Colorado Debates Minimum Age for Charging Kids
nder a bill introduced in the Colorado legislature, children aged 12 and younger could no longer be prosecuted for any crime except murder. The state's 22 elected DAs, and other representative groups, argue the bill does a disservice to victims and offenders and that kids will end up in the overwhelmed Child Welfare System.
Landwebs
Under a bill introduced by State Rep. Serena Gonzalez-Gutierrez, children aged 12 and younger could no longer be prosecuted for any crime except murder in Colorado. Kids 13 and under could be prevented from being charged as adults and 14-year-olds from being charged only if it’s a class one or two felony, reports CBS Denver. While Gonzalez-Gutierrez says those kids need help, not detention, Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty, along with the state’s other 21 elected DAs and groups representing Colorado Counties and Municipalities, oppose the bill, arguing it does a disservice to victims and offenders and saying the kids will end up in the Child Welfare System, which is overwhelmed and not equipped to manage many of them.
Dougherty insists kids who get help in the juvenile system are less likely to enter the adult system, while the DA’s Council and law enforcement say a change of this magnitude should go to the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, a non-partisan group made up of all stakeholders in the justice system. Seven states currently set the age of delinquency at 12. Colorado is among 15 states that sets it at 10. Most states have no minimum age.
