ENROLLED
2016 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 6
BY REPRESENTATIVE BOUIE
A RESOLUTION
To recognize Wednesday, April 6, 2016, as Louisiana Youth Justice Day at the state capitol.
WHEREAS, on Wednesday, April 6, 2016, the Louisiana Youth Justice Coalition,
which is a network of organizations and individuals who support a legislative and policy
agenda for common sense juvenile reform, will sponsor Louisiana Youth Justice Day; and
WHEREAS, on that day, the Coalition, as well as students from Sci Academy,
Crescent Leadership Academy, G.W. Carver Preparatory Academy, Cohen College Prep,
Joseph S. Clark Preparatory School, Edna Karr High School, and Northside High School,
will gather on the steps of the capitol to ask the legislature to raise the age at which a child
can be prosecuted as an adult from seventeen to eighteen; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana is one of only nine states that charges all seventeen-year-olds
as adults; and
WHEREAS, in Louisiana, high school students can be sent to violent adult jails,
where such students face a dramatically increased risk of abuse; and
WHEREAS, in Louisiana, seventeen-year-olds cannot vote, serve on juries, or join
the military, but nonetheless can be charged and imprisoned as adults; and
WHEREAS, raising the age would protect the rights of parents to be involved in the
court cases of their minor children; when seventeen-year-olds are arrested, their parents do
not need to be informed of the arrest and do not have a right to be involved in the court
process; and
WHEREAS, seventeen-year-olds who are arrested end up with an adult arrest record
that can prevent them from getting an education and joining the workforce, thus increasing
their chances of falling into a cycle of arrest, incarceration, and poverty; and
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WHEREAS, Louisiana Youth Justice Day is an opportunity for students to learn a
real-life civics lesson about the legislative process, to be civically engaged, and to make the
legislature aware of their desire for justice reform; and
WHEREAS, the students who participate in Louisiana Youth Justice Day are
examples of the kind of informed and active citizenry that is at the very foundation of the
American democratic experiment.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby recognize April 6, 2016, as Louisiana Youth Justice
Day at the state capitol and also commends the Louisiana Youth Justice Coalition for its
efforts to promote juvenile justice reform.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to the Louisiana Youth Justice Coalition.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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