“That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history…
is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach.”
My favorite Aldous Huxley quote.
This week, the news cycle buzzed with the latest legislation out of Washington, D.C.—a bill that would lower the age at which some young people can be charged as adults from 16 to 14, and end judges’ ability to consider alternative sentences for young adults up to age 24. Under this law, only those under 18 would still have the chance for a lighter sentence.
On paper, changes like this get sold as “tough on crime” measures. The argument goes something like this: if we make the punishment harsher and earlier, young people will think twice before committing a crime. But here’s the question we should be asking: does it work?
The short answer? No.
The Myth of Deterrence
Decades of research have told us—loudly—that treating youth like adults in the justice system doesn’t reduce crime. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention have both found that transferring kids to adult courts increases the likelihood they’ll reoffend. That’s right: harsher sentencing makes communities less safe, not more.
Young people don’t weigh consequences the way adults do. Their brains, particularly the prefrontal cortex (the part that governs impulse control and decision-making), are still developing well into their twenties. Add in trauma, poverty, and lack of access to stable education or housing, and the idea that a 14-year-old will stop mid-action to consider the nuances of a sentencing statute is simply unrealistic.
The Ripple Effect
Policies like this don’t just affect the child in question. They ripple outward—touching families, schools, neighborhoods, and whole communities.
When a young person is locked up for years during their formative stage of life, it means lost education, fractured family bonds, and fewer opportunities for meaningful rehabilitation. Families already struggling with systemic inequities now face the additional weight of supporting a child in adult prison—financially, emotionally, and socially.
And let’s not overlook the community impact. Every time a young person is removed and placed behind bars, we lose the chance to invest in their growth. What if those same resources went to mentoring, mental health services, education, or job training? The return on investment there is enormous—not just for the individual but for the safety and prosperity of the whole community.
Lessons from the Past
This isn’t the first time policymakers have leaned hard into punitive measures for youth. In the 1990s, we heard the now-infamous “superpredator” myth. States across the country passed laws to try children as adults, convinced that harshness would stem a supposed wave of juvenile crime.
It didn’t work. Instead, juvenile crime rates dropped largely due to other factors, and we were left with prisons filled with young people serving long sentences, often for non-homicide offenses. Many of those individuals are still incarcerated today. The lesson should be clear: harsher doesn’t mean safer.
A Smarter Path Forward
If we want safer communities, the evidence points elsewhere. Invest in prevention. Fund schools. Provide mental health care. Offer real second chances that extend into early adulthood, when the science tells us that people are still developing and capable of enormous change.
We can’t afford to repeat the mistakes of the past by locking away children as young as 14. We know better—and when we know better, we should do better.
So the question isn’t whether we want safe communities (we all do). The question is whether we’re willing to embrace the approaches that actually work: opportunity, connection, and hope—rather than fear and punishment.
What We Can Do
This isn’t just a policy debate—it’s about our young people and the kind of community we want to build. Here are some steps we can take:
Stay informed. Read beyond the headlines. Policies like this often sound reasonable until you dig into the research. Share what you learn with colleagues, families, and neighbors.
Use your voice. Educators, social workers, and advocates see the impact of harsh sentencing up close. Call your councilmembers, testify at hearings, or write op-eds. Decision-makers need to hear from people on the ground.
Invest locally. Support organizations providing mentoring, after-school programming, and reentry services. Every hour spent guiding a young person toward opportunity is an hour kept away from the justice system.
Shift the narrative. When you hear someone say “lock them up,” remind them of the evidence. Safer communities are built through prevention, support, and second chances—not fear.
Keep showing up. Whether it’s volunteering, teaching, or mentoring, being present in the life of a young person can be the difference between isolation and hope.
Because in the end, this isn’t about statistics—it’s about kids. Kids who deserve the chance to grow up, make mistakes, and still find their way to a healthy, productive life.
To paraphrase Aldous, the only thing men learn from history is that men don’t learn from history (using ‘men’ here as the universal ‘man.’ Meaning…all of us).
☕ Cheers to an energizing week. Since we know better, let’s do better!
