PLEASE SIGN OUR ONLINE PETITION AGAINST ACT 33
What Is Act 33 ?
A 1996 amendment to the Pennsylvania Juvenile Act, Act 33 allows youth under 18 to be automatically tried as adult for number of crimes. These cases are known as "direct file" because they are filed directly in adult court. Prior to 1996, the only juveniles under age 18 who were excluded from the juvenile court’s jurisdiction in Pennsylvania were those charged with murder.
Under Act 33, young people can be automatically tried as adults if they are 15 years or older at the time of their alleged conducts and accused of any of the following crimes: rape; involuntary deviate sexual intercourse; aggravated assault; robbery; robbery of a motor vehicle; aggravated indecent assault; kidnapping; voluntary manslaughter; or an attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit murder. |
YASP organizer Joshua Glenn speaks about our work to repeal Act 33 at a conference on trying youth as adults in Erie, PA
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What does this mean?
Youth tried as adults in Philadelphia are held in the adult county jails while they await trial. More than 40% "direct file" cases in Philadelphia are eventually sent to juvenile court through a De-certification hearing. The waiting period for a De-certification hearing can range from a couple months to a year. Since Philadelphia has such a high De-certification rate, Act 33 result in hundreds of teenagers spending significant periods of time in adult jails even though there cases will eventually be transferred to juvenile court. Studies have shown that any amount of time in adult jail makes a young person under 18 more likely to be arrested again in the future.
For youth whose cases remain in adult court, Pennsylvania has particularly harsh sentencing practices. Pennsylvania has sentenced more youth under the age of 18 to life without the possibility of parole than any other state in the country. Young people convicted in adult court are sent to the adult state prison system regardless of thier age.
Impacts of Trying Youth as Adults
> Youth in an adult jail have a greater chance of victimization and death than youth in a juvenile facility.
> Youth who have been tried as adults are, on average, 34% more likely to commit crimes in the future than youth retained in the juvenile justice system.
> Youth in adult facilities are far more likely to attempt suicide.
> There is little or no education, mental health treatment or rehabilitative programming for youth in adult prisons.
> Youth tried as adults can be sentenced to life without parole.
> Youth will have an adult criminal record which will affect their chances to further their education and find a job.
YASP recently launched a campaign to end or repeal ACT33
We understand that there is power in numbers, so we are collecting signatures from residents of PA so that we can show legislatures how many people in our communities want the amendment changed.
If you are a resident of Pennsylvania, please take time to sign our online petition.
Want to help?
If you would like to go door knocking with YASP, you can email us at yasproject@gmail.com or your could call us directly at 267 571 YASP
Youth tried as adults in Philadelphia are held in the adult county jails while they await trial. More than 40% "direct file" cases in Philadelphia are eventually sent to juvenile court through a De-certification hearing. The waiting period for a De-certification hearing can range from a couple months to a year. Since Philadelphia has such a high De-certification rate, Act 33 result in hundreds of teenagers spending significant periods of time in adult jails even though there cases will eventually be transferred to juvenile court. Studies have shown that any amount of time in adult jail makes a young person under 18 more likely to be arrested again in the future.
For youth whose cases remain in adult court, Pennsylvania has particularly harsh sentencing practices. Pennsylvania has sentenced more youth under the age of 18 to life without the possibility of parole than any other state in the country. Young people convicted in adult court are sent to the adult state prison system regardless of thier age.
Impacts of Trying Youth as Adults
> Youth in an adult jail have a greater chance of victimization and death than youth in a juvenile facility.
> Youth who have been tried as adults are, on average, 34% more likely to commit crimes in the future than youth retained in the juvenile justice system.
> Youth in adult facilities are far more likely to attempt suicide.
> There is little or no education, mental health treatment or rehabilitative programming for youth in adult prisons.
> Youth tried as adults can be sentenced to life without parole.
> Youth will have an adult criminal record which will affect their chances to further their education and find a job.
YASP recently launched a campaign to end or repeal ACT33
We understand that there is power in numbers, so we are collecting signatures from residents of PA so that we can show legislatures how many people in our communities want the amendment changed.
If you are a resident of Pennsylvania, please take time to sign our online petition.
Want to help?
If you would like to go door knocking with YASP, you can email us at yasproject@gmail.com or your could call us directly at 267 571 YASP