Save More Kids from the Harsh Adult System!

Most recent signers:

The message:

Currently, the law defines children as individuals under the age of 18. Yet in Maryland, children as young as 14 can be automatically charged as adults for certain offenses, and 16 and 17 year olds are automatically charged as adults for 33 different criminal offenses. Children charged as adults – even if their case is eventually transferred down to juvenile court – spend months and sometimes years in the adult legal system awaiting their court date.

SB 323 was introduced to address this harmful practice by eliminating automatic charging for children aged 14 and 15 and reducing the list of charges for 16 and 17-year-olds. Initially, the bill removed 17 charges for which children can automatically be charged as adults. However, the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee watered the bill down, and the bill now only removes 7 charges. Children have a right to be treated as children and are entitled to the presumption of innocence just like everyone else.

Tell your legislators SB 323: Youth Charging Reform Act must be amended to save more kids from the harsh adult system.

The recipient:

House Judiciary Committee

The message:

Tell your legislators SB 323: Youth Charging Reform Act must be amended to save more kids from the harsh adult system.

The recipient:

House Judiciary Committee

[The Form Label field is hidden on ACLU message action forms]

Your Message

Subject Amend SB 323 to save more kids from the harsh adult system!

As a Maryland resident and your constituent, I believe that Maryland's children deserve a chance to course correct after being charged with criminal offenses. Importantly, a charge is not a conviction, and children are entitled to the presumption of innocence, especially Black children who are disproportionately harmed by auto-charging. No matter the charge, cases should start in the juvenile court. Currently, children as young as 16 are automatically charged as adults in Maryland for 33 offenses.
I want children charged with criminal offenses to start their case in the juvenile system. Please make a commitment to pass a bill reforming the automatic charging of children in the adult criminal system.

Message Body

The practice of automatically charging children as adults is rooted in the debunked “superpredator” myth of the 1990s, which falsely predicted a surge in youth crime led largely by young Black boys.

Under Maryland law, some 14 and 15-year-olds and most 16 and 17-year-olds are required to be automatically prosecuted in adult court for 33 offenses – putting us out of step with other states and international human rights law. Here are the facts:

• Maryland sends more youth, ages 14-17, to adult court – automatically, without input from a judge – than any other state except Alabama.
• 85% of the children Maryland automatically sends to the adult system eventually have their cases dropped or returned to juvenile court – an expensive process that costs over $20 million a year.
• 80% of children charged as adults are Black (despite Black children comprising only 30% of Maryland's child population). 
• 70% have experienced 6+ traumatic childhood events (ACEs) before arrest; 
• 55% have a diagnosed disability (physical, mental, or learning). 
• Children automatically charged as adults wait 125+ days in detention - some wait 2 years for trial. In juvenile court, detained cases must be heard within 30 days. 
• Ending auto-charging would save Maryland $17 million annually and reduce detention populations.

Research shows that treating kids as if they were adults in the adult criminal legal system puts them at far greater physical, emotional, and psychological risk. Several large-scale studies have concluded that children sentenced in adult court led to higher recidivism rates than children charged in juvenile court for similar offenses. There are more effective and proven strategies and interventions to address youth crime and rehabilitate children than the adult criminal system.

You have the power to ensure that children start their criminal cases in juvenile court. Please make a commitment to end the harmful practice of charging children as adults.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]

Your Information

All data you enter here will be shared with the message recipient along with your message, per our privacy statement.

Salutation *

(required by some officials)

ABOUT HONORIFIC TITLES

Many public officials use "web mail forms" that this system will send your message to, so you don't have to visit their web sites to communicate with them. The systems that some of these officials use requires that the honorific field be used (Mr., Mrs., Miss, etc.).

Unfortunately, we do not have control of which honorific titles are presented as options. We must adhere to what the officials are using in order for your message to be delivered.

Alternate salutation

Most elected officials’ constituent email systems accept a very limited set of salutations. Please select the one you would most prefer.

First name *

Last name *

E-mail address *

Address *

Address line 2

City *

State *

Zip code *

Phone *

Show my name in a list of action takers.

Sign me up for ACLU emails so I can stay informed and take action to protect people's rights.

I agree to receive calls and texts (including automated recurring text messages) from the ACLU and its state affiliates at the number I provided above about ways to take action and support the ACLU organizations. Message & Data Rates May Apply. Text STOP to quit. Privacy Statement

Leave this field blank

Save More Kids from the Harsh Adult System!

Most recent signers:

The message:

The recipient:

The message:

The recipient:

Recent participants