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Josh Vaughn / The Sentinel
What happens when kids are charged as adults?
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Emily Previti/PA Post
Josh Vaughn / The Sentinel
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From The Context, PA Post’s weekday email newsletter:
I was on the most recent episode of Smart Talk to discuss my congressional map analysis story showing that Pennsylvania’s delegation might still have an even partisan split, even if district boundaries hadn’t changed. The (Carlisle) Sentinel’s Josh Vaughn made an appearance, too, regarding his series on the problematic practice of charging some juvenile criminal defendants as adults.
-Emily Previti, Newsletter Producer/Reporter
-Emily Previti, Newsletter Producer/Reporter
Kids in Cuffs
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More than 400 minors were charged with criminal offenses in adult court in Pennsylvania in 2017. The Sentinel recently published “Kids in Cuffs”, a series about the problems with that system.
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Many of those juvenile criminal defendants charged as adults spent time in adult jails — and that’s really expensive, reporter Josh Vaughn found.
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Another part of the series examines the practice of “reaching back in time to charge adults for youth offenses.” That happened nearly 190 times in 2017, Josh discovered; in 60 cases, the alleged crimes occured when the defendant was younger than 16 years old.
Best of the rest
Emma Lee / WHYY
Jamie Lynch (left) and Kate Mayer joined forces when their children were struggling to learn to read in the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District.
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There’s a “small parent rebellion forming in one of Pennsylvania’s wealthiest school districts,” Avi Wolfman-Arent reports for WHYY, over how students there are taught to read. For more, check out his feature exploring what “could be a case of suburban anxiety run amok. Or it could be a window into how enlightened parents challenge district orthodoxy and undermine the reputation of a reputedly great school district.”
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Local 98 scandal update: the Philadelphia Inquirer published a story this week outlining connections between state Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dougherty and union boss John “Johnny Doc” Dougherty, backed up by court documents in the corruption case. Meanwhile, City Councilman Bobby Henon is seeking re-election despite facing charges.
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The Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority is going to spend $50 million to replace lead service lines, distribute water filters to low-income customers and otherwise address the city’s lead problems under a settlement approved by the state Public Utility Commission. The development comes on the heels of the Attorney General slapping PWSA with more than 150 Clean Water Action violation charges that would result in more than $2 million in fines. More on the settlement is here.
