Friend, 

 

Maryland sends more youth to adult court based on offense type, per capita, than any other state except for Alabama.

 

81% of the youth charged in adult court in Maryland are Black.

 

We need the General Assembly to pass the Youth Equity and Safety Act, which would end the practice of automatically charging children as adults in Maryland.

Current law requires youth as young as 14 to be automatically prosecuted in adult court for 33 offenses. Last year, Maryland sent as many kids to adult court as Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Ohio combined.

 

The YES Act will make our communities safer and produce better outcomes by holding kids accountable while providing them with services and care, not cages.

 

We can and must treat our youth better. Maryland should join the 26 other states who have ended the automatic charging of youth as adults by passing the YES Act.

 

Join us! Take 60 seconds to fill out the public comment form and we'll submit your comment as testimony to the General Assembly >>>

Paid for by Advance Maryland

 

c/o Progress Now

614 Seymore Ave

Lansing, MI 48933