Lowering Age At Which A Minor May Be Tried As Adult for Certain Criminal Offenses in District of Columbia

Floor Speech

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Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Garcia for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this legislation. This bill seeks to create 14-year-old prisoners in the adult criminal legal system. We know this approach doesn't improve public safety. It only traumatizes our babies. History tells us as much.

Antron McCray, 15 years old;

Yusef Salaam, 15 years old;

Raymond Santana, 14 years old;

Korey Wise, 16 years old; and

Kevin Richardson, 14 years old.

These five boys with big smiles and bright futures ahead of them went on to experience fear and manipulation that no child should. They were threatened, harassed, coerced, abused, and tried as adults, the very harm that this Republican bill would expand.

From the moment of their arrest these teenage boys, these Black boys, were treated as guilty of a horrific crime in Central Park, despite being innocent of all accusations. It was part of the hyper-punitive culture that prioritized political talking points about being tough on crime and targeted Black and Brown communities rather than investing in resources and policies that actually keep us all safe.

Does this sound familiar, Mr. Speaker?

During their trial, there was a PR campaign against the boys on TV and in newspapers. Donald J. Trump himself spent the equivalent of more than $200,000 advocating for them to get the death penalty.

These five Black and Brown children were innocent, but Trump wanted them killed. To this day, he has not even apologized, and Republicans in Congress are supporting him and his bigotry with this bill.

The story of the ``Exonerated Five'' is a tragedy and part of our shared history, but Republicans want it to be the future.

First, their rhetoric demonized their communities. Then they began weaponizing National Guard against citizens. Now they are changing laws to incarcerate more people at an even younger age. Of course, the prison industrial complex will reap the profits.

What Republicans do in D.C., they want to apply to the entire country.

This Republican bill perpetuates racism. The Department of Justice statistics show that Black kids are twice as likely to be incarcerated compared to White kids, despite committing crimes at the same rate.

This Republican bill is flawed. By treating children as adults, Mr. Speaker, you deny them protections from abuse from adults in prison, including bullying, physical violence, sexual assault, and rape.

This Republican bill makes children's lives worse. Unlike in other States, when kids in D.C. are treated as adults, the Bureau of Prisons ships them hundreds of miles away from their family and loved ones to places like South Dakota or Texas. This makes rehabilitation harder and increases the likelihood of recidivism.

Don't just take my word for it, Mr. Speaker. There is a large coalition opposing this bill.

Scientists tell us that young people's brains are not fully developed until their twenties. They don't share the same culpability for their actions as adults when they are only 14 years old.

Lawyers explain that children treated as adults, even when they are innocent, are denied age-appropriate legal protections for the rest of their lives.

Sociologists find that children who commit crimes are overwhelmingly influenced by adults and their surroundings, not their own thinking.

Of course, the people of D.C. did not vote for Trump or any Republican for that matter to be a city councilor.

Republicans are supporting this legislation not because they care about public safety. If Republicans cared about reducing crime, then they would tell Trump to stop delaying funding for community violence prevention programs that already were passed with bipartisan support.

If Republicans cared about victims, then they would stop making cuts to the crime victims fund so that people who experience harm get the help that they need.

If Republicans cared about our kids, then they would invest in restorative justice programs that teach children how to resolve their conflicts without violence.

If Republicans cared about our kids, then they would support commonsense legislation to prevent school shootings.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this bill to keep our babies safe from trauma, abuse, and fear.

In the words of James Baldwin, ``The children are always ours, every single one.''

I challenge you, Mr. Speaker, to protect them all.

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