We cannot give up on America's children. What we need is a fairer and more effective juvenile justice system, where there are graduated sanctions not mandatory minimums, where the least restrictive setting, not prison, is the first option.

Please, urge your legislators to abandon the counter-productive, "Washington Knows Best" approach to these complex and essentially localized problems.

There is major opposition to the bill from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Charities USA. Here is their action alert(received by e-mail from Rev. George Brooks, JD, Director of Advocacy, Kolbe House, Chicago.)

On Wednesday, May 11, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on HR 1279, the Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act of 2005, (the Gang Bill). On Thursday, May 5, the USCCB sent a letter to the entire House asking members to oppose provisions in the bill that would expand the use of the death penalty, treat juveniles as adults and impose mandatory minimum sentences (see attached). House members now need to hear from you that the current version of the House Gang Bill will not help to combat gang-related violence because it emphasizes severe punishment over reform.

What the Gang Bill Will Do:

• Imposition of the Death Penalty: the bill would create several new death-eligible offenses and increase the penalty for some existing crimes to death.
• Transfer to the Adult Criminal System: the bill would result in the expanded "transfer" or "waiver" of youth to the adult criminal system and/or placing an additional number of youth in adult correctional facilities.
• Expand Mandatory Minimums: the bill expands mandatory minimum sentences for a broad category of offenses that are deemed gang crime. In the Gang Bill, the mandatory minimum sentences for gang related crimes range from five to thirty years.

Here is the Bishops' Position on these issues:

• On Transfering Juveniles to the Adult Criminal Justice System: While there is no question that violent and dangerous youth need to be confined for their safety and that of society, the bishops do not support provisions that treat children as though they are equal to adults. “Placing children in adult jails is a sign of failure, not a solution.” (Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice, November 15, 2000)

• On Mandatory Minimums: Although the offenses are serious and individuals who are convicted ought to be properly held accountable, mandatory sentencing formulations could prevent judges from properly assessing an individual’s culpability during the crime or from other factors that have bearing on recidivism. This can sometimes result in harsh and inappropriate sentences. “We must renew our efforts to ensure that the punishment fits the crime. Therefore, we do not support mandatory sentencing that replaces judges' assessments with rigid formulations.” (Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice, November 15, 2000).
  
• On the Death Penalty: The bishops of the United States oppose the use of the death penalty. Catholic teaching on capital punishment is clear, “If bloodless means are sufficient to defend human lives against an aggressor and to protect public order and the safety of persons, public authority should limit itself to such means, because they better correspond to the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person” (Catechism of the Catholic Church).

Here's what you can do to help:

Contact your Representatives by calling the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or by e-mail. Emphasize the following points:

• urge them to oppose the provisions listed above and support amendments to remove them from the Gang Bill (HR 1279).

• Emphasize that as the bill is written right now, it puts too much emphasis on punishment rather than effective treatment and intervention.

• The bill demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of the street gang culture and is tantamount to giving up on our children...

• We believe the challenge as responsible adults is to create a fairer and more effective youth justice system, where there is a balance between prevention, treatment and intervention that gives young people a chance to make better choices.

• Remind them that the states are better equipped and situated to fully address youth violence. We do not need increased federalization of youth violence.

From an article I wrote back in 1998, when Congress was considering another ridiculous get tough on crime bill:

So far, Congress has recklessly failed to notice that there is no evidence to support the idea that trying children in the adult system will increase public safety or decrease recidivism. No one has demonstrated that threatening juveniles with adult courts and jails will deter would-be youth offenders, nor that actually subjecting them to the adult court and jail system serves a remedial purpose and makes society safer from recidivism. As a matter of fact, two recent studies -- one by the University of Florida, one by Columbia University -- conclude that juveniles tried as adults are more likely to be re-arrested, and that the subsequent arrests tend to come earlier with youths treated as adults.

....The value of prevention over the pure "lock-em-up" mentality was shown by a Rand Corporation projection: While a $1million investment in new prisons would prevent 60 serious crimes a year, the same $1 million, if invested in parent training, could prevent 160 serious crimes a year. And if the same amount were spent on graduation incentives for disadvantaged students, there might be 258 fewer serious crimes a year.

The FAMM action alert is here. The ACLU weighs in here.