crime rate in the District of Columbia is a subject which doesn’t receive as much attention as some other spots like Chicago and Baltimore, but it’s just as serious in many ways. The local news section of the Washington Post has an excellent multi-part series which is delving into the numbers and complicating factors that are plaguing the area. In the installment I’m reading today they examine the history of a law known as the “Youth Act” which seems to be doing more harm than good. Originally designed to give judges more leeway in the sentencing of young offenders, offering a chance at rehabilitation rather than a life behind bars, it seems to be resulting in a revolving door of younger criminals who graduate from minor offenses to everything up to and including murder."
"Hundreds of criminals sentenced by D.C. judges under an obscure local law crafted to give second chances to young adult offenders have gone on to rob, rape or kill residents of the nation’s capital.
The original intent of the law was to rehabilitate inexperienced criminals under the age of 22. The District’s Youth Rehabilitation Act allows for shorter sentences for some crimes and an opportunity for offenders to emerge with no criminal record. But a Washington Post investigation has found a pattern of violent offenders returning rapidly to the streets and committing more crimes. Hundreds have been sentenced under the act multiple times."