[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 20, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S750-S756]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HATCH (for himself, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Thurmond, Mr. 
        Abraham, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Ashcroft):
  S. 254. A bill to reduce violent juvenile crime, promote 
accountability by rehabilitation of juvenile criminals, punish and 
deter violent gang crime, and for other purposes; read the first time.


VIOLENT AND REPEAT JUVENILE OFFENDER ACCOUNTABILITY AND REHABILITATION 
                              ACT OF 1999

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I am proud today to introduce the Violent 
and Repeat Juvenile Offender Accountability and Rehabilitation Act of 
1999. I am pleased to be joined by Senator Sessions, the distinguished 
chairman of the Youth Violence Subcommittee, as well as Senator DeWine.
  There are few issues that will come before the Senate this year that 
touch the lives of more of our fellow Americans than our national 
response to juvenile crime. Crime and delinquency among juveniles is a 
problem that troubles us in our neighborhoods, schools and parks. It is 
the subject across the dinner table, and in those late night, worried 
conversations all parents have had at one time or another. The subject 
is familiar--how can we prevent our children from falling victim--
either to crime committed by another juvenile, or to the lure of drugs, 
crime, and gangs.
  Their concerns should be our concerns. The sad reality is that we can 
no longer sit silently by as children kill children, as teenagers 
commit truly heinous offenses, as our juvenile drug abuse rate 
continues to climb. In 1997, juveniles accounted for nearly one fifth--
18.7 percent--of all criminal arrests in the United States. Persons 
under 18 committed 13.5 percent of all murders, over 17 percent of all 
rapes, nearly 30 percent of all robberies, and 50 percent of all 
arsons.
  In 1997, 183 juveniles under 15 were arrested for murder. Juveniles 
under 15 were responsible for 6.5 percent of all rapes, 14 percent of 
all burglaries, and one third of all arsons. And, unbelievably, 
juveniles under 15--who are not old enough to legally drive in any 
state--in 1997 were responsible for 10.3 percent of all auto thefts.
  To put this in some context, consider this: in 1997, youngsters age 
15 to 19, who are only 7 percent of the population, committed 22.2 
percent of all crimes, 21.4 percent of violent crimes, and 32 percent 
of property crimes.
  And although there are endless statistics on our growing juvenile 
crime problem, one particularly sobering fact is that, between 1985 and 
1993, the number of murder cases involving 15-year olds increased 207 
percent. We have kids involved in murder before they can even drive.

  Even my state of Utah has not been immune from these trends. Indeed, 
a 1997 study by Brigham Young University Professor Richard Johnson 
found that Utah's juvenile arrest rate is the highest in the nation. 
Additionally, as an indication of the increasingly serious nature of 
juvenile offenses in Utah, between 1990 and 1996 the number of 
juveniles sentenced to youth corrections increased 142 percent, and the 
number of juveniles requiring detention in a secure facility more than 
doubled. And in 1995, the average Utah juvenile offender had 
accumulated an astonishing average of 23 misdemeanors, 8 felony 
convictions, and 2.4 status offense convictions before being sentenced 
to a secure youth facility.
  In short, our juvenile crime problem has taken a new and sinister 
direction. But cold statistics alone cannot tell the whole story. Crime 
has real effects on the lives of real people. Last fall, I read an 
article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch by my good friend, crime 
novelist Patricia Cornwell. It is one of the finest pieces I have read 
on the effects of and solutions to our juvenile crime problem.
  Let me share with my colleagues some of what Ms. Cornwell, who has 
spent the better part of her adult life studying and observing crime 
and its effects, has to say. She says ``when a person is touched by 
violence, the fabric of civility is forever rent, or ripped, or 
breached . . .'' This is a graphic but accurate description. Countless 
lives can be ruined by a single violent crime. There is, of course, the 
victim, who may be dead, or scarred for life. There are the family and 
friends of the victim, who are traumatized as well, and who must live 
with the loss of a loved one. Society itself is harmed, when each of us 
is a little more frightened to walk on our streets at night, to use an 
ATM, or to jog or bike in our parks. And, yes, there is the offender 
who has chosen to throw his or her life away. Particularly when the 
offender is a juvenile, family, friends, and society are made poorer 
for the waste of potential in every human being. One crime, but 
permanent effects when ``the fabric of civility is rent.''
  This is the reality that has driven me to work for the last three 
years to address this issue. In this effort, I have been joined by a 
bipartisan majority of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which last 
Congress reported comprehensive legislation on a bipartisan,

[[Page S751]]

two to one vote. Indeed, among members of the Youth Violence 
Subcommittee, the vote was seven to two in favor of the bill.
  The Judiciary Committee's legislation last Congress would have 
fundamentally reformed the role played by the federal government in 
addressing juvenile crime in our Nation. It was supported by law 
enforcement organizations such as the Fraternal Order of Police, the 
National Sheriffs Association, and the National Troopers Coalition, as 
well as the support of juvenile justice practitioners such as the 
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and victim's 
groups including the National Victims Center and the National 
Organization for Victims Assistance.
  The bill we introduce today builds on those efforts. Our reform 
proposal includes the best of what we know works. It combines tough 
measures to protect the public from the worst juvenile criminals, smart 
measures to provide intervention and correction at the earliest acts of 
delinquency, and compassionate measures to rehabilitate juvenile 
offenders and to supplement and enhance extensive existing prevention 
programs to keep juveniles out of the cycle of crime, violence, drugs, 
and gangs.
   Mr. President, let me spell out in great detail the provisions of 
this bill, and how it will help reform the juvenile justice system that 
is failing the victims of juvenile crime, failing too many of our young 
people, and ultimately, failing to protect the public.
  First, this bill reforms and streamlines the federal juvenile code, 
to responsibly address the handful of cases each year involving 
juveniles who commit crimes under federal jurisdiction. Our bill sets a 
uniform age of 14 for the permissive transfer of juvenile defendants to 
adult court, permits prosecutors and the Attorney General to make the 
decision whether to charge a juvenile offender as an adult, and permits 
in certain circumstances juveniles charged as an adult to petition the 
court to be returned to juvenile status.
  It also provides that when prosecuted as adults, juveniles in Federal 
criminal cases will be subject to the same procedures and penalties as 
adults, except for the application of mandatory minimums in most cases. 
Of course, the death penalty would not be available as punishment for 
any offense committed before the juvenile was 18.
  The bill similarly provides that juveniles tried as adults and 
sentenced to prison must serve their entire sentences, and may not be 
released on the basis of attaining their majority, and applies to 
juveniles convicted as adults the same provisions of victim 
restitution, including mandatory restitution, that apply to adults.
  Finally, in reforming the federal system, I believe that we must lead 
by example. So our bill provides that the federal criminal records of 
juveniles tried as adults, and the federal delinquency records of 
juveniles adjudicated delinquent for certain serious offenses such as 
murder, rape, armed robbery, and sexual abuse or assault, will be 
treated for all purposes in the same manner as the records of adults 
for the same offenses. Other federal felony juvenile criminal or 
delinquency records would be treated the same as adult records for 
criminal justice or national security background check purposes.
  The bill also permits juvenile federal felony criminal and 
delinquency records to be provided to schools and colleges under rules 
issued by the Attorney General, provided that recipients of the records 
are held to privacy standards and that the records not be used to 
determine admission.
  Let me assure any who may be concerned that it is not our intent in 
reforming the federal juvenile code to federalize juvenile crime--
indeed, no conduct that is not a federal crime now will be if this 
reform is enacted. I do not intend or expect a substantial increase in 
the number of juvenile cases adjudicated or prosecuted in federal 
court. It is our intent, rather, to ensure that when there is a federal 
crime warranting the federal prosecution of a juvenile, the federal 
government assumes its responsibility to deal with it, rather than 
saddling the states with that burden.
  Second, at the heart of this bill is an historic reform and 
reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act 
of 1974, the most comprehensive review of that legislation in 25 years. 
The States for several years have been far ahead of the Federal 
Government in implementing innovative reforms of their juvenile justice 
systems. For example, between 1992 and 1996, of the 50 States and the 
District of Columbia, 48 made substantive changes to their juvenile 
justice systems. Among the trends in State law changes are the removal 
of more serious and violent offenders from the juvenile justice system, 
in favor of criminal court prosecution; new and innovative disposition/
sentencing options for juveniles; and the revision, in favor of 
openness, of traditional confidentiality provisions relating to 
juvenile proceedings and records.
  While the States have been making fundamental changes in their 
approaches to juvenile justice, however, the Federal Government has 
made no significant change to its approach and has done little to 
encourage State and local reform. Thus, the juvenile justice terrain 
has shifted beneath the Federal Government, leaving its programs and 
policies out of step and largely irrelevant to the needs of State and 
local governments. This bill corrects this imbalance between State and 
Federal juvenile justice policy, and will help ensure that federal 
programs support the needs of State and local governments.
  First, our bill reforms and strengthens the Office of Juvenile 
Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) of the Department of 
Justice. The effectiveness of the OJJDP will be enhanced by requiring 
its Administrator to present to Congress annual plans, with measurable 
goals, to control and prevent youth crime, coordinate all Federal 
programs relating to controlling and preventing youth crime, and 
disseminate to States and local governments data on the prevention, 
correction and control of juvenile crime and delinquency, and report on 
successful programs and methods.
  And, most important to state and local governments, in the future, 
OJJDP will serve as a single point of contact for States, localities, 
and private entities to apply for and coordinate all federal assistance 
and programs related to juvenile crime control and delinquency 
prevention. This one-stop-shopping for federal programs and assistance 
will help state and local governments focus on the problem, instead of 
on how to navigate the federal bureaucracy.
  Second, our reform bill consolidates numerous JJDPA programs, 
including Part C Special Emphasis grants, State challenge grants, boot 
camps, and JJDPA Title V incentive grants, under an enhanced $200 
million per year prevention challenge block grant to the States. The 
bill also reauthorizes the JJDPA Title II Part B State formula grants. 
In doing so, it also reforms the current core mandates on the States 
relating to the incarceration of juveniles to ensure the protection of 
juveniles in custody while providing state and local governments with 
needed flexibility.
  This flexibility is particularly important to rural states, where 
immediate access to a juvenile detention facility might be difficult. 
Since many communities cannot afford separate juvenile and adult 
facilities, law enforcement officers must drive hours to transport 
juvenile offenders to the nearest facility, instead of patrolling the 
streets. Another unintended consequence of JJDPA is the release of 
juvenile offenders because no beds are available in juvenile facilities 
or because law enforcement officials cannot afford to transport youths 
to juvenile facilities. Juvenile criminals are released even though 
space is available to detain them in adult facilities. Our reform will 
provide the states with a degree of flexibility which currently does 
not exist.
  However, this flexibility is not provided at the expense of juvenile 
inmate safety. The bill strictly prohibits placing juvenile offenders 
in jail cells with adults. No one supports the placing of children in 
cells with adult offenders. To be clear--nothing in the bill will 
expose juveniles to any physical contact by adult offenders. Indeed, 
the legislation is explicit that, if states are to qualify for federal 
funds, they may not place juvenile delinquents in detention under 
conditions in which the juvenile can have physical contact, much less 
be physically harmed by, an adult inmate.

[[Page S752]]

  These provisions are largely based on H.R. 1818 from the 105th 
Congress, but are improved to ensure that abuse of juvenile delinquent 
inmates is not permitted by incorporating definitions of what 
constitutes unacceptable contact between juvenile delinquents and adult 
inmates.
  Third, and finally, our reform of the JJDPA reauthorizes and 
strengthens those other parts of the JJDPA that have proven effective. 
For example, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and 
the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act are reauthorized and funded. Gang 
prevention programs are reauthorized. And important, successful 
programs to provide mentoring for young people in trouble with the law 
or at risk of getting into trouble with the law are reauthorized and 
expanded. Operating through the Cooperative Extension Service program 
sponsored by the Department of Agriculture, the University of Utah has 
developed a ground-breaking and highly successful program that mentors 
to entire families--pairing college age mentors with juveniles in 
trouble or at risk of getting in trouble with the law, and pairing 
senior citizen couples with the juvenile's parents and siblings. This 
program gets great bang for the buck. So our bill provides 
demonstration funds to expand this program and replicate its success in 
other states.
  Finally, our bill provides an important new program to encourage 
state programs that provide accountability in their juvenile justice 
systems. All or nearly all of our states have taken great strides in 
reforming their systems, and it is time for the federal government's 
programs to catch up and provide needed assistance.
  Despite reforms in recent years, all too often, the juvenile justice 
system ignores the minor crimes that lead to the increasingly frequent 
serious and tragic juvenile crimes capturing headlines. Unfortunately, 
many of these crimes might have been prevented had the warning signs of 
early acts of delinquency or antisocial behavior been heeded. A 
delinquent juvenile's critical first brush with the law is a vital 
aspect of preventing future crimes, because it teaches an important 
lesson--what behavior will be tolerated. Accountability is not just 
about punishment--although punishment is frequently needed. It is about 
teaching consequences and providing rehabilitation to youth offenders.
  According to a recent Department of Justice study, juveniles 
adjudicated for so-called index crimes--such as murder, rape, robbery, 
assault, burglary, and auto theft--began their criminal careers at an 
early age. The average age for a juvenile committing an index offense 
is 14.5 years, and typically, by age 7, the future criminal is already 
showing minor behavior problems. If we can intervene early enough, 
however, we might avert future tragedies. Our bill provides a new 
Juvenile Accountability Block Grant to reform federal policy that has 
been complicit in the system's failure, and provide states with much 
needed funding for a system of graduated sanctions, including community 
service for minor crimes, electronically monitored home detention, boot 
camps, and traditional detention for more serious offenses.
  And let there be no mistake--detention is needed as well. Our first 
priority should be to keep our communities safe. We simply have to 
ensure that violent people are removed from our midst, no matter their 
age. When a juvenile commits an act as heinous as the worst adult 
crime, he or she is not a kid anymore, and we shouldn't treat them as 
kids.
  State receipt of the incentive grants would be conditioned on the 
adoption of three core accountability policies: the establishment of 
graduated sanctions to ensure appropriate correction of juvenile 
offenders, drug testing juvenile offenders upon arrest in appropriate 
cases; and recognition of victims rights and needs in the juvenile 
justice system.

  Meaningful reform also requires that a juvenile's criminal record 
ought to be accessible to police, courts, and prosecution, so that we 
can know who is a repeat or serious offender. Right now, these records 
simply are not generally available in NCIC, the national system that 
tracks adult criminal records. Thus, if a juvenile commits a string of 
felony offenses, and no record is kept, the police, prosecutors, judges 
or juries will never know what he did. Maybe for his next offense, 
he'll get a light sentence or even probation, since it appears he's 
committed only one felony in his life instead 10 or 15. Such a system 
makes no sense, and it doesn't protect the public.
  So the reform we offer in this bill also provides the first federal 
incentives for the integration of serious juvenile criminal records 
into the national criminal history database, together with federal 
funding for the system.
  Finally, we all recognize the value of education in preventing 
juvenile crime and rehabilitating juvenile offenders. When trouble-
causing juveniles remain in regular classrooms, they frequently make it 
difficult for all other students to learn. Yet, removing such juveniles 
from the classroom without addressing their educational needs virtually 
guarantees that they will fall further into the vortex of crime and 
delinquency. The costs are high--to the juvenile, but also to victims 
and to society. These juveniles too frequently become crime committing 
adults, with all the costs that implies--costs to victims, and the cost 
of incarcerating the offenders to protect the public. So our bill tries 
to break this cycle, by providing a three-year $45 million 
demonstration project to provide alternative education to juveniles in 
trouble with or at risk of getting in trouble with the law.
  The bill we introduce today authorizes significant funding for the 
programs I have described. In all, our bill authorizes $1 billion per 
year for 5 years, in the following categories: $450 million per year 
for Juvenile Accountability Block Grants; $435 million per year for 
prevention programs under the JJDPA, including $200 million for 
Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Block Grants, $200 million for Part B 
Formula grant prevention programs, and $35 million for Gangs, Mentoring 
and Discretionary grant programs; $75 million per year for grants to 
states to upgrade and enhance juvenile felony criminal record histories 
and to make such records available within NCIC, the national criminal 
history database used by law enforcement, the courts, and prosecutors; 
and $40 million per year for NIJ research and evaluation of the 
effectiveness of juvenile delinquency prevention programs.
  Additionally, the bill authorizes $100 million per year for joint 
Federal-State-local law enforcement task forces to address gang crime 
in areas with high concentrations of gang activity. $75 million per 
year of this funding is authorized for establishment and operation of 
High Intensity Interstate Gang Activity Areas, and the remaining $25 
million per year is authorized for community-based prevention and 
intervention for gang members and at-risk youth in gang areas.
  And, finally, as I have already noted, the bill authorizes $45 
million over 3 years for innovative alternative education programs to 
make our schools safer places of learning while helping ensure that the 
youth most at risk do not get left behind.
  Lastly, Mr. President, let me address a provision in the bill which 
will prohibit firearms possession by violent juvenile offenders. This 
section extends the ban in current law on firearm ownership by certain 
felons to certain juvenile offenders. Juveniles who are adjudicated 
delinquent for an offense which would be a serious violent felony as 
defined in 18 U.S.C. 3559(C)(2)(f)(i)--the federal three strikes 
statute--were the offense committed by an adult will no longer be able 
to legally own firearms. This is common sense. If tried and convicted 
as adults, these criminals would automatically forfeit their right to 
own a gun.
  However, we should learn our lesson as well from the so-called 
domestic violence gun ban enacted several years ago. If the offense 
records that allow us to know who is covered by the ban are not 
available, the law is hollow, or worse--it will be enforced only in 
arbitrary cases. For this reason, the ban we propose is prospective 
only, applying only to delinquent acts committed after records of such 
offenses are routinely available within the National Instant Check 
System instituted pursuant to the Brady Law.
  We should also resist seeing this provision as any sort of panacea. 
Laws banning criminals from owning firearms have not stopped them from 
doing so, for a simple reason--criminals do not respect or obey the 
law. So

[[Page S753]]

while this provision is an appropriate step, we should be under no 
illusion that it is the answer to our juvenile crime problem.

  Mr. President, I believe that we all agree that it is far better to 
prevent the fabric of civility from being rent than to deal with the 
aftermath of juvenile crime. In the face of a confounding problem like 
juvenile crime, it is tempting to look for easy answers. I do not 
believe that we should succumb to this temptation. We are faced, I 
believe, with a problem which cannot be solved solely by the enactment 
of new criminal prohibitions. It is at its core a moral problem. 
Somehow, too frequently we have failed as a society to pass along to 
the next generation the moral compass that differentiates right from 
wrong. This cannot be legislated. It will not be restored by the 
enactment of a new law or the implementation of a new program. But it 
can be achieved by communities working together to teach accountability 
by example and by early intervention when the signs clearly point to 
violent and antisocial behavior.
  Mr. President, that is what the bill we introduce is all about. It is 
a comprehensive approach to this national problem. I believe that it 
now is time for the Senate to act. I urge my colleagues to review this 
legislation, to support it, and to support its early debate and passage 
by the Senate.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a bill summary prepared 
by the Judiciary Committee staff and an article by Patricia Cornwell be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

      The Violent and Repeat Juvenile Offender Accountability and 
        Rehabilitation Act of 1999--Section-by-Section Analysis

       Attached is a summary of the major provisions of S.   , the 
     Hatch-Sessions Violent and Repeat Juvenile Offender 
     Accountability and Rehabilitation Act of 1999, as introduced 
     January 19, 1999.
       Should you have any questions about the bill not answered 
     by this summary or the Committee Report, please call Mike 
     Kennedy or Rhett DeHart of the Senate Judiciary Committee 
     staff at (202) 224-5225.


                           general provisions

       Sec. 1  Short Title, Table of Contents. This section 
     entitles the bill as the ``Violent and Repeat Juvenile 
     Offender Act of 1999'', and provides a table of contents for 
     the bill.
       Sec. 2  Findings and Purpose. This section provides 
     Congressional findings related to juvenile crime, the 
     juvenile justice system, and the changes needed to reform the 
     juvenile justice system to curb youth violence, ensure 
     accountability by youthful criminals, improve federal 
     juvenile delinquency prevention efforts, and recognize the 
     needs of crime victims.
       Sec. 3  Severability. This section provides severability 
     for the provisions of the Act.


                    title i--juvenile justice reform

       This title reforms the procedures by which juveniles who 
     commit Federal crimes are prosecuted and punished.
       Sec. 101  Repeal of General Provision. This section repeals 
     the provision establishing the general practice of 
     surrendering to State authorities juveniles arrested for the 
     commission of Federal offenses.
       Sec. 102  Treatment of Federal Juvenile Offenders. General 
     Provisions: This section gives the U.S. Attorney the 
     discretion to prosecute juveniles age 14 years or older as 
     adults for violations of Federal law which are serious 
     violent felonies or serious drug offenses (as these terms are 
     defined in 18 U.S.C. 3559, the Federal 3-strike statute). 
     Juveniles 14 and older may be prosecuted as adults for any 
     other felony violation of Federal law only with the approval 
     of the Attorney General. If approval is not given, or, for 
     all misdemeanor violations of Federal law, juveniles would be 
     proceeded against as juveniles, or referred to State or 
     tribal authorities. Referral to state or tribal authorities 
     would be presumed in all cases of concurrent state and 
     federal jurisdiction, unless a state refused the case, or an 
     overriding federal interest existed. In the special case of 
     juveniles alleged to have committed a federal offense and who 
     have a prior occasion been tried and convicted as an adult in 
     federal court, waiver to adult status would be automatic.
       Reverse Waiver Provision: Juveniles 15 and younger charged 
     as an adult for serious violent felonies or serious drug 
     offenses, and juveniles of any age charged as an adult for 
     other felonies, may appeal their waiver to adult status. The 
     juvenile would have 20 days to seek a judicial order 
     returning the juvenile to juvenile status. The prosecutor 
     would be permitted in interlocutory appeal from an adverse 
     ruling, but a juvenile's appeal would be consolidated at the 
     end of the case.
       Application to Indian Tribes: This section also includes a 
     limited tribal opt-in for Native American juveniles 15 and 
     under when federal jurisdiction is based solely on the 
     commission of the offense on tribal land. A tribal opt-in to 
     federal procedures would be required to prosecute these 
     juveniles as adults, although they could still be adjudicated 
     in federal delinquency proceedings, even in the absence of a 
     tribal opt-in.
       Procedures: When prosecuted as adults, juveniles in Federal 
     criminal cases would be subject to the same procedures and 
     penalties as adults, including availability of records, open 
     proceedings, and sentencing procedures. Exceptions are 
     provided waiving the application of mandatory minimums to 
     juveniles under age 16 who have no previous serious violent 
     felony or serious drug offense convictions, and barring the 
     availability of the death penalty in any offense committed 
     before the juvenile was 18.
       This section also provides that juveniles tried as adults 
     and sentenced to prison must serve their entire sentences, 
     and may not be released on the basis of attaining their 
     majority, and applies to juveniles convicted as adults the 
     same provisions of victim restitution, including mandatory 
     restitution, that apply to adults.
       Sec. 103  Definitions. This section provides definitions 
     for terms used, including new definitions to ensure that 
     juveniles accused or convicted of Federal offenses are 
     separated from adults and to conform the definition of the 
     term ``juvenile'' with the procedural changes made by this 
     title.
       Sec. 104  Notification after Arrest. This section conforms 
     the requirement, in 18 U.S.C. 5033, that certain persons be 
     notified of the arrest of a juvenile for a Federal crime, 
     with the procedural changes in section 102 of this subtitle, 
     which vests discretion to prosecute juveniles as adults with 
     the U.S. Attorney for the district in the appropriate 
     jurisdiction. This section also provides for the notification 
     of the juveniles' parents or guardians, and prohibits the 
     post-arrest housing of juveniles with adults.
       Sec. 105  Release and Detention Prior to Disposition. This 
     section provides for pretrial detention juveniles tried as 
     adults on the same basis as adults, and prohibits the 
     pretrial or pre-disposition detention of juveniles with 
     adults.
       Sec. 106  Speedy Trial. This section extends, from 30 to 70 
     days, the time in which the trial of a juvenile in detention 
     must be commenced, and applies in juvenile cases the same 
     tolling provisions for such time period that apply in adult 
     prosecutions.
       Sec. 107  Dispositional Hearings. This section provides for 
     the sentencing of that juveniles found to be delinquent, but 
     not tried as adults. It provides for a hearing on the matter 
     within 40 days of an adjudication of delinquency, and 
     provides for victim allocution at the hearing. The section 
     provides a range of sentencing options to the court, 
     including probation, fines, restitution, and/or imprisonment, 
     and provides that terms of imprisonment may be imposed upon 
     them for the same term as adults, except that such 
     imprisonment must be terminated on the juvenile's 26th 
     birthday. Juveniles sentenced to imprisonment may not be 
     released solely on the basis of attaining their majority.
       Sec. 108  Use of Juvenile Records. This section provides 
     that the federal criminal records of juveniles tried as 
     adults, and the federal delinquency records of juveniles 
     adjudicated delinquent for certain serious offenses such as 
     murder, rape, armed robbery, and sexual abuse or assault, are 
     to be treated for all purposes in the same manner as the 
     records of adults for the same offenses. Other federal felony 
     juvenile criminal or delinquency records would be treated the 
     same as adult records for criminal justice or national 
     security background check purposes.
       This section also permits juvenile federal felony juvenile 
     criminal and delinquency records to be provided to schools 
     and colleges under rules issued by the Attorney General, 
     provided that recipients of the records are held to privacy 
     standards and that the records not be used to determine 
     admission.
       Sec. 109  Implementation of a Sentence for Juvenile 
     Offenders. This section provides for the implementation of a 
     sentence on a delinquent or criminal juvenile and directs the 
     Bureau of Prisons to not confine juveniles in any institution 
     where the juvenile would not be separated from adult inmates.
       Sec. 110  Magistrate Judge Authority Regarding Juvenile 
     Defendants. This section extends the jurisdiction of Federal 
     magistrate judges to class A misdemeanors involving 
     juveniles; permits magistrate judges to impose terms of 
     imprisonment on juveniles, and conforms the section 
     conferring authority on magistrate judges with the procedural 
     changes made by section 102.
       Sec. 111  Federal Sentencing Guidelines. This section 
     conforms the Sentencing Reform Act to ensure that the Federal 
     Sentencing Guidelines relating to maximum penalties for 
     violent crimes and serious drug crimes apply to juveniles 
     tried as adults.
       This section also amends the Sentencing Reform Act to 
     direct the Sentencing Commission to promulgate sentencing 
     guidelines for sentencing juveniles tried as adults in 
     Federal court, and for dispositional hearings (the equivalent 
     of sentencing) for juveniles adjudicated delinquent in the 
     Federal system.
       Sec. 112  Study and Report on Indian Tribal Jurisdiction. 
     This section requires the Attorney General to study and 
     report to the Congress on the capabilities of tribal courts 
     and criminal justice systems relating to the prosecution of 
     juvenile criminals under tribal jurisdiction, and requires 
     the Attorney General to evaluate an expansion of tribal court 
     criminal jurisdiction.

[[Page S754]]

                        title ii--juvenile gangs

       Sec. 201  Solicitation or Recruitment of Persons in 
     Criminal Gang Activity. This section makes the recruitment or 
     solicitation of persons to participate in gang activity 
     subject to a one-year minimum and 10-year maximum penalty, or 
     a fine of up to $250,000. If a minor is recruited or 
     solicited, the minimum penalty is increased to four years. In 
     addition, a person convicted of this crime would have to pay 
     the costs of housing, maintaining, and treating the juvenile 
     until the juvenile reaches the age of 18 years.
       Sec. 202  Increased Penalties for Using Minors to 
     Distribute Drugs. This section increases the penalties for 
     using minors to distribute controlled substances.
       Sec. 203  Penalties for Use of Minors in Crimes of 
     Violence. This section increases twofold, and for a second or 
     subsequent offense threefold, the penalties for using minors 
     in the commission of a crime of violence.
       Sec. 204  Amendment of Sentencing Guidelines With Respect 
     to Body Armor. This section directs the United States 
     Sentencing Commission to provide a minimum two level 
     sentencing enhancement for any defendant committing a Federal 
     crime while wearing body armor.
       Sec. 205  High Intensity Interstate Gang Activity Areas. 
     This section authorizes the Attorney General to establish 
     joint agency task forces to address gang crime in areas with 
     high concentrations of gang activity. This provision 
     authorizes $100 million per year for this program; $75 
     million per year is authorized for establishment and 
     operation of High Intensity Interstate Gang Activity Areas, 
     and $25 million per year is authorized for community-based 
     gang prevention and intervention for gang members and at-risk 
     youth in gang areas.
       Sec. 206  Increasing the Penalty for Using Physical Force 
     to Tamper With Witnesses, Victims, or Informants. This 
     section increases the penalty from a maximum of 10 years' 
     imprisonment to a maximum of 20 years' imprisonment for using 
     or threatening physical force against any person with intent 
     to tamper with a witness, victim, or informant. This section 
     also adds a conspiracy penalty for obstruction of justice 
     offenses involving victims, witnesses, and informants. In 
     addition, this section makes traveling in interstate or 
     foreign commerce to bribe, threaten or intimidate a witness 
     to delay or influence testimony in a State criminal 
     proceeding a violation of the Federal Travel Act, 18 U.S.C. 
     Section 1952.


  title iii--juvenile crime control, accountability, and delinquency 
                               prevention

       This title reforms and enhances federal assistance to State 
     and local juvenile crime control and delinquency prevention 
     programs. Subtitle A amends and reauthorizes the Juvenile 
     Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (JJDPA), to 
     provide assistance to States for effective youth crime 
     control and accountability.
       Sec. 301  Findings; Declaration of Purpose; Definitions. 
     This section rewrites Title I of the JJDPA. It updates and 
     revises the Congressional findings and declaration of purpose 
     contained in the JJDPA to reflect the reality of violent 
     juvenile crime, promote the primacy of accountability in the 
     juvenile justice system, and recognize the rights and needs 
     of victims of juvenile crime. This section also revises and 
     updates the definitions governing the JJDPA.
       Sec. 302  Juvenile Crime Control and Delinquency 
     Prevention. This section rewrites Title II of the JJDPA. It 
     reforms and renames the current Office of Juvenile Justice 
     and Delinquency Prevention within the Department of Justice, 
     improves services to State and local governments, and reforms 
     and streamlines existing JJDPA grant programs. Among the 
     specific provisions of the rewritten JJDPA Title II:
       Reforms JJDPA Title II Part A--the Office of Juvenile 
     Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) of the Department 
     of Justice, is renamed the Office of Juvenile Crime Control 
     and Prevention (OJCCP), with an Administrator appointed by 
     the President and confirmed by the Senate. This section also 
     enhances the effectiveness of the OJCCP by requiring the 
     OJCCP Administrator to: present to Congress annual plans, 
     with measurable goals, to control and prevent youth crime; 
     coordinate all Federal programs relating to controlling and 
     preventing youth crime; disseminate to States and local 
     governments data on the prevention, correction and control of 
     juvenile crime and delinquency, and report on successful 
     programs and methods; and serve as a single point of contact 
     for States, localities, and private entities to apply for and 
     coordinate all federal assistance and programs related to 
     juvenile crime control and delinquency prevention.
       Consolidates numerous JJDPA programs, including Part C 
     Special Emphasis grants, State challenge grants, boot camps, 
     and JJDPA Title V incentive grants, under an enhanced 
     prevention challenge block grant to the States.
       Reauthorizes the State formula grants under Part B of Title 
     II of the JJDPA:
       Reforms the 3 current ``core mandates'' on the States 
     relating to the incarceration of juveniles (known as sight 
     and sound separation, jail removal, and status offender 
     mandates,) to ensure the protection of juveniles in custody 
     while providing state and local governments with needed 
     flexibility; provisions are based on H.R. 1818 from the 105th 
     Congress, but to ensure that abuse of juvenile delinquent 
     inmates is not permitted, includes modified definitions from 
     the 105th Congress S. 10 regarding what constitutes contact 
     between juveniles and adults--no prohibited physical contact 
     or sustained oral communication would permitted between 
     juveniles delinquents in detention and adult inmates;
       Modifies the current ``core mandate'' requiring states to 
     address efforts to reduce the disproportionate number of 
     minorities in juvenile detention in comparison with their 
     proportion to the population at large, to make the language 
     race-neutral and constitutional;
       The four ``core mandates'' retained in modified form are 
     each enforceable by a 12.5 percent reduction in a State's 
     Part B funding for non-compliance. The Administrator may 
     waive the penalty.
       Revises JJDPA Title II Part C, to enhance federal research 
     efforts into successful juvenile crime control and 
     delinquency prevention programs; reauthorizes JJDPA Title II 
     Part D Gang prevention programs, and reforms the program to 
     provide an emphasis on the disruption and prosecution of 
     gangs; includes a discretionary prevention grant program 
     designated as Part E of Title II of the JJDPA; retains the 
     current Part G Mentoring program under Title II of the JJDPA, 
     redesignating it as Part F, and adding a pilot program to 
     encourage and develop mentoring programs that focus on the 
     entire family instead of simply the juvenile and which 
     utilize the existing resources and infrastructure of the 
     Cooperative Extension Services of Land Grant Universities; 
     and designates JJDPA Title II Part G for administrative 
     provisions, including: providing rules against use of federal 
     funds for behavior control experimentation, lobbying, or 
     litigation; subjecting JJDPA and Juvenile Accountability 
     Block Grants (in Title III, Subtitle B of this bill) to a 
     religious and charitable non-discrimination provision cross-
     referenced from the welfare reform law; providing significant 
     funding directly from the Department of Justice for juvenile 
     delinquency prevention and juvenile accountability programs 
     in Indian country; and providing authorizations of 
     appropriations for the JJDPA and the Juvenile Accountability 
     Block Grants, as follows:
       Authorizes $1 billion per year for five years, under the 
     following formula: $450 million (45%) for Juvenile 
     Accountability Block Grants; $435 million (43.5%) for 
     prevention programs under the JJDPA, including $200 million 
     for Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Block Grants, $200 
     million for Part B Formula grant prevention programs, and $35 
     million for Gangs, Mentoring and Discretionary grant 
     programs; $75 million (7.5%) for grants to states to upgrade 
     and enhance juvenile felony criminal record histories and to 
     make such records available within NCIC, the national 
     criminal history database used by law enforcement, the 
     courts, and prosecutors; and $40 million (4%) for NIJ 
     research and evaluation of the effectiveness of juvenile 
     delinquency prevention programs.
       Sec. 303  Runaway and Homeless Youth. This section reforms 
     the Runaway and Homeless Youth program, and reauthorizes it 
     through FY 2004. The reforms steamline the program, provide 
     for targeting federal assistance to areas with the greatest 
     need, and make numerous technical changes.
       Sec. 304  National Center for Missing and Exploited 
     Children. This section improves and reauthorizes the Missing 
     and Exploited Children program through FY 2004, providing on-
     going authorization for grants to the National Center for 
     Missing and Exploited Children.
       Sec 305.  Transfer of Functions and Savings Provisions. 
     This section provides technical and administrative rules to 
     transfer functions, and to govern the transition from the 
     Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to 
     the Office of Juvenile Crime Control and Prevention.

Subtitle B  Accountability for Juvenile Offenders and Public Protection 
                            Incentive Grants

       Sec. 321  Block Grant Program. Accountability Block Grant: 
     This section establishes an incentive block grant program for 
     States, authorized at $450 million for each of the next five 
     fiscal years, as well as a separate $50 million per year 
     grant program for the upgrade and enhancement of juvenile 
     criminal records. The incentive block grants would fund a 
     variety of programs, such as constructing juvenile offender 
     detention facilities, implementing graduated sanctions 
     programs; fingerprinting or conducting DNA tests on juvenile 
     offenders; establishing record-keeping ability; establishing 
     SHOCAP programs; enforcing truancy laws; and various 
     prevention programs including after-school youth activities, 
     antigang initiatives, literacy programs, and job training 
     programs. Indian tribes receive separate grants under this 
     section.
       State receipt of the incentive grants would be conditioned 
     on the adoption of three core accountability policies: the 
     establishment of graduated sanctions to ensure appropriate 
     correction of juvenile offenders, drug testing juvenile 
     offenders upon arrest in appropriate cases; and recognition 
     of victims rights and needs in the juvenile justice system.
       Fifty percent of the funds under the grant program are 
     designated for implementing graduated sanctions or increasing 
     juvenile detention space if needed by the State. Federal the 
     remaining fifty percent can be used for any authorized grant 
     purpose. Detention space construction projects must be funded 
     by not less than fifty percent State or local (i.e., 
     nonfederal grant) money.

[[Page S755]]

       The block grant includes a pass-through requirement 
     intended to provide a formula for local funding that reflects 
     the needs and responsibilities of state and local levels of 
     government. Seventy percent of the funds received by the 
     State under this block grant must be passed through to the 
     local level, unless the state organizes its juvenile justice 
     system exclusively on the State level.
       Juvenile Records Grants: Criminal and juvenile record 
     improvement grants for the States are authorized to encourage 
     states to treat the records of juveniles who commit and are 
     adjudicated delinquent for the felonies of murder, armed 
     robbery, and sexual assault be treated the same as adult 
     criminal records for the same offenses in the state, and to 
     treat records of juveniles who commit any other felony be 
     treated, for criminal justice purposes only, the same as 
     adult criminal records for the same offenses. Such records 
     would be available interstate within the NCIC system.
       Sec. 322  Pilot Program to Promote Replication of Recent 
     Successful Juvenile Crime Reduction Strategies. This section 
     authorizes the Attorney General to fund pilot programs to 
     replicate the successful juvenile crime reduction program 
     utilized by Boston, Massachusetts. Pilot program grant 
     recipients would adopt a juvenile crime reduction strategy 
     involving close collaboration among Federal, State, and local 
     law enforcement authorities, and including religious 
     affiliated or fraternal organizations, school officials, 
     social service agencies, and parent or local grass roots 
     organizations. Emphasis would be placed on initiating 
     effective crime prevention programs and tracing firearms 
     seized from crime scenes or offenders in an effort to 
     identify illegal gun traffickers who are supplying weapons to 
     gangs and other criminal enterprises
       Sec. 323  Repeal of Unnecessary and Duplicative Programs. 
     This section repeals duplicative and wasteful programs 
     enacted as a part of the 1994 crime law, including the Ounce 
     of Prevention Council, the Model Intensive Grant program, the 
     Local Partnership Act, the National Community Economic 
     Partnership, the Urban Recreation and At-Risk Youth Program, 
     and the Family Unity Demonstration Project.
       Sec. 324  Extension of Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund. 
     This section extends the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund, 
     established in the 1994 omnibus crime law, to fund programs 
     authorized by this act.
       Sec. 325  Reimbursement of States for the Costs of 
     Incarcerating Juvenile Aliens. This section adds juvenile 
     aliens to the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, which 
     provides reimbursement to the States for the costs of 
     incarcerating criminal aliens.
       Sec. 326  Sense of Congress. This section provides the 
     sense of Congress that States should enact legislation to 
     provide that if an offense that would be a capital offense if 
     committed by an adult is committed by a juvenile between the 
     ages of 10 and 14, the juvenile could, with judicial 
     approval, be tried and punished as an adult, provided the 
     death penalty would not be available in such cases.

      Subtitle C--Alternative Education and Delinquency Prevention

       Sec. 331  Alternative Education. This section amends the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to provide 
     demonstration grants to state and local education agencies 
     for alternative education in appropriate settings for 
     disruptive or delinquent students, to improve the academic 
     and social performance of these students and to improve the 
     safety and learning environment of regular classrooms. 
     Certain matching amounts required under this program could 
     be made from amounts available to the State or local 
     governments under the JJDPA. Appropriations under the ESEA 
     of $15 million per year for four years are authorized.


                   Title IV--Miscellaneous Provisions

                     Subtitle A--General Provisions

       Sec. 401  Prohibition on Firearms Possession by Violent 
     Juvenile Offenders. This section extends the ban on firearm 
     ownership by certain felons to persons who, as juveniles, are 
     adjudicated delinquent for an offense which would be a 
     serious violent felony as defined in 18 U.S.C. 
     3559(c)(2)(F)(i) (the federal three strikes statute), were 
     the offense committed by an adult. The ban is prospective, 
     applying only to delinquent acts committed after records of 
     such offenses are routinely available within the National 
     Instant Check System instituted pursuant to the Brady Law.

                 Subtitle B--Jail-Based Substance Abuse

       Sec. 421  Jail-Based Substance Abuse Treatment Program. 
     This section provides that 10 percent of grants to States for 
     drug treatment in prisons (RSAT grants) should be directed to 
     qualified treatment programs in jails; under current law, 
     these funds are limited to prison treatment. This section 
     also allows RSAT grants to be used to provide post-
     incarceration substance abuse treatment for former inmates if 
     the Governor certifies to the U.S. Attorney General that the 
     State is providing, and will continue to provide, an adequate 
     level of treatment services to incarcerated inmates.
                                  ____


                        When the Fabric Is Rent

                         (By Patricia Cornwell)

       There was a saying in the morgue during those long six 
     years I worked there. When a person is touched by violence, 
     the fabric of civility is forever rent, or ripped or 
     breached, whatever word is most graphic to you.
       Our country is the most violent one in the free world, and 
     as far as I'm concerned, we are becoming increasingly 
     incompetent in preventing and prosecuting cruel crimes that 
     we foolishly think happen only to others. There was another 
     saying in the morgue. The one thing every dead person had in 
     common in that place was he never thought he'd end up there. 
     He never imagined his name would be penned in black ink in 
     the big black book that is ominously omnipresent on a counter 
     top in the autopsy suite.
       I have seen hundreds, maybe close to a thousand dead bodies 
     by now, many of them ruined by another person's hands. I 
     return to the morgue at least two or three times a year to 
     painfully remind myself that what I'm writing about is awful 
     and final and real.
       I suffer from nightmares and don't remember the last time I 
     had a pleasant dream. I have very strong emotional responses 
     to crimes that have nothing to do with me, such as Versace's 
     murder, and more recently, the random shooting deaths of 
     Capitol Police Agent John Gibson and Officer Jacob Chestnut. 
     I can't read sad, scary or violent books. I watched only half 
     of ``Titanic'' because I could not bear its sadness. I 
     stormed out of Ann Rice's ``Interview With A Vampire,'' so 
     furious my hands were shaking because the movie is such an 
     outrageous trivialization and celebration of sexual violence. 
     For me the suffering, the blood, the deaths are real.
       I'd like to confront Ann Rice with bitemarks and other 
     sadistic wounds that are not special effects. I'd like to 
     sentence Oliver Stone to a month in the morgue, make him sit 
     in the cooler for a while and see what an audience of victims 
     has to say about his films. I'd like O.J. Simpson to have 
     total recall and suffer, go broke, be ostracized, never be 
     allowed on a golf course again. I was in a pub in London when 
     that verdict was read. I'll never forget the amazed faces of 
     a suddenly mute group of beer-drinking Brits, or the shame my 
     friends and I felt because in America it is absolutely true. 
     Justice is blind.
       Justice has stumbled off the road of truth and fallen 
     headlong into a thicket of subjective verdicts where evidence 
     doesn't count and plea bargains that are such a bargain they 
     are fire sales. I've begun to fear that the consequences and 
     punishment of violent crime have become some sort of mindless 
     multiple choice, a ``Let's Make A Deal,'' a ``Let's microwave 
     the popcorn and watch Court TV.''
       I have been asked to tell you what my fictional character 
     Dr. Scarpetta would do if she were the crime czar or 
     Virginia, of America. Since she and I share the same opinions 
     and views, I am stepping out from behind my curtain of 
     imagined deeds and characters and telling you what I feel and 
     think.
       It startles me to realize that at age 42, I have spent 
     almost half my life studying crime, of living and working in 
     it's pitifully cold, smelly, ugly environment. I am often 
     asked why people cheat, rob, stalk, slander, maim and murder. 
     How can anybody enjoy causing another human being or any 
     living creature destruction and pain? I will tell you in 
     three words: Abuse of power. Everything in life is about the 
     power we appropriate for good or destruction, and the 
     ultimate overpowering of a life is to make it suffer and end.
       This includes children who put on camouflage and get into 
     the family guns. We don't want to believe that 12, 13, 16 
     year old youths are unredeemable. Most of them aren't. But 
     it's time we face that some of them have transgressed beyond 
     forgiveness, certainly beyond trust. Not all victims I have 
     seen pass through the morgue were savaged by adults. The 
     creative cruelty of some young killers is the worst of the 
     worst, images of what they did to their victims ones I wish I 
     could delete.
       About a year ago, I began researching juvenile crime for 
     the follow-up of ``Hornet's Next'' (Southern Cross, January, 
     '99) and my tenth Scarpetta book (unfinished and untitled 
     yet). This was a territory I had yet to explore. I was 
     inspired by the depressing fact that in the last ten years, 
     shootings, hold-ups at ATM's, and premeditated murders 
     committed by juveniles have risen 160 percent. As I ventured 
     into my eleventh and twelfth novels, I wondered what my 
     crusading characters would do with violent children.
       So I spent months in Raleigh watching members of the 
     Governor's Commission on Juvenile Crime and Justice debate 
     and rewrite their juvenile crime laws, as Virginia did in 
     1995 under the leadership of Jim Gilmore. I quizzed Senator 
     Orrin Hatch about his youth violence bill, S. 10, a federal 
     approach to reforming a juvenile justice system that is 
     failing our society. I toured detention homes in Richmond and 
     elsewhere. I sat in on juvenile court cases and talked to 
     inmates who were juveniles when they began their lives of 
     crime.
       While it is true that many violent juveniles have abuse, 
     neglect, and the absence of values in their homes, I maintain 
     my belief that all people should be held accountable for 
     their actions. Our first priority should be to keep our 
     communities safe. We must remove violent people from our 
     midst, no matter their age. As Marcia Morey, executive 
     director of North Carolina's juvenile crime commission, 
     constantly preaches, ``We must stop the hemorrhage 
     first.''
       When the trigger is pulled, when the knife is plunged, kids 
     aren't kids anymore. We should not shield and give excuses 
     and probation to violent juveniles who, odds are, will harm 
     or kill again if they are returned to our neighborhoods and 
     schools. We should

[[Page S756]]

     not treat young violent offenders with sealed lips and 
     exclusive proceedings.
       ``The secrecy and confidentiality of our system have hurt 
     us,'' says Richmond Juvenile and Domestic Relations District 
     Court Judge Kimberly O'Donnell. ``What people can't see and 
     hear is often difficult for them to understand.''
       Virginia has opened its courtrooms to the public, and Judge 
     O'Donnell encourages people to sit in hers and see for 
     themselves those juveniles who are remorseless and those who 
     can be saved. Most juveniles who end up in court are not 
     repeat offenders. But for that small number who threaten us 
     most, I advocate hard, non-negotiable judgment. Most of what 
     I would like to see is already being done in Virginia. But we 
     need juvenile justice reform nationally, a system that is 
     sensible and consistent from state to state.
       As it is now, if a juvenile commits a felony in Virginia, 
     when he turns 18 his record is not expunged and will follow 
     him for the rest of his days. But were he to commit the same 
     felony in North Carolina, at 16 he'll be released from a 
     correctional facility with no record of any crime he 
     committed in that state. Let's say he's back on the street 
     and returns to Virginia. Now he's a juvenile again, and 
     police, prosecutors, judges or juries will never know what he 
     did in North Carolina.
       If he moves to yet another state where the legal age is 21, 
     he can commit felonies for three or four more years and have 
     no record of them, either. Maybe by then he's committed 
     fifteen felonies but is only credited with the one he 
     committed in Virginia. Maybe when he becomes an adult and is 
     violent again, he gets a light sentence or even probation, 
     since it appears he's committed only one felony in his life 
     instead of fifteen. He'll be back among us soon enough. Maybe 
     his next victim will be you.
       If national juvenile justice reform were up to me, I'd be 
     strict. I would not be popular with extreme child advocates. 
     If I had my way, it would be routine that when any juvenile 
     commits a violent crime, his name and personal life are 
     publicized. Records of juveniles who commit felonies should 
     not be expunged when the individual becomes an adult. Mug 
     shots, fingerprints and the DNA of violent juveniles should, 
     at the very least, be available to police, prosecutors, and 
     schools, and if they young violent offender has an extensive 
     record and commits another crime, plea bargaining should be 
     limited or at least informed.
       Juveniles who rape, murder or commit other heinous acts 
     should be tried as adults, but judges should have the 
     discretionary power to decide when this is merited. I want to 
     see more court-ordered restitution and mediation. Let's turn 
     off the TV's in correctional centers and force assailants, 
     robbers, thieves to work to pay back what they've destroyed 
     and taken, as much as that is possible. Confront them with 
     their victims, face to face. Perhaps a juvenile might realize 
     the awful deed he's done if his victim is suddenly a person 
     with feelings, loved ones, scars, a name.
       Prevention is a more popular word than punishment. But the 
     solution to what's happening in our society, particularly to 
     our youths, is simpler and infinitely harder than any 
     federally or privately funded program. All of us live 
     in neighborhoods. Unless you are in solitary confinement 
     or a coma, you are aware of others around you. Quite 
     likely you are exposed to children who are sad, lost, 
     ignored, neglected or abused. Try to help. Do it in 
     person.
       I remember my first few years in Richmond when I was living 
     at Union Theological Seminary, where my former husband was a 
     student and I was a struggling, somewhat failed writer. 
     Charlie and I spent five years in a seminary apartment 
     complex where there was a little boy who enjoyed throwing a 
     tennis ball against the building in a staccato that was 
     torture to me.
       I was working on novels nobody wanted and every time that 
     ball thunked against brick, I lost my train of thought. I'd 
     popped out of my chair and fly outside to order the kid to 
     stop, but somehow he was always gone without a trace, silence 
     restored for an hour or two. One day I caught him. I was 
     about to reprimand him when I saw the fear and loneliness in 
     his eyes.
       ``What's your name?'' I asked.
       ``Eddie,'' he said.
       ``How old are you?''
       ``Ten.''
       ``It's not a good idea to throw a ball against the 
     building. It makes it hard for some of us to work.''
       ``I know.'' He shrugged.
       ``If you know, then why do you do it?''
       ``Because I have no one to play catch with me,'' he 
     replied.
       My memory lit up with acts of kindness when I was a lonely 
     child living in the small town of Montreat, North Carolina. 
     Adult neighbors had taken time to play tennis with me. They 
     had invited me, the only girl in town, to play baseball or 
     touch football with the boys.
       Billy Graham's wife, Ruth, used to stop her car to see how 
     I was or if I needed a ride somewhere. Years later, she 
     befriended me when I was a very confused teenager who felt 
     rather worthless. Were it not for her kindness and 
     encouragement, I doubt I would be writing this editorial. 
     Maybe I wouldn't have amounted to much. Maybe I would have 
     gotten into serious trouble. Maybe I'd be dead.
       Eddie and I started playing catch. I gave him tennis 
     lessons and probably ruined his backhand for life. He told me 
     all about himself and amused me with his stories. We became 
     pals. He never threw a tennis ball against the building 
     again.
       We must protect ourselves from all people who have proven 
     to be dangerous. But we should never abandon those who can be 
     helped or are at least are worthy of the effort. If you save 
     or change one life, you have added something priceless to 
     this world. You have left it better than you found it.
                                 ______