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Firings and Contraband at Georgia’s Troubled Youth Detention Centers
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is wrapping up its criminal investigation at the state’s youth prison in Augusta and plans to present its findings to Richmond County prosecutors by mid-February....
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Audit Shows New Georgia Children’s Agency Serving Fewer Children
In 2008, Georgia combined two state offices serving troubled youth in the name of effectiveness and efficiency. Now, an audit says the newly created office has resulted in little savings on overhead...
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New Study Finds Georgia Foster Kids are Over-Medicated
Giovan Bazan testifying before a state House Committee Georgia’s foster children are being over-medicated, often to sedate them or control their behavior rather than treat a medical condition, a new...
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Looking for Reasons for Racial Imbalance in the Juvenile Justice System
It doesn’t take a lot of research to see that racial disparity in incarceration of both adults and juveniles is alive and well in the United States, but it is not so easy to say why. When I entered the...
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Mom, Teen Daughter Claim Guards Complicit in Attack at Georgia Detention Center
Whitney Bonds on the night she was attacked. Photo: Haley Bonds Haley Bonds says she did everything she could think of to protect her 16-year-old daughter from the beatdown she was expecting at a youth...
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New Georgia Juvenile Code Advancing in State Legislature
A long-planned overhaul of Georgia’s juvenile justice code got its first official nod of approval Wednesday, but backers still haven’t figured out how to pay for it. An estimated $15 million price...
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The Story of an Armed Robbery and a Second Chance, Part 2
Editor’s Note: This is part two of a two-part opinion piece written by Judge Teske. Part one appeared in this space Tuesday. James and Matthew — the boys who robbed Henry, a pizza deliveryman, at gun...
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Georgia Juvenile Code Overhaul Clears State House
Rep. Wendell Willard - (R) Sandy Springs After five years of work, a 243-page overhaul of Georgia’s juvenile code passed the state House of Representatives unanimously on Wednesday. The bill — endorsed...
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Kindness in the Courtroom as a Child Launches into a Violent Outburst
I had been on the bench for a couple years when I met her. Her name was Jade — she was 12 years old when she appeared in my court. Besides being disrespectful, not following the rules at home, and...
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An Unjust Solution
Not long ago in Georgia, a six-year-old named Salecia Johnson was handcuffed and taken from her elementary school to the local police station. The school chose to do this, instead of sending her to...
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