Teens in court: Legislation would end adult prosecution of 16- and 17-year-olds

The state budget bill that legislators have been working on for months contains a measure that has nothing to do with money but with the way the criminal justice system treats teenagers who are 16 and 17 years old.

The bill calls for the state to treat accused 16- and 17-year-olds as minors instead of adults, as is currently the case.

We agree with the lawmakers who want to end the prosecution of those teenagers in adult court, and we hope it becomes law.

North Carolina is one of the last states to treat 16- and 17-year-olds as adults, and we believe it is time the state followed the lead of the rest of the nation and consider them minors in the eyes of the law.

The measure apparently stands a good chance of passing. Although critical of the overall budget bill, Gov. Roy Cooper has said he supports increasing the age of juvenile jurisdiction.

Teens who commit felonies such as murder and rape would not be included in the new law. They would continue to be treated as adults in court.

The News-Argus has followed state law for years and printed the names of 16- and 17-year-olds who are accused of crimes. It does not make us feel good to do so, but that has been the law. If the law changes, we will be greatly relieved to not print those names.

More importantly, the law would prevent a criminal record from following those teenagers around for the rest of their lives, hurting their ability to get a job. We believe in giving young people who have made a mistake another chance. We hope those affected by the change take advantage of it to turn their lives around.

Published in Editorials on June 21, 2017 8:40 PM