This group was formed in response to the recent tragic shootings at Jonesboro. We will study how to strengthen the state's juvenile justice system so that kids who commit crimes are not only punished but, more importantly, rehabilitated. Since an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, we'll also look for ways to prevent these kinds of crimes in the first place. Young people need a good education, a strong set of values, a sense of community and the security of being loved. Unfortunately, too often we give them just the opposite.
Children grow up in a culture of violence.
The movies and cartoons they watch, the music they listen to and the video games they play not only desensitize them to violence but encourage them to harm others. Many homes are emotional war zone where parents do battle each day and the children are the innocent victims. It's hard to underestimate the damage done when a child watches his father strike his mother, or endures years of abuse at the hands of an adult. I spoke Friday in West Memphis at the Early Childhood Education Legislative Banquet. The best way to ensure a child gets a good education is to give him a strong foundation in his early years.