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Raise the Age

About the Bill
Contact Your Legislators
Talking Points & Sample Tweets
Write a Letter to the Editor
Read More
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About the Bill

Full title: An Act to promote public safety and better outcomes for young adults (H.1710 / S.942)

Lead Sponsors: Rep. Jim O’Day & Rep. Manny Cruz; Sen. Brendan Crighton

Committee: Joint Committee on the Judiciary

The Issue

Massachusetts spends enormous amounts of money locking up young people in the adult system, with terrible outcomes for young people, particularly youth of color. Exposure to punitive environments like adult jails and prisons and more severe collateral consequences can actually increase offending.

The Solution

This bill would restructure the juvenile justice system to include 18 to 20-year-olds to prevent long-term criminal justice system involvement. Such reforms would lower recidivism and prevent deeper criminal justice system involvement. The juvenile system can hold younger justice-involved emerging adults accountable while providing them with developmentally appropriate services tailored for their age group: school, rehabilitative programming, and vocational training. Young people charged with serious offenses, such as murder and so-called “Youthful Offender” cases, would still be eligible for adult sentencing as is currently the law for children 14 years and older.  

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Contact Your Legislators

Find your legislators’ contact information here.

Please support H.1710 / S.942, filed by Rep. Jim O’Day and Rep. Manny Cruz and Sen. Brendan Crighton, which would raise the age of criminal majority to 21. 

A decade ago, Massachusetts raised the age of juvenile court to keep 17-year-olds out of the adult system. Supporters of this reform argued that keeping young people out of the adult criminal system would reduce recidivism. The data is in: they were right. Juvenile crime has declined, and Massachusetts has seen faster declines in violent and property crime rates than the national average.  

Young people are highly influenced by their environments: it is no surprise then that adult jail and prison environments increase offending behavior. By contrast, in the juvenile system, adolescents have better access to educational and mental health resources that are critical to rehabilitation and successful re-entry, as well as stricter supervision. When our criminal legal system centers human dignity, rehabilitation, and accountability, rather than punishment and vengeance, we are all safer and healthier in the long run. 

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Talking Points & Sample Tweets

  • Research shows that adolescents have a significantly lower recidivism rate when in the juvenile versus adult system. The #RaiseTheAge bill (H.1710 / S.942) is good for public safety.
  • When MA last raised the age of juvenile court, the result was clear: crime fell. It’s time to #RaisetheAge again.
  •  Exposure to punitive environments like adult jails and prisons increase recidivism of young people. It’s time to #RaisetheAge.
  • Young adults are highly amenable to rehabilitation. Keeping 18 – 20-year-olds in the juvenile system, where they must attend school and participate in rehabilitative programming, will lower recidivism.
  • Keeping adolescents in the juvenile system ensures that they have access to better educational and mental health resources. Let’s #RaiseTheAge.
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Write a Letter to the Editor

Adapt the template below! Or email us at issues@progressivemass.com for help!

A decade ago, Massachusetts raised the age of juvenile court to keep 17-year-olds out of the adult system. Supporters of this reform argued that keeping young people out of the adult criminal system would reduce recidivism. The data is in: they were right. Juvenile crime has declined, and Massachusetts has seen faster declines in violent and property crime rates than the national average.  

It’s time to build on that success by raising the age to 21, as a bill filed this session by Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn) and Reps. Jim O’Day (D-West Boylston) and Manny Cruz (D-Salem) would do. Young people are highly influenced by their environments: it is no surprise then that adult jail and prison environments increase offending behavior. By contrast, in the juvenile system, adolescents have better access to educational and mental health resources that are critical to rehabilitation and successful re-entry, as well as stricter supervision. 

Mass incarceration policies have hit communities of color in Massachusetts especially hard. As a criminal sentence too often closes off educational and employment opportunities, our criminal legal system perpetuates racial inequalities. A focus on rehabilitation would give youth a better chance to grow up and contribute in their community and, by doing so, would help reduce intergenerational poverty. When our criminal legal system centers human dignity, rehabilitation, and accountability, rather than punishment and vengeance, we are all safer and healthier in the long run. 

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Read More

  • Chester, Lael, Maya Sussman, Naoka Carey, and Vincent Schiraldi. Report to Vermont Legislature on Act 201 Implementation Plan Report & Recommendations. New York: Columbia Justice Lab, 2019. https://justicelab.columbia.edu/EAJ.