S254 Legislation Targets Children & all Activists

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This Bill S 254 targets are much more widespread than just Animal and
Eco activists. The bill as written will have devasting effects upon the
lives of anyone who falls victim to its myriad of legal consequences.
Many activist organizations websites will fit the criteria as laid forth
in S 254 to be deemed criminal. Just one more way for the Feds to limit
our ability to communicate. Another assault on our civil liberties by
the congress of the religious right.  

Just look at who proposed the bill in the first place Orinn Hatch,
remember him his state circulated a flyer stating that one of the signs
of drug use in teens was concern for the enviroment...  This is from
http://thomas.loc.gov  These are the sponsers of this bill. 

S.254 =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0(Major Legislation) 
SPONSOR: Sen Hatch, Orrin G. (introduced 01/20/99) 
COSPONSORS(10):
Sen Sessions, Jeff - 01/20/99Sen Thurmond, Strom - 01/20/99Sen Abraham,
Spencer - 01/20/99Sen DeWine, Michael - 01/20/99Sen Ashcroft, John -
01/20/99Sen Lott, Trent - 01/21/99Sen Hagel, Chuck - 01/22/99Sen Leahy,
Patrick J. - 05/20/99Sen Biden, Joseph R., Jr. - 05/20/99Sen Feinstein,
Dianne - 05/20/99
http://www.aclu.org/action/juvenile106.html


This is what the ACLU has to say about this bill: 

Bill Endangers Troubled Youth

In the wake of recent school shootings in Colorado and Georgia, the U.S.
Senate has attempted to appear tough on crime by passing S. 254, "The
Violent and Repeat Juvenile Offender Act." While this bill was reported
in the media as a vehicle for various gun control amendments, it also
included many provisions that would abandon the fundamental
underpinnings of our juvenile justice system in favor of more punitive
measures. For example, one proposal would allow for the federal
prosecution and sentencing of children as young as 14 as adults!  

The House of Representatives will soon take up similar measures. Urge
your House member to oppose any juvenile justice bill that includes the
following proposals, which abandon our nation's at risk youth.  Congress
Must Oppose Any Bill with these Provisions!
http://www.aclu.org/action/juvenile106.html

Federal prosecutors must not be given unfettered power to hand down
mandatory sentences and to prosecute juveniles as adults without review
by judges.   

Under current law, it is federal judges, not prosecutors, who decide
whether a child should be charged as an adult. Another proposal in S.
254 would change that. 

One particularly vivid example of the dangers of such prosecutorial
discretion arose recently in Florida, a state that has eliminated
judicial review. In Palm Beach, a state prosecutor charged as an adult a
mentally disabled 15-year-old boy who stole $2 from a classmate for
food. As a result the boy, Anthony Laster, was charged with strong-arm
robbery, which is punishable by life in prison, and extortion,
punishable by 30 years in prison. Judicial oversight is a crucial safety
check to protect against this type of overreaction by prosecutors.  
http://www.aclu.org/action/juvenile106.html

Congress must not be allowed to disregard disproportionate confinement
of minority youth.   

S. 254 would remove the requirement that states receiving federal funds
seek solutions to disproportionate rates of minority confinement in
their facilities. 

Currently, 68 percent of children in detention centers are children of
color, even though they are only 32 percent of the overall population.
These figures reflect significant increases over 1983, when minority
youth represented 53 percent of the detention population and 56 percent
of the secure juvenile corrections population. Clearly, the need for
federal oversight to ensure racial equality within the juvenile justice
system is still very necessary.  

Youthful errors should not scar children for life.  
http://www.aclu.org/action/juvenile106.html

S. 254 contains a provision that would open juvenile court proceedings
and records, guaranteeing that those records would be accessible to
schools and future employers. Opening these records would seriously
impede a child's efforts at turning around his life.


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