HB 834’s veto by Governor Cooper is extremely concerning legislation that would automatically transfer 16-and-17-year-olds charged with felony cases to be tried in adult court rather than the juvenile system. Dawn Blagrove was quoted by 11 Eyewitness News:
“Having them start in juvenile court creates a whole plethora of other resources that are available to help these children,” said Dawn Blagrove. “Children who go through the adult system as opposed to going through the juvenile system have a much higher recidivism rate. So if we are concerned about community safety, we really want to be keeping as many children in the juvenile system as possible,” Blagrove said. “If we invest in children from the beginning, if we invest in families from the beginning, then we don’t need money,” she said.