Search Results for: juvenile

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a plan Thursday to expand background check requirements for gun dealers. The goal of the plan is to close loopholes for gun shows and online sales while simultaneously expanding the definition for firearm dealers required to be licensed. The rules, which fulfill provisions in the 2022 Bipartisan Safer [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, stated on Tuesday at the 55th Session of the Human Rights Council that the scale of human rights abuses in Haiti is unprecedented in its modern history. Türk expressed deep concerns over the serious rise in kidnappings and sexual violence, mainly against women and young girls, which [...]

Kentucky’s Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that would automatically transfer children charged with certain violent felonies to adult court. The bill passed the chamber by a vote of 25-9. Senate Bill 20 stated that children age fifteen or older charged with a “Class A, B, or C felony” will face trial as adults if [...]

A group of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advocates and NGOS expressed deep concerns Friday about the mistreatment of children in youth prisons in an open letter to the Victorian government. The advocates called out the Victorian Government’s failure to meet Australia’s obligations to implement safeguards expressed in the UN’s the Optional Protocol to the [...]

The highest court in Massachusetts ruled on Thursday that individuals under the age of 21 cannot be sentenced to life without parole, becoming the first state to do so. In a 4-3 decision overruling the previous legislative action, the court raised the minimum age from 18 to 21, citing brain development science and the Massachusetts [...]

Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad issued a decree on Thursday (Legislative Decree No 36 of 2023) granting amnesty for certain crimes committed before the decree was issued, subject to conditions. Judge Muhammad Eid Baloza announced that 350 prisoners in Damascus have been released under the decree as of Saturday. The decree stated that misdemeanors and violations [...]

Maryland’s Board of Public Works unanimously approved on Wednesday a settlement ending a lawsuit against the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in the aftermath of a fatal police encounter that resulted in the death of Anton Black’s death five years ago. The resolution grants $100,000 to Black’s family and estate, with an additional $135,000 [...]

UN human rights expert William O’Neill called for the Haitian government to enact policies to better protect children from the ravages of gang violence in the country Tuesday during an official UN visit. O’Neill warned that gang violence in Haiti not only blocks children’s access to basic services but youths were also recruited by gangs. [...]

Australia is the only Western democracy not to have a Human Rights Act in its legal system or constitution. Instead, Australia has a patchwork of rights, leaning on individual legislation, such as the Anti-Discrimination Act of 1977, implied rights, common law, and state-by-state legislation. As noted by the Australian Human Rights Commission,  “There are five [...]

Thailand’s Central Juvenile and Family Court ordered Thursday the release of Thanalop “Yok” Phalanchai, a 15-year-old girl who was detained in the Ban Pranee Juvenile Vocational Training Centre for Girls. Yok, who was arrested on March 28 and detained for a total of 51 days, was charged under Section 112 of Thailand’s Criminal Code for [...]