ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 8, 1996 TAG: 9601080023
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: ROBERT LITTLE STAFF WRITER
TWO COMMISSIONS are hoping to reshape the state's juvenile justice system. But they look at the problem from different viewpoints.
In a room full of lawmakers, judges, prosecutors and government officials bent on finding ways to keep kids out of prison, Byrl Phillips-Taylor's idea sounded like a sousaphone in a string quartet.
She wanted to take all kids 14 or older who have been accused of murder, rape or robbery, and arraign them, try them and sentence them as adults. "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 little different perspective. In 1989, her son was lured into the Charles City County woods by a jealous schoolmate 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 did not 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 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's 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.
Both sides suggest that an alliance could now be in the making, however.
Allen and the General Assembly have promised to make reforming the state's juvenile justice system a priority in the 1996 legislative session, which begins Wednesday. 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 legislature toward a plan that would finance more prevention and educational programs.
And while 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. 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 will be dealt with more severely, not just for the students, but 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.
And the most violent kids will be segregated from the truants, petty thieves and curfew violators, in hopes of giving them all 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.
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 package before the issue is brought up 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 Alexandria 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 next year, the battles likely will be fought on four fronts:
When minors who commit crimes should be treated as adults. Allen favors a plan like Phillips-Taylor's 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 facilities spread around the state.
Whether violent young teen-agers belong in the adult prison system. Allen wants to build a juvenile prison, run by the Department of Corrections, for all teen-agers sentenced as adults. The legislature wants the kids kept in the juvenile system, while allowing for longer stays and some transfer 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. Randy Forbes, a Chesapeake Republican. An Allen ally, 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. Maybe it hasn't always seemed like it, but I suspect you'll see cooperation, not a fight."
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