An Act to Prevent the Imposition of Mandatory Minimum Sentences Based on Juvenile Adjudications (Give Youth a Future)

This bill prevents courts from lengthening certain mandatory-minimum sentences based on a person’s actions as a child (i.e. juvenile court adjudications). Utilizing juvenile adjudications to increase prison sentences is immoral. Scientific evidence demonstrates that, due to developmental differences between children and adults, the two should be treated separately within the justice system. A person should not be subject to additional mandatory punishment based on things they did when they were children, as young as age 7.