Courts

Judge Jails Children For Just Standing There... Menacingly

I heard she tried to give the Garratt v. Dailey kid 25 to life.

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While our legal tradition is no stranger to judge-made law, there has to be a limit. I wager that the limit should be far before what the Honorable Donna Scott Davenport did — jail Tennessee children over a non-existent crime. She charged 11 elementary-aged Black children with “criminal responsibility for conduct of another” because they saw a 5- and a 6-year-old fighting. Thankfully, lawmakers called for a federal investigation to be launched in 2016 concerning the children’s arrest and detainment over the bogus law. One of them released this statement on Monday:

“[T]here is no rational justification for any of this in our society. Both the state and county have obviously failed children and families, predominantly Black individuals, in this and countless other ways. This has notably been true throughout American history in our legal and penal system, and it’s way past time to reevaluate the structural framework which allows such instances of inequity and injustice. Those of us in whom the public has placed its trust have a duty to correct the multi-layered legal and administrative issues facilitating this type of unchecked barbarism. Looking ourselves in the mirror as decision-makers within an inherently flawed system, we must admit that we’ve failed too many for far too long.”

I will be the first to tell you that kids can be a bit of a hassle. They’re hard to buy presents for, have questionable motor skills, and are horrible tippers. But this lady did her best to give Cruella de Vil a run for her money with her gavel. In 2014, the statewide average for jailing children (this is an actual statistic, dear God) was 5%. Ms. Davenport, some child left behind trailblazer, had a child lock up rate of 48%! That is super impressive if you can look past the cartoonish evil of it.

Judges hold one of the most important roles in the legal system. And when they use their power to do egregious acts, especially involving children, we ought to do something about it.  And to you Scrooges and Grinches out there — let children be children. Especially Black ones.

Rutherford Co. Judge, Who Illegally Jailed Black Children Using Fake Law, Faces Renewed Criticism [WKRN]

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