Ta’afulisia v. Department of Children. Youth & Families
Youth do not belong in adult prisons.
Criminal Justice Reform, Systems Reform – IMPACT LITIGATION
OVERVIEW
Diante Pellum was just 14 years old at the time of his arrest, and 19 when he was finally sentenced after years in trial. Under state law, Diante was supposed to serve the first several years of his sentence in a Juvenile Rehabilitation (JR) facility and was sent to Green Hill School. Even though he was doing well there, when Diante was involved in an altercation with several other residents, he was transferred from Green Hill to an adult prison operated by the Department of Corrections with no notice, no hearing, and no opportunity to inform his family of the move. After days of not knowing how to reach him, Diante’s grandmother reached out to Columbia Legal Services (CLS) for help.
Even within our harsh, punishment-focused incarceration system, society recognizes that youth are different from adults, and must be treated differently. Our laws are slowly beginning to acknowledge that the brain is still developing in critical ways until at least the age of 27, and young people involved in the criminal legal system have a right to protection when it comes to their sentencing.
A 2018 law established that children convicted as adults in Washington should be held in JR facilities, which are part of the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), until the age of 25. The “JR-to-25″ law recognizes that young people need access to education, programing, therapeutic services, a higher degree of safety, and ultimately, a better chance of successful reentry as adults. Yet Green Hill School, a DCYF JR facility in Chehalis, WA, routinely transfers young people from its custody to adult prisons with no warning, process, or opportunity to challenge their transfers.
Investigating Diante’s case revealed numerous other instances of youth being moved to adult prison facilities before the age of 25, with no due process or oversight, in violation of their rights. As a result, CLS filed a lawsuit against the Department of Children, Youth, and Families on behalf of Diante and all other youth at risk of these unlawful transfers.
Young people who end up in JR custody often have histories of surviving abuse, poverty, trauma, racism, substance use disorder, and/or mental illness. There is little reason for them to believe their safety and well-being will be protected by the authorities in their lives, particularly during incarceration. These transfers take cruel advantage of the likelihood JR residents won’t be able to seek justice for themselves. But we are all deserving of justice, safety, and a fair chance, and CLS will stand alongside Diante and others who have been wrongfully transferred.
TEAM
Governor urged to reverse transfer of 43 young people to adult prison
On Tuesday, July 16, 2024, Columbia Legal Services (CLS) sent a letter to Governor Inslee urging immediate action to reverse the transfer of 43 young people from juvenile rehabilitation to adult prison without any notice, hearings, or other due process protections. The letter was one of several emergency steps the legal aid nonprofit has taken since learning of the unlawful transfers made by the Department of Children, Youth & Families (DCYF) last Friday, July 12. On Monday, July 15, CLS filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunction and a Motion to Shorten Time in an effort to expedite a hearing in front of Judge Anne Egeler, the assigned judge in a related case, Ta’afulisia v. DCYF. The court granted CLS’ request to hear the motion on Friday, July 19.
On Friday, July 12, CLS learned that 43 adult-sentenced youth had been transferred to DOC facilities with no warning. Under Washington law, young people who have been sentenced in adult court for crimes they committed when they were under 18 are entitled to remain in a juvenile rehabilitation facility until they turn 25. There are many reasons for this law, including the rights of youth to receive rehabilitation and education opportunities, and the extreme danger to young people housed in adult prisons. Any youth being considered for transfer to an adult prison before age 25 is entitled to due process, including proper advance notice, the ability to talk to an attorney, a hearing where the youth can argue their case, and an opportunity to appeal the transfer decision in court. None of these protections were given to any of the 43 young people transferred on July 12, 2024.
Unfortunately, this is just the latest instance of DCYF violating the law in this manner. In October 2022, CLS filed a class action complaint in Thurston County Superior Court against DCYF challenging its practice of transferring adult-sentenced youth in its custody to DOC. That case, Ta’afulisia vs. DCYF, reached a final settlement agreement on October 27, 2023. Under the terms of that settlement agreement, any adult-sentenced youth under age 25 being considered for transfer to DOC would be entitled to all of the due process protections guaranteed by state law and agency policy. The parties also agreed to a three-year monitoring period to ensure DCYF was in full compliance with the agreement.
DCYF’s transfer decision on July 12, 2024 was shocking to CLS staff, who have been monitoring the agency’s compliance with the settlement since late last year. “Once again, DCYF’s actions violate Washington State constitutional and statutory law, as well as the agency’s own policies,” states CLS attorney, Sarah Nagy. “Furthermore, these transfers fly in the face of the Final Settlement Agreement reached in Ta’afulisia vs. DCYF.”
CLS has already learned that one of the transferred youth is currently being held in solitary confinement “for protection” after being assaulted by an adult at the DOC facility. “Each of these young people has been irreparably harmed as a result of DCYF failing to comply with an agreement it voluntarily entered into less than 9 months ago. This flagrant disregard for the terms of the Settlement Agreement undermines any trust in DCYF to follow its word, much less the law.”
IN THE MEDIA
IN THE MEDIA
CASE CONTENT
Governor urged to reverse transfer of 43 young people to adult prison
Lawsuit Filed to Protect Young People in Washington from Being Transferred to Adult Prison