93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
(AP) — A Missouri bill would allow judges to try children as adults for certain crimes. Senators advanced the proposal Thursday.
Lawmakers disagreed on whether to give judges the discretion to try children as young as 12 as adults for felonies. Instead they proposed allowing that for children as young as 14 and keeping minors separate from adults in prison.
The bill also would temporarily lift a requirement that St. Louis police live in the city. The goal is to boost police recruitment.
Republican Gov. Mike Parson called for the changes in response to an uptick in violence in the state’s cities.
State and federal governments’ efforts to rein in violent crime in St. Louis are prompting Black leaders to question why police reform isn’t part of the conversation.
U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen said Thursday that 50 Department of Homeland Security agents will be sent to St. Louis under Operation Legend, a federal anti-crime program, to assist city police in high-crime areas.
State senators meanwhile debated a crime bill proposed by Gov. Mike Parson to address violence in St. Louis and other cities. Black lawmakers threatened a filibuster, criticizing Parson for prioritizing tough-on-crime policies instead of systemic racism and police brutality.
