Examining juvenile incarceration, racial disparities in Pa., N.J.

WNYC’s Sarah Gonzalez and Marsha Levick of the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia talk with NewsWorks Tonight host Dave Heller about the issue of minors incarcerated as adults in the criminal justice system.

Of the 692 minors waived into New Jersey’s criminal justice system within the past five years, almost 90 percent are black or Latino. That’s one of the findings of an investigative series conducted by WNYC’s Sarah Gonzalez. She speaks with WHYY’s Dave Heller about her five-part series entitled “Kids in Prison: Racial Disparities, Longer Sentences, and a Better Way,” that sheds light on the disparity and contrasts New Jersey’s approach with a much different practice in Germany.

We also get a national perspective on both practices and remedies from Marsha Levick, Deputy Director and Chief Counsel of the Juvenile Law Center.

Listen to their conversation below.