Delinquent: Read all the stories from Week 2; mandatory bindovers have risen in Cuyahoga, but some Ohio legis

Delinquent: Read all the stories from Week 2; mandatory bindovers have risen in Cuyahoga, but some Ohio legislators want to eliminate themCuyahoga County transfers more youth to adult prison than any other county in Ohio. Sometimes that process, called bindover, is mandatory, based on a youth’s charges alone. Prosecutors decide the charges, which can dictate a youth’s fate – a juggling act between public safety and rehabilitation that sometimes feels out of balance.

“Ever since then, I just lost myself a little bit,” he recalls now. “That’s when everything started unraveling.” Efrain felt desperate to escape his pain. More than once, he remembers staring down the barrel of a gun, taunting the handler to pull the trigger. After the shooting, however, Ezekial pleaded to felonious assault and, in a separate case, aggravated robbery, a deal that sent him to prison for at least seven years. Efrain’s behavior and mental state deteriorated further, and this time, his father noticed. He speculated that his older son’s incarceration exacerbated Efrain’s feelings of abandonment from when their mother left them young.

The prosecutor might have also sought to indict Efrain as a Serious Youthful Offender, in which case he would have received a blended sentence. Efrain would serve the juvenile portion first, but an adult sentence could follow, if he were to reoffend during that period. For nearly a century, all bindover decisions were discretionary. It was up to a judge to consider the totality of a youth’s circumstances – their role in the alleged crime, their homelife, academic performance, prior court involvement and a psychological evaluation. Then, the judge would decide whether to keep them in the juvenile system or send them on to the adult system.

A child would also be subject to bindover if they come from a state whose laws require it, or if they’re convicted of a felony and have been bound over before. “Once an adult, always an adult,” according to the law. “He’s at a crossroads,” DiChiera told the judge. “He can be rehabilitated. There is hope in the future for this young man.”

Around that same time, Efrain’s house was shot up again. This time, police said the bullets went through the front door and windows. The sentence was the best-case scenario for Efrain, under the circumstances, but his attorney, DiChiera, still considers it a waste. The juvenile system can hold offenders until they’re 21, meaning Efrain could have served the same amount of time in youth lockup, he says.

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Delinquent: Read all the stories from Week 1. Cuyahoga County sends more kids to adult prison than any other“Delinquent: Our System, Our Kids” is a special series examining Cuyahoga County's juvenile justice system through the eyes of the kids who go through it. We kicked off the series this week with five parts touching on why juvenile court was created and how it's working for youth today.
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Delinquent: High exposure to trauma might explain why so many Cuyahoga youth, like Nathan, commit serious cri“Delinquent: Our System, Our Kids” is a special series examining Cuyahoga County's juvenile justice system through the eyes of the kids who go through it. Research suggests that childhood trauma puts adolescents at greater risk for delinquent behavior. Cuyahoga youth seem especially vulnerable.
Source: clevelanddotcom - 🏆 301. / 63 Read more »