The state of Washington may end mandatory sentencing for juvenile offenders. HB 1324 hopes to remedy the harm of the racist ‘superpredator’ myth, which has lengthened the sentences for mostly Indigenous and Black youth. Both chambers of the Legislature passed a juvenile justice-reform bill this session that prevents convictions under age 18 from being automatically counted in adult court – despite pushback from the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys. House Bill 1324 was co-sponsored by Rep. Debra Lekanoff, the only Native American woman in the Legislature, who submitted a letter from several tribes around the state asking House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, to support the bill because Native people are the most disproportionately impacted by the practice of mandatory sentence enhancements using juvenile judgments.
The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC) declares May 1st – May 7th, 2023, a National Week of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) to call the nation and the world to action. Advocates can take action by participating in daily virtual events, exploring the NIWRC list of resources and/or organizing additional actions in local communities on and around May 5th, a National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. The NIWRC provides national leadership in ending gender-based violence in Tribal communities by providing culturally-grounded resources, technical assistance and training, and policy development to strengthen Tribal sovereignty. Their website includes a list of resources that have been developed to enrich the understanding of the MMIW crisis across Indian Country. NIWRC recognizes social media as a powerful tool in community outreach and uplifting the collective voices of grassroots advocates and survivors. It offers suggested social media posts, hashtags, and graphics in support of the 2023 National Week of Action in its MMIW Social Media Toolkit.
Those are your headlines at this hour. I’m Colette Keith in the KIPI News center.