Memo: To Protect Our Children and Fight the Coronavirus, Release Youth from Juvenile Detention

By Samantha Buckingham Director, Juvenile Justice Clinic, Loyola Law School

Executive Summary: 

On April 2, the National Juvenile Defender Center likewise issued a statement on the urgent need to halt new detentions and release all youth who can safely return home to their families or caregivers. 

In a national poll, we found broad bipartisan public support for releasing early some youth held in detention:

  • Sixty percent of likely voters support releasing juveniles whose sentences end within the next six months, including fifty-four percent of Republicans. 

  • Fifty-eight percent of voters prefer early release to solitary confinement conditions imposed on juveniles during a pandemic, including fifty percent of Republicans.

Coronavirus, Criminal Justice ReformGuest UserJustice, Coronavirus