By: Jaci Schneider & Cassie Jones

  Youth sentences to TJJD can be for up to 40 years  State law requires a minimum period of confinement in a residential placement. This is based on the severity of the offense  10 years for capital murder  3 years for aggravated controlled substance felony or 1 st degree felony  2 years for a 2 nd degree felony  1 year for a 3 rd degree felony  If a youth is unable to meet the minimum period of confinement before reaching 19, a judge decides if they will go to adult parole rather than prison by waiving the minimum period of confinement What is the state’s system like today?

  Offense severity is determined by the felony level of the offense and certain characteristics of the offense  If the youth used a weapon, committed a felony sex offense, or committed a felony against a person, the rating is:  High- Capital offenses, 1 st degree felonies, 2 nd degree murder, manslaughter, sexual assault  Moderate- Other 2 nd degree felonies, 3 rd degree felonies, state jail felonies  If the youth didn’t use a weapon, commit a felony sex offense of commit a felony against a person, the rating is:  Moderate- 1 st degree felonies  Low- 2 nd degree felonies, 3 rd degree felonies, state felonies  The risk the youth poses to the community is also considered when determining minimum length of stay What is the state’s system like today?

  Youths with a determinate commitment get a chance to participate in treatment in TJJD  If the youth fails to progress in treatment, they may be transferred to adult prison before they’re 19  If the youth is successful in treatment and has completed their minimum period of confinement, they can transfer from TJJD to adult parole rather than prison What is the state’s system like today?

  Underage drinking  Underage driving  Your significant other is more than 3 years younger than you are and you’re having sex with them.  You’re caught with friends who are breaking the law, even if you’re not breaking the law yourself  You can be arrested for being with people who are drinking, using drugs, carrying weapons, etc, What you can get in trouble for in Texas

  TJJD was created on December 1, 2011  The existing Texas Juvenile Probation Commission and Texas Youth Commission were abolished  Both TJPC and TYC were transferred to the new TJJD How the system has changed

  Texas Youth Commission was originally established as the Texas Youth Development Council with the adoption of Gilmer Aiken Act in 1949  Original purpose was to coordinate the state’s efforts to help communities strengthen youth services and administer state juvenile training schools  A reorganization in 1957 brought administration of the state’s juvenile training schools and homes for dependent and neglected children under a single state agency, the Texas Youth Council How the system has changed

  1850s- Texas legislature passed laws to exempt children under 13 from criminal prosecution in certain situations and authorized a separate facility to house children  Gatesville State School for Boys finally opened  School opened for girls How the system has changed

  Toronto Patterson, 18 years old  June 6, Valarie Brewer found the bodies of her sister and her nieces/nephews  No valuables were taken, only 3 wheels from the car outside  Knowing that her cousin, Toronto Patterson recently had his own wheels stolen, she immediately thought of him as a suspect  Patterson told police 2 Jamaican men threatened him and his girlfriend at gunpoint to assist them in taking the wheels  However, Patterson doesn’t take responsibilities for the murders A Famous case

  Patterson was taken into custody and placed under interrogation  Patterson testified that he felt he could trust the detective at first  Then the detective accused Patterson of lying about the murders  He falsely told Patterson he had recovered the murder weapon with Patterson’s fingerprints  Accused Patterson of killing his 3 cousins  Punched and pushed him in various places to show where the victims were shot  Spit in his face  Toronto signed a statement admitting he shot his cousins after being confused and scared from the interrogation A famous Case

  Convicted of capital murder in November of 1995  The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied Patterson’s relief in his state post-conviction application for writ of habeas corpus  October the US States Supreme Court denied a petition following Patterson’s direct appeal  Patterson was also denied application for certificate of appeal ability in 2001 A Famous Case

  Supreme Court voted 6-3 against a stay for Patterson  Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted 16 to 1 against recommending that Patterson’s death sentence be commuted to life  They voted 17 to 0 against recommending a 120 day reprieve A Famous Case

  Final words- “I am sorry for the pain, sorry for what I caused my friends, family, and loved ones. I feel a great deal of responsibility and guilt for what happened. I should be punished for the crime, but I do not think I should die for a crime I did not commit.”  The execution of child offenders is in contravention of international law and fundamental standards of human rights  It is restricted to execute juveniles  The prohibition of the execution of juveniles is referenced in a number of international treaties, declarations, and statements by international bodies, in addition to the laws of the majority of nations  Executed at the age of 25 A Famous Case

 Assessment Pros  Low tolerance for crime  Clear definition of high, low, and moderate crime Cons  Execute people  Deny appeals  Interrogation “skills” Grade: C-

 Works Cited now_your_rights/Texas_Appleseed_guide_for_youth_and_parents.pdf