Our Demands of King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg’s Office
Discontinue Use of Decline & Auto-Decline
Return all King County Declined & Auto-Declined cased to juvenile court
Expedite re-sentencing for all youth in accordance with Houston Sconners, Ali & Domingo
See sample letter below
Copy & paste this sample as a guide, or feel free to change it, or write your own..
Subject: Abolish Decline & Auto-Decline: Youth cases belong in Juvenile Court & Expedite Youth Re-Sentencing
Dear King County Prosecutors Office,
I am writing to urge your office to discontinue Decline & Auto-Decline, return the current Declined youth back to juvenile court jurisdiction, and expedite re-sentencing for all youth in accordance with Houston Sconners, Ali & Domingo rulings.
Sending kids to adult court and prison is cruel and racist: it is disproportionately used for Black and Brown children. These policies make decisions made in youth virtual lifelong sentences, when science is clear that young
peoples’ brains are still in development until age 26. We know that because of this, young offenders are especially successful in rehabilitative alternatives to incarceration. The incarceration system has been proven to
be a failure to everyone: offenders, victims, community, public safety and tax payers. Public support is overwhelmingly for alternatives to incarceration for children.
Your Name
Your Address
Update 3/29: SCOTUS denied hearing Satterberg’s Lawsuit for Youth Incarceration
In December, King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge the rulings over the past three years regarding Washington State’s juvenile sentencing laws, which have ruled in favor of taking youth age into consideration in charges and sentencing. Satterberg is advocating mandatory sentencing be reinstated, based upon the argument that these rulings are unconstitutional because they undermine the legislature’s ability to enact the will of the public, which he dubiously argues is in favor of mandatory minimums and adult courts for youth accused of serious crimes. We believe the court rulings were moving in the right direction, and his attempt to reverse them will further perpetuate systemic racism and harm to children within the judicial system and our communities. His lawsuit is a waste of taxpayer money that should be repurposed to serve youth rehabilitation and community needs. Contrary to his position, we believe popular public support has acknowledged and abandoned the failed policies of the racist hysteria of the Clinton era and is now in support of anti-racist criminal justice reform, especially and most importantly for children.