Should CT rehab or imprison juvenile offenders?

HARTFORD — Judiciary Committee members advanced a bill that would take juvenile offenders charged and sentenced as adults out of prisons in favor of placement in developmentally appropriate rehabilitative services.

Juvenile justice advocates are in favor of HB 7389, which would provide a host of new programming and supports for juveniles charged with adult offenses.

Under the bill, the juveniles held at Manson Youth Institution and York Correctional Institution would be removed and placed in a yet-to-be-determined setting that would include therapeutic services. The goal is to reduce recidivism, according to Rep. Toni Walker, D-New Haven.

“The whole point is to try a rehabilitation that changes the children’s lives,” Walker said.

But Republicans on the Judiciary Committee were not convinced. “We are talking about 16- or 17-year-olds who are correctly treated as adults as a result of their offenses,” said Rep. David Labriola, R-Oxford, during the discussion that led up to the passage of the bill earlier this month.

Labriola pointed out that in previous years the legislature approved a law that allows juveniles found guilty of murder to apply for parole after 36 years served, or 60 percent of a 60-year sentence.

“There’s a big difference between serving 36 years and serving no jail time at all,” Labriola said.

A study is being conducted to determine how the transition could be made. There are about 50 juvenile males in Manson who have either been sentenced as adults or who are being held during pre-trial proceedings after being charged as adults.

Less than a handful of juvenile females are being held at York, which is the state’s only prison for women. In both cases, the...

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