ACLU of Washington comment on Senate passage of juvenile points bill

News Release: 
Tuesday, April 11, 2023
OLYMPIA – Today, the Washington Senate passed EHB 1324, which updates Washington’s sentencing system and stops the practice of automatically punishing people twice for crimes they committed as children.   

EHB 1324 was amended — against the recommendation of advocates, experts, labor organizations, tribes, and directly impacted people — to remove retroactivity from the bill. That means that people already serving longer sentences because of juvenile adjudications will not benefit from this bill.  

ACLU-WA is committed to working again next session to achieve retroactivity in regard to juvenile points for all Washingtonians.

Dr. Chelsea Moore, smart justice policy manager for ACLU-WA, had this reaction:

“We respect the fact that the Legislature has recognized that the practice of punishing people twice for crimes committed as children was bad policy. We are disappointed that even with this recognition, the Senate moved forward without retroactivity. Communities need retroactivity so they can begin to heal from the impacts of a sentencing system that has thrown away entire generations of its members. We are committed to righting those past harms and helping those left behind by this policy and will continue to fight next session.”