Stevens highlights racial disparities and long pretrial detention
Stevens says more than 96% of held youth charged as juvenile or adolescent offenders are Black and Hispanic. She notes long pretrial detentions, with some held more than six months and others more than four years, and youth turning 18 behind walls.
We also cannot ignore who is being held.
More than 96% of the young people held in juvenile offenders and adolescent offenders charged are black and Hispanic youth.
The typical young person charged as an adolescent offender has been held for more than six months before their case is resolved, and some have been held for more than four years.
The vast majority of those in secure detention are being held pre-trial.
Many enter as teenagers and turn 18 behind those walls.
Whatever the outcome of those cases, those delays are robbing young people of the time they will never get back.