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Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., said she will speak Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday against four House bills that aim to change how crime is prosecuted in the nation’s capital.
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., said she will speak Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday against four House bills that aim to change how crime is prosecuted in the nation’s capital.
The House of Representatives will debate and vote Tuesday on a bill that would allow 14 year-olds to be charged as adults in D.C. Another bill would repeal that discretion that judges have in imposing sentences for people under the age of 24.
“These anti-D.C. home rule bills were introduced by members of Congress from Florida, Texas, and Louisiana,” said Norton in a news release. “These members do not represent D.C., are not accountable to its residents, and do not understand how the District operates. They have no business writing our laws.”
Currently, defendants between the ages of 14 and 17 are prosecuted by D.C.’s elected attorney general.
The Trump administration and the District’s U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro have said defendants under the age of 18 should be prosecuted in criminal court.
“The D.C. Council has coddled young criminals for years,” Pirro said on Sept. 6. “They reject mandatory minimums that the law requires, they don’t force judges to follow the law. They have something called youth rehabilitation and incarceration reduction, as well as record sealing.”
The bill to lower the age at which juveniles can be prosecuted as adults was introduced by Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas.
The other bill to be debated and voted upon Tuesday was brought by Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donald. It would amend D.C.’s Youth Rehabilitation Amendment Act, changing the age at which a court is allowed discretion to impose alternative sentences, other than for certain offenses, and to seal a defendant’s records, from 24 to 18.
On Wednesday afternoon, the House will debate and vote upon a bill from Texas Republican Rep. Pete Sessions, which would limit the role D.C. has in the selection of its local judges. And, a bill introduced by Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., would weaken the District’s limitations on police pursuits.
“The more than 700,000 people who call D.C. home are fully capable of governing themselves, just as residents of Florida, Texas, and Louisiana do. I will continue to defend that right — tomorrow, Wednesday, and always,” said Norton, in Monday’s release.
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Neal Augenstein
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