BOSTON – Massachusetts lawmakers have filed legislation that proposes to keep young adults through age 20 who have been charged with crimes in the juvenile justice system, rather than adjudicating them through the adult criminal courts.
The proposal, years in the making, stems from following years of brain research and was crafted through a partnership between legislators, the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, Citizens for Juvenile Justice and the Committee for Public Counsel Services.
“It’s a matter of brain development, advances in brain science. That’s a huge reason why I became involved with the legislation,” said Rep. James O’Day, D-West Boylston, one of the four sponsors of the companion bills. “Science proves that a 13-year-old brain is not the same as a 15-year-old brain, as a 19-year-old. The brain doesn’t develop fully until age 25.”
The legislators filing the companion bills — O’Day; Rep. Manny Cruz, D-Salem; Senate President Karen Spilka, D-Ashland; and Sen. Brendan Crighton, D-Lynn — said they are reluctant to saddle young adults with criminal records for the rest of their lives, long after their brain development has caught up with their physical development.