Pamela Price decides to charge a 16-year-old as a youth for a murder, community comes together to say youth should be charged as youth

A group of community members met in front of Alameda Court House to talk about Pamela Price's decision to charge a 16-year-old child as a youth instead of an adult for an alleged double homicide. The people in front of the stairs agree with the decision. Placing a youth in an adult prison will only make the trauma for the youth worse.  Community members believe victims of this crime deserve justice, but they also understand that the situation of gun violence is not solved through the adult criminalization of the youth.   

Debra Lewis, a youth advocate, said heavy policing and lack of investment have led the youth to engage in dangerous behavior. 

“When we're talking about neighborhoods that we're not looking historically upon the impact of these young people growing up in these neighborhoods, and we're not doing anything to change it, except wanting to punish them once they engage in some activity that's considered criminal.”

Youth can have traumatizing experiences when locked up with adults. John Vasquez was introduced to “adult initiated violence” when he was sent to adult prison for a 25 year sentence.  “I wish that I could unsee some of the things that I see,” he said. 

While in prison, Vasquez remembers a prison guard telling him, "Hey youngster, do yourself a favor and hang yourself. You're never getting out of here.”

Vasquez graduated summa cum laude, with a BA in sociology and a minor in criminal justice, and was selected as the 2021 Hood recipient for the College of Health and Social Sciences. In 2020, he was selected for the William Brown Junior Fellowship.

 “I've done all this and more in just a few short years of being home in spite of having gone to adult prison, not because of it,” he said.

Vasquez believes that there are alternatives to locking up children with adults. These solutions can help the youth see the error of their ways. “All youth are sacred and they deserve age-appropriate treatment and resources to take true accountability,” he said.  

When asked why the media is obsessed with reporting about the judicial system charging children as adults for these crimes, Vasquez  said: “Sensationalism, unfortunately, grabs viewers' attention and ultimately the media thrives off that. And I would also say that historically, young black and brown people have always experienced adultification as young people. I experienced that myself when I went in at 16 years old during the super predator era.”

In the media, said Vasquez, these young people are considered incorrigible and unredeemable, “especially in very violent tragedies.”

“Research shows that ‘tough on crime’ policy shifts during the 1980s and 1990s have negatively impacted youth, families, and communities of color,” according to an executive summary by an organization called Juvenile Injustice. “The general sentiment — not based on research or data — across the political spectrum was that treatment approaches and rehabilitation attempts did not work.”

Vasquez also said this sensationalized narrative about Black children would be different if he was of another race. “If it was their child that was in that situation as the one that created that harm, that looked like them, that was fair skin, blue eyes, blonde hair, would they say the same thing?”

In the article, “Youth Prosecuted As Adults In California,” , Ridolfi et.al wrote: 

“In 2016, Black youth were 8.5 times more likely than White youth to be tried as adults, and Latino youth were almost 3 times more likely.”

Napoleon believes that youth should be given a healthy community where they can live healthy lives. “I do fundamentally believe in the power of our juvenile justice system and the power of our community programs and the power of mentors to really work with our young folks to really believe in their capacity.”

Napoleon saw her brother recover from  his miscues as a youth. “I watched my brother over the years go to school,” said Napoleon. “I've watched him get good jobs. I've watched him be a very different young person than what he was when he committed his first crime.”

Cythnia Nunes, a member of the Urban Peace Movement, states that organizations are here to help youth to make better decisions. “At Urban Peace Movement, we want to give that to people, especially young people. How we can build a community for you and that you feel safe with us, that we can help you achieve the goals you want to achieve.”