Overview

Every state has laws that require some youth to be prosecuted in adult criminal court. These laws, combined with other statutes, are putting thousands of young people at risk of facing harmful and irreversible consequences, often for minor mistakes. Some researchers estimate that as many as 250,000 youth are prosecuted as adults every year. Despite overwhelming research demonstrating that these policies have failed, statutes that prosecute youth in the adult criminal justice system remain on the books.

Research shows that:

• An estimated 250,000 youth are tried, sentenced or incarcerated as adults every year across the United States.
• Most of the youth prosecuted in adult court are charged with non-violent offenses.
• Young people who are kept in the juvenile justice system are less likely to re-offend than young people who are transferred into the adult system.
• Currently, 40 states permit or require that youth charged as adults be held before they are tried in an adult jail. In some states, if they are convicted, they may be required to serve their entire sentence in an adult jail.
• On any given day, nearly 7,500 young people are locked up in adult jails.
• On any given day, more than 3,600 young people are locked up in adult prisons.