Change Org. Sends Me a Petition to Sign

Maybe I will check this with Snopes. 

Here it is, interesting reading but be warned, it contains some material that may be very disturbing to some people

The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act will help prevent youth from being jailed with adults and improve juvenile justice systems around the country. Join us in asking Congress to pass the bill.  Sign the petition   This email contains graphic information that may be upsetting. Lawrence  When juveniles are placed in adult prisons, rather than juvenile facilities, they are five times more likely to be sexually assaulted – often within the first 48 hours of their incarceration. When a 16-year-old Texas boy named Rodney Hulin set a dumpster on fire causing about $500 in damage, he was sentenced to eight years in an adult prison. In prison he was raped repeatedly by adult inmates – until he used a bed sheet to hang himself in his cell.  That was 1996. And it’s still not uncommon for boys and girls in the juvenile justice system to be placed in facilities near adults, subjecting them to both physical and sexual assaults. That’s why Congress needs to strengthen the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), a bill that has improved standards for juvenile justice systems around the country, reducing the number of youth who end up in adult prisons.  We started a petition asking Congress to pass the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. Click here to sign it. It’s been more than a decade since the the bill was last reauthorized in 2002. The new reauthorization, introduced by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), will require states to do more to prevent minors from being housed with adults. It will make it harder for states to jail children who have committed “status offenses” like skipping school, underage drinking, and running away from home.  And too often when young people end up in the justice system their education is put on hold. The new JJDPA includes provisions that will ensure juveniles can continue their education while incarcerated.  As an organization focused on reducing the harms that the criminal justice system can inflict on young people, Students for Sensible Drug Policy stands with a broad coalition of juvenile justice and youth development organizations who support this bill. Please click here to sign our petition asking Congress to protect young people in our justice system by passing the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. Thank you, Betty Aldworth Executive Director Students for Sensible Drug Policy Sign the petition