Given the rather miserable conditions afforded today’s prisoners, in Colorado prisons and prisons across the country, it makes sense to worry also about how the numerous juveniles in prison are faring. In a world where juveniles are increasingly treated as adults in the criminal justice system, it’s important to make sure they aren’t treated quite as poorly as adults. After all the goal of the justice system for juveniles is supposed to be to treat them as maleable beings who can be rehabilitated. Even if that’s something rehabilitation is something that’s largely absent from prisons as a whole. As such, it’s good to see progress for a bill like this:
If enacted into law, HB 12-1139 will help to protect the human rights of the state’s children accused of crimes, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union said. Youth in adult jails and prisons are extremely vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse and have a developmental need for protection, education, and other services to fully mature into adulthood. HB 12-1139 would require authorities to hold youth under age 18 who are subject to pre-trial detention for criminal offenses in facilities designed to hold juveniles, unless a judge decides otherwise in a hearing. Colorado currently houses such youth in jails designed to house adults, often in prolonged solitary confinement.
Now naturally this is just a small and nearly administrative change, but a lot of this stuff is more about attitude than actual policy changes. Long before prisons and crime policy became draconian tot he point of approaching a human rights violation, the “tough on crime” rhetoric racheted up to an extreme level. Similarly, even though this is an unopposed action, it’s not like humane treatment of juveniles is always a slam dunk case in the court of public opinion. There is always pressure to try and treat juveniles as adults, so the assembly should be applauded for taking action like this.
Colorado Prisons Blog 
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