The Indiana legislature is currently debating SB 449, which would expand the range of situations that would send children to adult court and adult prison.  As of 2017-2018, 69% of the cases where children were sent to adult court involved African American youth.  Under the proposed bill, children as young as twelve could be sent to adult prisons for certain felonies.

This week, we feature an interview conducted by IDOC Watch with Abu Faheem Shabazz and Landis Reynolds, two Indiana prisoners who were themselves subject to childhood sentencing as adults.  They reveal the high stakes and potential damage for children implied by SB 449’s drive to harshly criminalize even pre-teens.