At 13, Charlie experimented with alcohol and drugs. At 14, he started getting in trouble with the law for curfew violations and petty theft. At 15, Charlie stole a car and went into juvenile detention. At 16, he broke into somebody's house, and they sent him to adult jail. Charlie had gone too far.
Many people believe think raising a child is someone else's business.
The U.S. Congress takes exactly this position with House Bill HR 1501 and Senate Bill S.254. They close their eyes and ears to the needs of delinquent children, who are not so different from their own children. The bills call for tougher punishments and sending the children to adult prisons, instead of intensive rehabilitation. Adult prisons are atrocious places for children. Young people in these facilities are five times more likely to be sexually assaulted, twice as likely to be assaulted by staff, and fifty percent more likely to be attacked with a weapon than those in juvenile facilities.