ATLANTA --- There's nothing young about Georgia's law involving juvenile delinquency, abuse and neglect.
The law, which dates back to the 1970s, is in need of a serious update, says the advocacy group JUSTGeorgia, which released a proposed juvenile code Thursday.
A couple of the proposed changes are controversial, and the authors recognize it.
One would raise from 17 to 18 the age in which all cases fall under the jurisdiction of juvenile courts. The other would repeal a 1994 law that automatically requires trial as an adult for a child accused of any of the state's so-called "seven deadly sins" such as murder, rape and armed robbery.
The authors of the proposal include a committee from the Young Lawyers Section of the State Bar of Georgia and Bartow County Juvenile Judge Velma Tilley, who is the president of the Georgia Council of Juvenile Court Judges.
The authors say that research since 1994 has proven that tough treatment of young offenders doesn't save money, doesn't deter others from committing crimes and doesn't rehabilitate the offenders so they won't commit crimes after they're released.
After four years of work, borrowing ideas from other states and conducting nine town-hall meetings around Georgia, the authors feel they'll be able to mobilize enough public opinion from other judges and advocates to convince a conservative General Assembly to go along with the changes and the idea that social services are more effective in most cases.
At least one advocate who participated in a town-hall meeting in Augusta isn't convinced some crimes shouldn't always be tried in adult court.
"That seven deadly sins, that should still be on the books," said the Rev. Devon Harris, the executive director of Full Circle Refuge for youthful offenders.
Shannon Goessling, the executive director of the Southeastern Legal Foundation, also opposes the change.
"Offenders who commit atrocious crimes who are of an age to know right from wrong, which 13-year-olds certainly are, who have no mental defect, must be held accountable within the system as we know it," she said.
The authors of the proposal posted it online, where they hope to collect comments for the next three months. Then they'll draft a bill for introduction during the 2009 session of the Legislature.
Reach Walter Jones at (404) 589-8424 or at walter.jones@morris.com.
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