Mission Statement

Justice for Juveniles is a grass roots group of concerned parents, grandparents, teachers, scholars, internet professionals, legal professionals and many others dedicated to ending the prosecution and adjudication of children as adults. The goal of our organization is to inform and inspire other citizens to get involved in the effort to bring about these changes -- always keeping in mind that children are never adults. We join with other advocate groups to use a global, national, and local approach to bringing American juvenile justice into line with other international child rights standards. Community support, redirection, diversion, and treatment are the foundation of our policy goals. Please join us as we join others, in changing the political tide that encourages state sanctioned child abuse.

Dr. Peter Breggin
Posted: July 1, 2009 11:34 AM


Medication Madness: How Psychiatric Drugs Cause Violence, Suicide, and Crime



Over the years as a psychiatrist I've evaluated innumerable cases of individuals who have been driven over the edge by psychiatric drugs. Many of these men, women and children were evaluated for legal cases but others were not. When I was re-evaluating about a hundred of these real-life stories for my latest book, Medication Madness: The Role of Psychiatric Drugs in Cases of Violence, Suicide and Crime, I began to see a pattern that I call medication spellbinding. Technically, the new scientific concept is called intoxication anosognosia: not knowing that you are intoxicated.

Medication spellbinding has four basic effects.
...Read More

UNITED NATIONS — The Obama administration is reviving efforts to have the United States sign onto a global children's rights treaty ratified by every U.N. member except the U.S. and Somalia, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, said Monday.

Administration officials are actively discussing "when and how it might be possible to join," Rice, a Cabinet-level official, said while visiting a school in Harlem and fielding a teenager's specific question about the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child.

She did not provide a specific timetable for the decision and has said previously only that the administration would conduct a legal review of the treaty.

Sign in and join the discussion!

...Read More

Lawrence County District Attorney John Bongivengo said Wednesday his re-election loss should not affect his prosecution of an 11-year-old for a double homicide.

Bongivengo lost the Democratic primary to challenger Joshua Lamancusa, who won 63 percent of the vote, but he will remain in office until January. The homicide case of Jordan Anthony Brown might have factored into the lopsided election result, Bongivengo said.

"I'm sure that affected some people," he said of his decision to pursue an adult trial for the boy. "Maybe it affected a lot of people. It's tough to say."

...Read More

The Police and the Falsely Accused

A police officer can arrest you, without a warrant, if they "see" you committing a crime or if they have "probable cause" to believe that you have committed a crime. All it takes is one person making a criminal complaint against you, without any corroboration, to give the police "probable cause" to arrest. In most circumstances, they should have an arrest warrant if they're arresting you at your home, or a search warrant to search your home, but there are exceptions to every rule. If the police tell you that they have a warrant, ask to look at it. Do not simply "agree" to a search of your home, your car or your person. Again, simply tell the officer that you want your attorney present. If you are arrested, do not resist arrest or become verbally abusive, regardless of how ridiculous you believe the charges are. If you do, you could well find yourself facing additional charges and possibly be injured in the arrest process. You can tell them your name, address and date of birth, but don't answer questions about the crime or where you were when it happened. Tell them that you do not wish to answer questions without speaking to your attorney first. Be safe. Do not answer questions or make statements about your case to the police or the prosecutor and do not sign any statements. Don't think that police will simply release you because you talked to them.

...Read More