Advocates to rally at Capitol to raise prosecution age
BATON ROUGE- Louisiana is one of nine states that prosecute 17-year-olds as adults, and supporters looking to raise the prosecution age in the state are set to rally at the State Capitol on Wednesday to kick off the first Youth Justice Day.
Supporters, including Gov. John Bel Edwards and State Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson, are calling on the state to follow the 41 states that currently include 17-year-olds in the juvenile justice system.
A rally will kick off the first Youth Justice Day on the Capitol steps on Wednesday afternoon. The rally is sponsored by the Louisiana Youth Justice Coalition and is “a network of over 60 advocacy groups that support common-sense juvenile justice reform.”
Speakers for Youth Justice Day include Rob Reardon, Lafayette Parish Director of Corrections, Dr. James Gilmore, Director of the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet, Baton Rouge Juvenile Court Judge Pamela Taylor Johnson, and Jasmine Jeff, a senior at New Orleans’ Sci Academy.
The rally will be kicking off Youth Justice Day will start at 10:30 a.m.