Judge: Kids Are Illegally Shackled In Juvenile Detention

A state judge ruled that New York's juvenile corrections system regularly breaks the law by shackling young detainees any time they leave a detention center—even if the children don't pose a physical threat. According to the Times, the ruling should bring an end to a policy that mandated the use of shackles whenever detainees leave state facilities, despite other laws on the books permitting shackles only as a last resort for "youth who are out of control and dangerous, and then only for half an hour." A 15-year-old plaintiff said he was kept in feet and handcuffs connected to a belly chain for roughly 15 hours on a single day. Lawyer Nancy Rosenbloom said the case revealed "a culture of abusive practices that is not rehabilitative." She added: "We had evidence of kids not being able to drink their milk on the way to court because of the chains."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Ben Muessig in News on January 26, 2010 5:55 PM

Comments [rss]

aspiringrapper

Too long in chains? Maybe. It'd be a lot quicker if they were just shot on site.

justthinkin

Give 'em a DS and you won't have to worry about what they're doing with their hands.

katers

if you guys actually read the article you'd see that a lot of these kids being shackled are in detention for non-violent offenses, like shoplifting, graffiti, etc. it's barbaric to chain up kids who have been led astray by shitty parenting and failing schools. this is a great decision by the courts and a sign that maybe the juvenile justice system is starting to focus on rehabilitating these kids rather than grooming them for a long life of incarceration and recidivism.

inoyourider

Sounds terrible.

Almost as bad as letting some of these young animals out in the streets.

Snoopy

"We had evidence of kids not being able to drink their milk..." or even enjoy their cookies while playing video games.

Maybe if those future career criminals had a job to do like cleaning up rat feces in the subway with their tongues, they would worry less about their daily glass of milk.