1st Thursday, November 5
Our Children in Peril
6:30pm Thursday, November 5, 2015
hosted by Space Coast Progressive Alliance
Location: Front Street Civic Center, 2205 Front St. downtown Melbourne FL 32901
Free and open to the public. Donations graciously accepted. Information
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Our Children in Peril
Our Children…
- in jail?
- in trouble?
- in gangs?
- using drugs?
It’s happening right here in Brevard County -- and it may be in your backyard.
A panel of outstanding professionals on these topics will address these concerns, followed by a Q&A from the audience.
Our panel of speakers:
• Eileen Espinal, Southern Poverty Law Center
• Blaise Trettis, Public Defender, 18th Judicial Court (Brevard County)
• Dr. Paul Evans, Director of Outreach Services, Circles of Care
• Larry Lawton, President of the Reality Check Program, the Reality Check Foundation and more. He is a former career criminal, known once as the biggest jewel thief in the United States.
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BACKGROUND
More than 10,000 children have been tried in Florida's adult courts in the last 5 years.
98% of these children were transferred to adult court without the benefit of a hearing before a judge.
Children as young as 12 years old have been tried as adults.
An adult court conviction creates more crime and criminals, not less.
What to do?
• Restore the role of judges to decide whether a child should be tried as an adult.
• Raise the minimum age of children tried as adults to age 16.
• Only hold children charged as adults in juvenile facilities.
Source: http://www.noplaceforachild.com/
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Real stories of Florida kids in this broken system:
I was prosecuted as an adult for a youthful offense
http://www.noplaceforachild.com/patrick-mellan
More stories: http://noplaceforachild.com/#stories
