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Don't Throw Away the Key!
Crime Commission Meeting September 8

Trying youth as adults hurts our youth and our communities!  Come to the Crime Commission meeting to show your concern!

It's back to school time for kids, and back to advocacy time for us all on September 8th, when the Virginia State Crime Commission meets in Richmond!

Here's a little pop quiz.  The answers are farther down the page.

Out of every 100 youths convicted in Virginia's adult courts from 2000-2008, how many were convicted of murder?                                                                         _ 75       _ 50         _ 27          _ 6

Out of every 100 youths convicted in Virginia's adult courts from 2000-2008, how many were sentenced only to probation?
 _ 8        _ 15         _ 20        _ 38

And how many were given a juvenile sentence only?
 _ 12        _ 23        _ 47        _ 65
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On September 8, the Virginia State Crime Commission will meet in Richmond.  At this meeting, the Crime Commission staff will present their study of Virginia's system of trying youth as adults and recommendations for legislative change. 

The staff will probably also make recommendations about two bills from last year’s General Assembly session.  These bills were carried over and sent to the Crime Commission for further study. One of the bills, SB 205 sponsored by Senator Edwards, would greatly improve Virginia’s system of trying youth as adults by limiting prosecutors' discretion. However, the other bill, SB 389 sponsored by Senator McDougle, would result in more youth being tried as adults for less serious crimes. 

Please join us at this meeting if you can.  Your presence will let the Crime Commission members know that families and community members care about youth who are being tried as adults. The meeting will be on Wednesday, September 8 at 10 am in the General Assembly Building, Senate Room A, 9th and Broad Street, Richmond, VA.  Bring friends and family.  Please use this flier as a reminder and to spread the word!

There will be an opportunity for public comment after the staff’s presentation. If you are interested in giving public comment, please consider using these talking points as a guide.

Hope to see you there!
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And now for the answers:

Surprisingly, only 6 out of every 100 youth convicted as an adult was convicted of murder.  Meanwhile, 20 out of every 100 were sentenced to probation, and 23 were given only juvenile sentences!  But each of those 43 youth still faced the barriers of an adult felony conviction — barriers to getting a job, voting and student financial aid.

The numbers show that our system of trying youth as adults is too broad, and jeopardizes the future of young people who can still turn their lives around.

Learn more about Virginia's transfer system in the report Don't Throw Away the Key: Reevaluating Adult Time for Youth Crime in Virginia, found on the Don't Throw Away the Key website's resource page.


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