Juvenile Justice

Keeping Teen Offenders in County-Run Lockups Would Save Cash. Not Everyone's Sure It's Wise.

A new bill introduced in the Texas Senate would allow counties to open their own holding centers for juvenile law-breakers. Teenage offenders are currently held in lockups operated by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. Senate bill 511, authored by state Senator John Whitmire, a Houston Democrat, ... More >>

While Awaiting Trial, Teens in Dallas County Jail Being Kept in Their Cells 23 Hours a Day

Each year, a handful of Dallas county teenagers accused of crimes are "certified," meaning they're being charged as adults and will appear in adult criminal court. While they await trial, they sit in Dallas county jail. We've learned that while in jail, these teens are kept in their cells for 23 hou ... More >>

Too Many Dallas Teens are Getting Locked Up in Adult Jails, Study Says. And That Ain't Good.

An exhaustive new study has found alarming conditions for Texas teenagers housed in adult jails while awaiting trial, a practice that Dallas and Harris counties use more than anywhere else in the state. In essence, the study found that there's really no good way to keep teens and adults safely in ... More >>

Dallas County Does a Three-Fer in Exonerations

The number of convicts being freed after serving prison time for crimes they didn't commit keeps mounting in Dallas County, with Friday bringing a rare triple exoneration for three men wrongly accused of robbery. On November 17, 1994, five teenagers roamed the parking lot near the Eckerd drugstore ... More >>

State Rep. Giddings Wants School Districts to Stop Treating Students Like Criminals

​A couple of weeks back Texas Appleseed and ACLU of Texas reps were down in Austin asking why oh why do state school districts feel the need to write class C misdemeanor tickets to students, some as young as 6, in the case of the Dallas Independent School District back in '06-'07. John Whitmire's ... More >>

Playing The Lead

See Desire to Fly and more at And/Or

Council to Consider Extending Juvenile Curfew Ordinance to Include School Hours

Just one month ago we recounted the history of Dallas's 18-year-old Juvenile Curfew Ordinance, which keeps 17-and-unders off the streets from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 12:01 a.m. till 6 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Long story short, it wound up in court on its way to becoming "a mod ... More >>

A Disturbing, But Hopeful, Report on Dallas and Its "Prostituted Youth"

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Electronic monitoring may dramatically curb truancy. So why isn't DISD interested?

Juvenile

Reality Check (Atlantic)

12-year-old Killer

The story of Edwin Debrow Jr., one of the youngest Texans ever convicted of murder, in his own words

Out of Mind, Out of Sight

For a growing number of Texas kids with mental illnesses, the only place to get help is behind bars.

Thanks, But No Thanks

Turning down millions in state money to build juvenile boot camps, Tarrant County opted for a different approach--one that works

Unhappy Campers

Critics of a private prison firm that ran two juvenile boot camps in Dallas wonder where the love is at these "tough love academies"

The Superpredator

Think it's brutal to send a 14-year-old boy to prison for decades? Meet Billy Ray Dennis, and think again.

Make 'em Pay

Spurred by a horrifying wave of teen violence in the '90s, Texas today spends more money than ever to lock up young criminals. Are we getting our money's worth?

More, Please

Quick, someone buy the county's juvenile authorities a copy of Oliver Twist

Horror story

Thirteen-year-old Chris Beamon ended up in jail because of a homework assignment. Now the adults who put him there are trying to get their stories straight.

Buzz

Get a grip

Stop the madness

Ponder officials jail second student; first-grader's report on Where the Wild Things Are deemed too violent

A Minor Affair

When young love ended in a rape allegation, the juvenile justice system left a Dallas teen's life in limbo.

Observer writer Rozen wins Dallas Bar prize