Support SB 422 / HB 1433 - Limiting Auto-Charging children as adults

Maryland sends more young people to adult court based on offense type, per capita, than any other state except for Alabama.

FACT: 81% of the youth charged in adult court in Maryland are Black.

FACT: Children as young as 14 can be automatically charged as an adult in Maryland.

FACT: 16 and 17 year olds can be automatically charged as an adult for 33 offenses.

FACT: Maryland has sent more kids to adult court than California, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Arizona combined.

We can and must treat our children better. Maryland should join the 26 other states who have limited the automatic charging of youth as adults – Join us and call on your legislators to support SB 422 / HB 1433! This bill is an important first step to ending automatic charging for all.

Support SB 422 / HB 1433

Dear Senator/Delegate _______,

I’m writing to you today to ask you to pledge to support SB 422 / HB 1433 and take the important first step of limiting the practice of automatically charging youth as adults in Maryland.

Maryland law requires youth to be automatically prosecuted in adult court for 33 offenses – putting us severely out of step with other states and international human rights law. As a result, our state sends more young people to adult court based on offense type, per capita, than any other state except for Alabama. A staggering 81% of these children are Black.

Currently, 87% of cases in Maryland that start in adult court are sent back to juvenile court or dismissed. This is expensive and inefficient, and yields worse outcomes for children, public safety and communities. SB 422 / HB 1433 would save the state over $20 million/year.

The way we treat children in our criminal justice system in Maryland is a disgrace. Maryland must join the 26 other states who have passed laws to limit pathways to adult court. I strongly urge you to support real, meaningful youth justice reform and pass SB 422 / HB 1433 this session!

Sincerely,
Your Maryland Constituent

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Support SB 422 / HB 1433 - Limiting Auto-Charging children as adults

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