Juvenile Justice Matters  

Please join us for an interview with Kristin Rodine, Canyon County Reporter for the Idaho Statesman. We will be discussing the automatic transfer of juveniles into the adult system for certain crimes in Idaho. She has been covering the case of Zachary Neagle, a 14-year-old being charged as an adult for the murder of his father, which has received national attention. Be sure to join us this Thursday at 4:30 EST.

Joining us this week is Paul Butler, a professor at George Washington University Law School, former DC prosecutor and author of the book, Let’s Get Free: A Hip-Hop Theory of Justice. Professor Butler believes the criminal justice system is in desperate need of reform, calling it a “meat grinder driven by emotion rather than logic.” After working for the Department of Justice, he has first-hand experience in how the mass incarceration of predominantly minority communities is not the solution to fighting and reducing crime. Professor Butler argues that punishment is not always a deterrent and that incarceration is now often seen as a right of passage for young individuals. We will be discussing the implications of his arguments for juveniles and the criminal justice system itself. Join us this live Thursday at 4:30 PM EST for what will be an eye-opening show.

Clemmie Greenlee is no stranger to the dangers of gang violence, street life and jail. From the time she was 12 until her early 40s, Clemmie was consumed by a world of gangs, violence, drugs and prostitution. This same world continues to exist today for too many of Nashville’s young people and Clemmie Greenlee is doing something about it. In 2003, the same year she lost her only son to gang violence, Clemmie completed a recovery program and began to work as an advocate for those who were struggling with life in the streets. Now a tireless advocate and a source of inspiration and leadership in the community, Clemmie Greenlee is a Soros Fellow who runs a program called Galaxy Stars, a Nashville based organization dedicated to intervening in the lives of young people and serving those in need. She joins us along with Rodney Britton, a former gang member who works as the Youth Outreach Coordinator for the Peace Makers Program, a project of Galaxy Stars that trains youth to become Peace Ambassadors and conduct outreach in their communities. Please join us to hear their stories this Thursday at 4:30 PM EST.

Sweeping changes to the juvenile justice system are taking place in Ohio, thanks to a federal class action first filed as a compliant against the Ohio Department of Youth Services in 2004 and resulting in a settlement in May 2008. Joining us are Kim Brooks Tandy, the Executive Director and Founder of The Children’s Law Center, Inc. and Al Gerhardstein, a civil rights attorney and President and Founder of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center. Both served as members of the co-counsel in the case representing all the children who are or will be placed in Ohio’s DYS custody. The provisions of the 2008 settlement included widespread reform, from an overhaul of the “culture” of DYS facilities to major changes in release practices. Please join us as our guests elaborate on their case for reform and speak to the changes, challenges and promise that await Ohio’s juvenile system. This interview will be broadcast live this Thursday at 4:30 PM EST.