A selection of The Imprint’s most impactful stories from the past year
After decades of reforms aimed at reducing the exposure of youth to the adult criminal justice system, in 2024, The Imprint reported on two states (Louisiana and North Carolina) that passed bills that rolled back previous commitments in that direction.
This year has not produced the same kind of legislative shifts, but the Trump administration’s actions and words have prompted alarm that it could be coming. This summer, as Nell Bernstein reported for The Imprint, after declaring a “crime emergency” in Washington, D.C., the administration pushed a package of bills through Congress that upend the district’s hard-fought youth justice protections.
The Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro explained her rationale for more punitive approaches in a statement to CNN:
“I know evil when I see it, no matter the age,” she said, “and the violence in D.C. committed by young people belongs in criminal court, not family court.”
Bernstein also reported for The Imprint on several counties where district attorneys had reverted to trying youth as adults where their predecessors had vowed not to. And in New York, Steven Yoder reported on renewed scrutiny of New York’s Raise the Age law.
Gun possession looms large in discussions of which youth are routed into the adult system. Writing for The Imprint, Liz Ryan, who led juvenile justice policy for the Biden administration, wrote: “Instead of understanding why teenagers carry guns, or investing in what works to guide them away from such behavior, policymakers are relying on one-size-fits-all punitive responses that not only fail to make communities safer, but also jeopardize young people’s futures.”
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