State senators, advocacy groups, parents and youth held a press conference on Thursday, Jan. 22 to voice strong opposition to LB 556, a bill that would change the jurisdiction of juvenile and adult criminal courts to allow for criminal charging of 12-year-olds and secure detention for children as young as 11.
Speakers, including State Senator Ashlei Spivey and State Senator Terrell McKinney, voiced concerns about the potential consequences on Nebraska youth and a disparate impact on Black and brown youth.
Ahead of the press conference, partners released these comments on the bill.
“Let us be clear, LB 556 contemplates jailing and criminally prosecuting children who are still young enough to bring home a weekly spelling list,” said Juliet Summers, executive director of Voices for Children in Nebraska. “Under current law, the juvenile court has a broad spectrum of responses when children this young are acting in ways that scare us; from treatment and supervision to removal from home and residential placement. All this proposal would add is incarceration – a proposal as costly and wasteful as it is inhumane.”
“This is a troubling and regressive move that fails to address the root causes of a child's behavior, particularly in children facing trauma, poverty, and unmet mental health needs,” said Shakur Abdullah, a community member previously charged and sentenced in criminal court at a young age. “Rather than investing in prevention, rehabilitation, and the crucial social and habilitative processes that have been shown to improve outcomes for at-risk children, this proposal doubles down on punitive measures that have long been proven to be ineffective in improving public safety or promoting long-term rehabilitation."
The coalition calls on lawmakers, advocates, and community members to join in opposing LB 556.
“Kids who are in trouble need treatment and family interventions, not criminal charges. The idea of changing the law so that we can detain more kids and charge younger kids as adults runs counter to Nebraskans’ most important shared values," said Jason Witmer, policy fellow at the ACLU of Nebraska. “What happened to protecting kids and helping them get on the right path? Lawmakers have good options on the table to help keep kids out of the system in the first place, and they should focus their efforts there. Locking up younger kids will not do a thing to make our communities safer.”
The groups urge Nebraska’s leaders to prioritize investments in prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation rather than punitive measures that disproportionately harm children and fail to create safer communities.
