Teenagers who commit crimes with guns will now automatically be charged as adults under a new Mississippi law set to take effect July 1.
JACKSON, Miss. - Teenagers who commit crimes with guns will now automatically be charged as adults under a new Mississippi law set to take effect July 1. The law means juveniles will bypass youth court and head straight to circuit court .
Lawmakers agree youth gun violence is a serious problem, but disagree over whether this is the right approach.“We’re trying to send a very loud message,” said Sen. Joey Fillingane, who wrote the bill. “Before you commit this act, before you go down this road, you need to know the consequences of that is very severe.”
Fillingane’s legislation, Senate Bill 2710, holds juveniles to the same standard as adults whenever they commit crimes with a gun. If anyone 18 and under commits a crime using a firearm, whether open or concealed, they will be charged as an adult.If someone sells a teen a stolen firearm, they face up to 20 years in prison.If the stolen gun is used in a homicide, they face up to 40 years in prison.
“We’ve tried the youthful offender, the youth court. We all believe in second chances and trying to rehabilitate people, but at the end of the day, some people, if they’re violent enough, regardless of their age, to shoot and kill somebody, they’re just certain things Mississippi is not going to stand for and not tolerate,” Fillingane said.
“I would hope that we could leave that decision with the youth court judge to determine if that child should be charged as an adult, but not as an automatic offense,” Nelson explained. “I think that anytime the law mandates something with the advice of the chancellor, I think that’s a bit harsh, even if this was juveniles, even if these were adults. That’s what we have judges for; that’s what we elect our judges for, because we trust that they are going to use their sound judgement in application of the law. So, do I think it’s too harsh? I do think it’s too harsh in the way it is written.”
Nelson said there are some exceptions when a juvenile should be charged as an adult, but in most cases, there should be another alternative. “We need to start talking about intervention programs. We need to figure out how we’re able to get our youth into programs that can alleviate this, alternative sentence programs and things, second chance programs, those are things we can go in and find exactly what our troubled teens need, and also, holding parents and guardians accountable,” Nelson said.
Under the new law, offenders could face up to 15 years in prison if they shoot into a crowd of two or more people.If someone 18 or under is in the crowd, or if the shooter is a gang member, they could face up to 30 years in prison.
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Mississippi Senate Bill 2710 Mississippi Youth Gun Violence Gun Violence Teen Gun Violence Youth Court Circuit Court Mississippi Youth Court Mississippi Circuit Court Mississippi Legislation Rep. Fabian Nelson Sen. Joey Fillingane
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