THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 2, 1996 TAG: 9601020059
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Kid Criminals
SOURCE: BY ROBERT LITTLE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long : 116 lines
In a room full of lawmakers, judges, prosecutors and government officials bent on finding ways to keep children out of prison, Byrl Phillips-Taylor's idea sounded like a sousaphone in a string quartet.
She wanted to take every child 14 or older who has been accused of murder, rape or robbery, and arraign him, try him and sentence him as an adult. ``Do not pass go,'' she said. ``Punish them. Treat them fairly, but punish them in a way that fits the crime.''
Phillips-Taylor admits she has a different perspective. In 1989, her son was lured by a jealous schoolmate into the woods in Charles City County and shot six times with an AK-47.
``Let's face it, that's an adult crime,'' said Phillips-Taylor, 52, of Sandston. ``I was lucky enough that the boy who shot him was tried as an adult. As a victim, I feel like that's how it should always be.''
Her colleagues on the General Assembly committee studying the juvenile justice system didn't agree, saying the most horrific crimes are handled in the adult system already. They brought the matter to a vote, only to be polite. Hers was the only vote in favor of the change.
Phillips-Taylor's chances didn't die, however. A similar committee, this one named by Republican Gov. George F. Allen, endorses the idea enthusiastically. ``It'll be heard one way or another,'' she said. ``That's the way this thing is going this year.''
It is the way so much in Virginia politics has been lately - two political parties claiming the same virtuous goal, then one-upping each other to shreds over the details. Throughout the summer, debate over juvenile justice reform was little different.
But both sides suggest that an alliance could be in the making.
Allen and the General Assembly both have promised to make reforming the state's juvenile justice a priority in the 1996 legislative session, which begins Jan. 10. Both appointed commissions in the spring to study the system and recommend changes.
Those two commissions took off from the start in separate directions: Allen's toward a system of tougher incarceration and more punishment, the legislative commission toward a plan that would finance more prevention and educational programs.
Although the two commissions included members from both political parties, lines were quickly drawn establishing Allen's as the more Republican, the General Assembly's as Democratic. A torturously partisan election, in which Republicans narrowed the gap on the Democrats' General Assembly majority, accentuated the differences. The 1996 session seemed certain to be a rancorous one. Juvenile justice reform, everyone promised, will be a marquee debate.
But for all the partisan fussing over proposals to change how the state deals with juvenile criminals, the General Assembly is united in supporting most ideas in the works.
The General Assembly almost certainly will make juvenile trials open to the public, for instance - or at least to the victims.
Truancy at school will be dealt with more severely, not just for the students but for the parents, too. Parents who allow their children to skip school could spend up to a year in jail.
More young criminals who commit violent crimes will eventually find themselves in the adult prison system. Many will serve longer sentences.
The most violent young offenders will be segregated from the truants, petty thieves and curfew violators, in hopes of giving both groups better chances of reforming.
All of those proposals are included in both reform plans. And other ideas, while unique to one proposal or another, leave room for compromise.
The legislature's committee is proposing a $30.5 million package of prevention and treatment programs, and hiring of new prosecutors and parole officers, for instance. The proposals are not in Allen's plan, but they would not conflict with it, either. And one Republican close to Allen said privately that it could be difficult politically to battle such a relatively small budget item.
Allen will ask for $17 million to renovate a detention center for juveniles sentenced as adults. The General Assembly committee has endorsed a similar facility, to be run by the Department of Youth and Family Services.
Following the lead of parole abolition and welfare reform - two recent issues that garnered bipartisan success - lawmakers expect to name a bipartisan panel to craft a compromise before the issue is called for a vote.
``Let's face it: The two commissions are moving toward essentially the same bottom line,'' said Sen. Robert Calhoun, a lame-duck Republican from Fairfax who serves on the Commission on Youth. ``Fighting over most of these things would be petty.''
Even Del. Jerrauld Jones, D-Norfolk, who heads the General Assembly's commission and is never short of criticism for the Republican effort, said: ``They're not warring proposals. I think you're going to see a lot of agreement.''
Not complete agreement, most say. As the legislature works to change the juvenile-justice system, the battles probably will be fought on four fronts:
When minors who commit crimes should be treated as adults. Allen favors a plan like Phillips-Taylors' that would treat violent 14-year-olds as adults. The General Assembly committee thinks judges should have some discretion.
Whether juvenile homes should be akin to small schools or large prisons. Allen's committee favors large juvenile complexes; the legislature wants smaller, more intimate facilities spread around the state.
Whether violent young teenagers belong within the adult prison system. Allen wants to build a juvenile prison, run by the Department of Corrections, for all teenagers sentenced as adults. The legislature wants the young offenders kept in the juvenile system, while allowing for longer stays and some transfers to the adult system when necessary.
Who gets the credit for whatever reforms become law. Both sides want that.
``Undoubtedly, there will be some issues in contention,'' said Del. J. Randy Forbes, a Chesapeake Republican. A close ally of Allen, Forbes serves on the House committee that will consider most of the reform bills.
``It's something that, I think, everyone wants, and something we'll sit down and work on together,'' Forbes said. ``Maybe it hasn't always seemed like it, but I suspect you'll see cooperation, not a fight.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic by Roanoke Times
How the Juvenile Justice System Works.
For copy of graphic, see microfilm
KEYWORDS: CRIME YOUTH STATISTICS JUVENILE by CNB