Do you think of your 16- or 17-year old as a juvenile? North Carolina criminal law does not.
Many parents are surprised to learn that teens 16 and up are treated as adults in the state’s justice system. Charges against them are a matter of public record, they go through adult court and, if convicted, have a permanent criminal record. They might even wind up in an adult prison.
A movement to change that and raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction to 18 is gaining traction in North Carolina.
Read more about this legislation and the reasoning behind it in the Insight section of Sunday’s Salisbury Post.