Louisiana voters will decide whether to make it easier to send younger teenagers to adult prisons. The Louisiana Legislature approved a bill putting the measure on the March 29 ballot. It would remove constitutional limits on crimes that can get people under age 17 sentenced as adults. Legislators would have to enact new laws outlining how courts could send those minors to adult facilities. Gov. Jeff Landry backed the proposal and sat in the Louisiana House of Representatives as legislators voted for the bill Friday. It barely made it through the legislative process. The proposal only received 70 votes in the House, the exact number it needed to advance to voters, reports the Louisiana Illuminator.
A last-minute amendment limited the offenses for which youth could be moved to adult prisons to felonies, to address reservations lawmakers had about moving more young people into adult facilities. Before the change, the measure would have allowed new laws to move minors to adult prisons for “any crime.” Fifteen- and 16-year-olds, and in more restricted circumstances 14-year-olds, already face adult prison sentences for limited crimes without the constitutional amendment. Youth advocates have said the broadening of that list to new offenses would do lasting harm to young teens caught up in the criminal justice system. Teenagers transferred into adult prisons are at much higher risk for sexual abuse from other inmates and don’t receive the same counseling and educational services available in the juvenile system. Adult sentences are also often years or even decades longer than what youth in juvenile facilities serve. LSupporters of the constitutional amendment, which include the Louisiana District Attorneys Association and Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association, say prosecutors need a larger list of crimes in order to hold younger teens accountable.
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