Experts tell me that those are in fact the principles on which the juvenile court system was founded. Another thing our entire justice system needs is equal treatment under the law. Too often, the question is raised of whether we have one standard of justice for affluent whites and another for all others. That age-old question is behind harsh criticism of Juvenile Court Judge Abram Frank Reynolds. The judge sentenced the boys to four months in a psychiatric treatment center, after which he would review their progress and consider further treatment or punishment.
Critics say that's too lenient.
The notion is that if these boys had been black and had raped a white girl, they would have had the book thrown at them and would have been tried as adults. What has particularly irked people is that Reynolds allowed the boys to spend the holidays at home with their families before reporting back to a juvenile treatment facility, where they had been since their Oct. 30 conviction. In a Jan. 4 meeting, a group of black women criticized not only Reynolds but also another black judge, outgoing Common Pleas Court Supervising Judge Legrome Davis. The latter had drawn ire over his handling of the Miriam White case. That group held a rally yesterday afternoon at Broad and Vine Streets.