Who is Johnnie McDaniels?

Johnnie McDaniels is a judge in Hinds County, Mississippi, and a former executive director of the Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center.

What does McDaniels identify as the start of mass incarceration issues?

He believes that mass incarceration issues begin during the teenage years within the juvenile justice system.

What personal experience influenced McDaniels' perspective on the justice system?

His older brother's involvement in the criminal justice system and subsequent imprisonment influenced his views.

What problems does McDaniels see in the juvenile justice system?

He identifies a lack of services, abuse, neglect, and trauma among juveniles, along with insufficient mental health professionals and poor judicial processes.

What is McDaniels' belief about diverting and rehabilitating young people?

He believes it's possible to divert and rehabilitate young people to prevent them from entering the criminal justice system.

What is needed to improve the juvenile justice system, according to McDaniels?

Implementing proper mechanisms, sufficient services, and mental health support are crucial.

What happens when juveniles do not receive proper attention in the system?

They may continue engaging in negative behavior and eventually commit serious crimes.

What does McDaniels mean by 'smart justice'?

'Smart justice' involves making communities safe without incarcerating those who shouldn't be imprisoned.

Why changing juvenile corrections is critical to American criminal justice

00:03:38

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRKPLzrJvNE

Summary

TLDRJohnnie McDaniels, a judge and former executive director of the Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center in Mississippi, shares his views on the juvenile justice system's role in the U.S. mass incarceration issue. He underscores the importance of addressing young individuals' needs, pointing out the prevalent issues such as lack of appropriate legal processes, insufficient mental health support, and the trauma many juveniles face. McDaniels argues that if these youths are not given proper help early on, they may persist in criminal behavior and end up in the adult system. He stresses the need for 'smart justice,' aiming for safer communities without overcrowding prisons with people who could be rehabilitated. His insights are influenced by personal experiences, including a family member's struggles within the criminal justice system.

Takeaways

👨‍⚖️ Johnnie McDaniels is a crucial voice in juvenile justice reform.
🔄 The current system often leads to a 'revolving door' of juvenile offenses.
🚸 Young offenders usually have prior interactions with juvenile justice.
📉 Inadequate services and support exacerbate juvenile issues.
🧠 Mental health is key when addressing juvenile crimes.
⚖️ Early intervention could prevent future adult incarceration.
👥 Many juveniles experience neglect or trauma.
🆘 There is a dire need for better legal and psychological support.
🔍 Understanding root issues is vital for reform.
🔑 A focus on 'smart justice' can reduce unnecessary imprisonments.

Timeline

00:00:00 - 00:03:38
On an average day, 50,000 young individuals are incarcerated in U.S. juvenile facilities. Johnnie McDaniels, a judge in Mississippi's Hinds County and former executive director of a juvenile justice center, discusses how mass incarceration issues begin during teenage years. He shares personal motivation from his brother's experience with the justice system to pursue a career in law and advocate for proper representation and reform. McDaniels emphasizes the interconnectedness of juvenile and adult justice systems, noting the deficiencies in dealing with juvenile issues such as inadequate adjudication and lack of necessary services and mental health support. He believes that proper intervention at the juvenile level is crucial to avoid adult criminal justice system entanglement and advocates for balanced justice approaches that ensure community safety while avoiding unnecessary incarceration.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

Who is Johnnie McDaniels?
Johnnie McDaniels is a judge in Hinds County, Mississippi, and a former executive director of the Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center.
What does McDaniels identify as the start of mass incarceration issues?
He believes that mass incarceration issues begin during the teenage years within the juvenile justice system.
What personal experience influenced McDaniels' perspective on the justice system?
His older brother's involvement in the criminal justice system and subsequent imprisonment influenced his views.
What problems does McDaniels see in the juvenile justice system?
He identifies a lack of services, abuse, neglect, and trauma among juveniles, along with insufficient mental health professionals and poor judicial processes.
What is McDaniels' belief about diverting and rehabilitating young people?
He believes it's possible to divert and rehabilitate young people to prevent them from entering the criminal justice system.
What is needed to improve the juvenile justice system, according to McDaniels?
Implementing proper mechanisms, sufficient services, and mental health support are crucial.
What happens when juveniles do not receive proper attention in the system?
They may continue engaging in negative behavior and eventually commit serious crimes.
What does McDaniels mean by 'smart justice'?
'Smart justice' involves making communities safe without incarcerating those who shouldn't be imprisoned.

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00:00:00
AMNA NAWAZ: On any given day, approximately 50,000 young people in the U.S. are held in
00:00:04
juvenile prisons.
00:00:06
Johnnie McDaniels, a judge in Hinds County, Mississippi, believes America's mass incarceration
00:00:11
problem actually begins during teenage years.
00:00:14
McDaniels spent three years as executive director of the Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center,
00:00:19
and offers this Brief But Spectacular take.
00:00:21
JUDGE JOHNNIE MCDANIELS, Former Executive Director, Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center:
00:00:23
Being a prosecutor is about making sure that justice prevails.
00:00:27
I'm an absolute advocate, and I advocated from the courtroom, that if a person wasn't
00:00:33
guilty of something, the system is designed that that person should be let go.
00:00:40
The criminal justice system was always interesting to me.
00:00:44
I'm the youngest of 10 children.
00:00:46
One older brother has had the misfortune of having got caught up in the criminal justice
00:00:50
system, and actually went to prison.
00:00:53
I would go and visit him with my mom at the state penitentiary in Parchman.
00:00:57
And he would always give the most wonderful story when we were there with my mom, you
00:01:02
know, "I'm doing fine, and I'm going to be OK, and they treat me nicely," and that type
00:01:09
of thing.
00:01:10
When she was gone, you know, you would hear the other side of it.
00:01:13
You would hear the difficulties associated with being incarcerated in the state of Mississippi,
00:01:18
the difficulties associated with not having proper legal representation.
00:01:22
So, I was always saying, you know, at one point, you know, I'm going to go to law school,
00:01:26
and I'm going to be a great defense attorney.
00:01:28
And I'm going to make sure that I can make a difference for people like my brother.
00:01:33
As I stood in the courtroom prosecuting young people between the ages of 18 and 21, one
00:01:38
of the first dynamics that I absolutely encountered was, all of them have some type of involvement
00:01:43
with the juvenile justice system.
00:01:45
So, seeing that, I naturally began to ask questions about what's going on with juvenile
00:01:50
justice issues in Jackson, Mississippi, and found some pretty astonishing things in terms
00:01:55
of the number of young people who were not being adjudicated, the number of young people
00:02:01
who were not receiving the type of services that were necessary.
00:02:04
The system not having the proper mechanisms in place to deal with the revolving door of
00:02:10
juvenile justice is absolutely problematic.
00:02:15
Many of those juveniles have been the subject of some type of abuse, some type of neglect,
00:02:21
some type of trauma.
00:02:22
That's why it's so important to have the right type of mental health professionals in place
00:02:26
when you're dealing with juveniles who are engaged in the criminal justice system.
00:02:31
If you allow it to just kind of not receive the proper attention that it deserves, you're
00:02:37
going to have a young person who's going to matriculate from age 13 engaging in behavior,
00:02:43
all the way until they do something so unfortunate and sensational that they're on the 5:00 evening
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news.
00:02:49
And, at that point, there is no more saving.
00:02:51
I absolutely believe that we can divert and rehabilitate young people, so that we won't
00:02:56
have so many people in the criminal justice system.
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And if you don't get it right at the juvenile level in the context of criminal justice,
00:03:03
you're never going to get it right at the adult level.
00:03:06
I'm not talking about, you know, making communities unsafe.
00:03:08
There's a way to do this in such a way that we can have smart justice, safe communities,
00:03:14
but make sure that our jails and prisons are not full of people who shouldn't be there.
00:03:22
My name is Johnnie McDaniels, and this is my Brief But Spectacular take on the revolving
00:03:27
door of juvenile justice.
00:03:29
AMNA NAWAZ: You can watch additional Brief But Spectacular episodes on our Web site,
00:03:36
PBS.org/NewsHour/Brief.