'They are still kids:' Racine might ease municipal court costs for juveniles journaltimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from journaltimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
RACINE â A judge and prosecutors were OK with a Racine County Jail inmate being let out to be a pall bearer at his sisterâs funeral. But the Wisconsin Department of Corrections intervened, keeping him behind bars instead of with his family to say his final goodbyes.
Unexpected tragedy
Ramsey
A lifelong sufferer from sickle cell anemia, Shemera Latrice Ramsey died suddenly at the age of 30 on May 15. Her family gathered for her funeral Friday morning. But Damien Bell, Ramseyâs brother who was supposed to be a pall bearer, wasnât there.
Bell, 37, has been in the Racine County Jail since July. With his attorneyâs help, he applied for a furlough. Inmates are allowed to leave incarceration for a short time for various reasons, such as to visit a sick loved one. Furloughs often are granted on a daily basis for someone facing a low-level charge to allow them to keep their job, with the requirement that they return to jail every night before they make bail or the
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Cheryl Christensen, 61, was charged with negligently subjecting an at-risk individual to abuse-causing death in the November death of her son.
Christensen is additionally charged with misdemeanor resisting an officer and disorderly conduct.
Jamie McClendon, the defendantâs attorney, argued successfully that she should be allowed to withdraw from the case due to conflicts with her client.
For her part, Christensen had been trying to get a new attorney since the preliminary hearing in February.
âShe is not working for me â sheâs working against me,â the defendant said of her attorney.
RACINE â There may be changes coming to the way the City of Racine handles juvenile justice.
Someday in the future, youths could go to teen court for minor infractions and have cheaper fines more appropriate for juvenile offenders than their adult counterparts, although it wouldn t have any effect for teens charged with severe offenses.
Through this proposed change and others being considered, the city is aiming to build a system that promotes accountability while dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline.
According to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension, Teen Court works to create a change in youth behavior, provides an opportunity for youth to restore their image in the community while repairing their relationship between themselves and the victim, facilitates the strengthening of family resiliency, and offers ways youth can gain academic and 21st century life skills for future success.
Tracking defendants with GPS anklets saves taxpayers lots of money, but only if suspects can afford it journaltimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from journaltimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.