ATLANTA — A report by the Southern Poverty Law Center claims that Georgia has a "school-to-prison" pipeline that disproportionately impacts children of color.
The SPLC is a left-leaning advocacy center battling racial and social injustice. The report indicates Georgia has a problem meting out justice – especially for young Black offenders. It examines how the state's justice system emphasizes incarceration over support and services.
Delvin Davis with the SPLC said that much of this is rooted in state laws enacted in the past.
In the 1990s, worries nationwide about crime became a big political issue. Therefore, President Bill Clinton signed legislation enacting tougher federal crime laws.
"All that was... politically rewarding to have policies that were more punitive toward children and teenagers, and force them to be incarcerated as opposed to a more appropriate means," Davis told 11Alive.
Those same efforts also filtered into Georgia's legislature and courts, which treated many young offenders like adults. Davis said those laws are creating a pipeline from school to prisons -- particularly among Black teenagers.
The report uses state data on race, age and justice and concludes that young Black people are disproportionately imprisoned compared to whites.
For example, while Black people make up 35.5% of the youth population in Georgia, the report said they are charged with 61% of all youth offenses.
Black defendants also account for:
- 69% of youth sentenced in adult Superior court
- 69% of youth getting long-term incarceration after trial
- 67% of youth getting short-term incarceration before trial
In response to this information, the report urges Georgia lawmakers to update laws to raise the age of adult crimes to 18. It’s 17 now. If the crime is really serious, children as young as 13 can be charged as adults. It urges lawmakers to change that as well.
The report indicates that injustice often begins in schools. For example, although Black Georgia children make up 37.5% of students, they also make up well over half of all out-of-school suspensions, expulsions and assignments to alternative schools.
"We only get one chance to invest in our young people's futures," Davis said in a release. "The SPLC's Only Young Once report is a call to action for Georgia's leaders, educators and community members to unite and reimagine its youth system, challenging us to uplifts and empower our children rather than punishing and discarding them.
To view the full report, click here.