Subject:

Juvenile Justice

  • Blogs

    March 20, 2013

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    July 30, 2012

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    May 17, 2012

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    April 5, 2012

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    April 15, 2011

    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 >>

  • Calendar

    February 5, 2009

    Playing The Lead

    See Desire to Fly and more at And/Or

  • Blogs

    February 2, 2009

    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 >>

  • Blogs

    September 16, 2008
  • News

    June 26, 2008

    For Whom the Bell Tolls

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

  • Music

    May 4, 2006

    Juvenile

    Reality Check (Atlantic)

  • News

    March 28, 2002

    12-year-old Killer

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

  • News

    November 8, 2001

    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.

  • News

    September 27, 2001

    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

  • News

    September 27, 2001

    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"

  • News

    September 13, 2001

    The Superpredator

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

  • News

    September 13, 2001

    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?

  • News

    February 22, 2001

    More, Please

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

  • News

    December 23, 1999

    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.

  • News

    November 18, 1999

    Buzz

    Get a grip

  • News

    November 11, 1999

    Stop the madness

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

  • News

    August 8, 1996

    A Minor Affair

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

  • News

    October 26, 1995
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