HARRISBURG, Pa. — The average number of youth charged as adults per year in Pennsylvania between 2017 and 2021 was 450.
Representative Chris Rabb told Channel 11 most of them were automatic as part of the state’s direct file statute that deems teens between the age of 15 and 17 that commit certain crimes to include homicide, rape or aggravated assault to automatically be charged as adults.
“No matter how heinous no matter how violent that crime is, it was committed by a child and our brains aren’t formed until we are 25. This doesn’t excuse the offense, doesn’t excuse the violent act,” Rabb said.
Rabb’s new bill will eliminate the direct file and allow the decision of how to charge up to the local district attorneys.
“There is no evidence that shows this keeps us safer, more importantly if we put kids in the system as adults, we are training them to be better criminals and eventually they come home,” Rabb said.
Looking at the stats, about two-thirds of the cases direct filed each year do get pushed back to juvenile court or withdrawn.
Beaver County District Attorney Nate Bible said his office talks with each officer in these cases before ever charging as adults and in Beaver County, almost all of those cases are homicide.
“At 16 years old you understand the consequences of killing someone and you understand that they are never coming back you are taking their life,” Bible said.
Bible said he doesn’t know how much of an impact this legislation will have as District Attorney’s will still have the ultimate power to make the decision to be charged as an adult.
What he would like to see is stricter punishments for the juveniles with guns and believes that may lead to more reform.
“Maybe these juveniles would think twice about ‘I don’t want to carry this gun for you because I don’t want to go jail’ but now it’s like ‘sure I’ll carry it because what is going to happen to me,’” Bible said.
Rabb is hopeful to get bipartisan support on the bill as he works to get co-sponsors before formally introducing the bill in the House.
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