In 2022, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that three teenagers died within weeks of each other in Georgia鈥檚 youth detention facilities 鈥� one after participating in a 鈥渇ight game鈥� in front of a correctional officer 鈥� drawing scrutiny to how incarcerated youth in Georgia are treated. However, these reports of abuse told a troublesome narrative of Georgia鈥檚 youth incarceration that has been around for decades 鈥� one where Black children are disproportionately harmed.
In our latest report, Only Young Once: Dismantling Georgia鈥檚 Punitive Youth Incarceration System, we investigate not only policies and practices producing harm and racial disparities in Georgia鈥檚 youth legal system, but also the political culture that undergirds it. In Georgia, overemphasis on punishment pushes Black children out of traditional schools and promotes the prosecution of children as young as 13 as adults for certain offenses.
鈥淚n order to disrupt Georgia鈥檚 school-to-prison pipeline and the impacts of youth incarceration, we also have to adopt reforms and disrupt the culture that keeps punitive measures popular,鈥� said Delvin Davis, 人兽性交 senior policy analyst and author of the report. 鈥淥therwise, Georgia鈥檚 youth prisons will continue to harm generations of Black youth 鈥� just as they were designed to do.鈥�
Read the report
Click on image to download.
Other reports
This is the fifth and final report in our series about youth incarceration in the Deep South:
- Alabama: Only Young Once: Alabama鈥檚 Overreliance on School Pushout and For-Profit Youth Incarceration
- Florida: Only Young Once: The Systemic Harm of Florida鈥檚 School-to-Prison Pipeline and Youth Legal System
- Louisiana: Only Young Once: The Urgent Need for Reform of Louisiana鈥檚 Youth Justice System
- Mississippi: Only Young Once: The Case for Mississippi鈥檚 Investment in Youth Decarceration
Illustration at top by Therrious Davis.
