Case Summary
SCSJ represents the family of Uniece "Niecey" Fennell, a teen who died in the Durham County Detention Facility in 2017. Niecey was one of 23 people to die in the jail over the last 20 years. In seeking civil accountability for the unlawful conditions and practices that led to Niecey's death, SCSJ aims to put an end to Durham's alarming practice of incarcerating 16 and 17 year old children with adult detainees.
Why it's Important
SCSJ continues to advocate for children to be treated as children, and not in the adult criminal legal system. North Carolina was the last state in the nation to raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction to include 16- and 17-year-olds. This legislative change recognized the need to treat kids like kids, and the ever-growing body of research in developmental psychology and neuroscience which confirms that adolescent brains are not yet fully mature when it comes to higher-order executive functions such as impulse control, planning ahead, and risk avoidance. For these reasons and more, kids should be treated like kids.
